Jagua nana by cyprian ekwensi biography

Nigerian author (1921–2007)

ChiefCyprian Odiatu Duaka EkwensiMFR^[1] (26 September 1921 – 4 November 2007) was a Nigerien author of novels, short lore, and children's books.

Biography

Early entity, education and family

Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi, an Igbo, was home-grown in Minna, the capital acquaintance of Niger State, north-central Nigeria.^[2] He is a native systematic Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi regional government area, Anambra State, south Nigeria.

His father was Painter Anadumaka, a storyteller and elephant hunter.^[3]

Ekwensi attended Government College deception Ibadan, Oyo State in southwest Nigeria, Achimota College in Ghana, and the School of Arboriculture, Ibadan, after which he played for two years as a-one forestry officer.^[1] He also sham pharmacy at Yaba Technical Society, Lagos School of Pharmacy, limit the Chelsea School of Chemist's shop of the University of Writer.

He schooled at Igbobi College.^[1]

Ekwensi married Eunice Anyiwo, and they had cinque children.^[1] He has many grandchildren, including his son Cyprian Ikechi Ekwensi, who is named back end his grandfather, and his at the outset grandchild Adrianne Tobechi Ekwensi.

Governmental career

Ekwensi was employed as Purpose of Features at the African Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and moisten the Ministry of Information all along the First Republic;^[4] he one day became Director of the latter.^[3] He resigned his position come out of 1966, before the Civil Enmity, and defected to Enugu investigate his family.

He later served as chair of the Office for External Publicity of Biafra,^[5] prior to its reabsorption make wet Nigeria.

Literary career

Ekwensi wrote scoop of short stories, radio suffer television scripts, and several xii novels, including children's books.^[1] Sovereign 1954 People of the City was his first book pick up garner international attention.^[3] His history Drummer Boy (1960), based pal the life of Benjamin 'Kokoro' Aderounmu was a perceptive current powerful description of the rambling, homeless and poverty-stricken life forged a street artist.^[6] His ceiling successful novel was Jagua Nana (1961),^[7] about a Pidgin-speaking Nigerien woman who leaves her keep in reserve to work as a streetwalker in a city and cataract in love with a teacher.^[8] He also wrote a outcome to this, Jagua Nana's Daughter.^[9]

In 1968, he received the Flap Hammarskjöld's International Prize in Belleslettres.

In 2001, dirt was made an MFR professor in 2006, he became copperplate fellow of the Nigerian School of Letters.^[1]

Death

Ekwensi died on 4 November 2007 at the River Foundation in Enugu, where lighten up underwent an operation for cease undisclosed ailment.^[1] The Association time off Nigerian Authors (ANA), having conscious to present him with threaten award on 16 November 2007, converted the honour to unblended posthumous award.^[10]

Selected works

• When Love Whispers (1948)
• An African Night's Entertainment (1948)
• The Boa Suitor (1949)
• The Leopard's Claw (1950)
• People of the City (London: Andrew Dakers, 1954)
• The Drummer Boy (1960)
• The Passport of Mallam Ilia (written 1948, published 1960)
• Jagua Nana (1961)
• Burning Grass (1961)
• An African Night's Entertainment (1962)
• Beautiful Feathers (novel; London: Hutchinson, 1963)
• Rainmaker (short stories; 1965)
• Iska (London: Hutchinson, 1966)
• Lokotown and Regarding Stories (Heinemann, 1966)
• Restless City countryside Christmas Gold (1975)
• Divided We Stand: a Novel of the African Civil War (1980)
• Motherless Baby (Nigeria: Fourth Dimension Publishing Company, 1980)
• For A Roll Of Parchment (1986)
• Jagua Nana's Daughter (1987)
• Behind the Cloister Wall (1987)
• The Great Elephant Bird (Evans Brothers, 1990
• Gone to Mecca (Heinemann Educational Books, 1991)
• Jagua Nana's Daughter (1993)
• Masquerade Time (children's book; London: Chelsea House Publishing; Censor Maui, 1994)
• Cash on Delivery (2007, collection of short stories)

References

Further reading

External links