- Cyprian Ekwensi
-
Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi Born September 26, 1921
Minna, Niger StateDied November 4, 2007
Enugu, Enugu StateOccupation Pharmacist, broadcaster, author Genres Short stories and children's fiction Spouse(s) Eunice Anyiwo Children Five Cyprian Ekwensi, MFR[1] (September 26, 1921–November 4, 2007) was a Nigerian short story writer and author of children's books.
Contents
Life
Early life, education and family
Ekwensi, an Igbo, was born in Minna, Niger State. His father was David Anadumaka, a story-teller and elephant hunter.[2]
Ekwensi attended Government College in Ibadan, Oyo State, Achimota College in Ghana, and the School of Forestry, Ibadan, after which he worked for two years as a forestry officer.[1] He also studied pharmacy at Yaba Technical Institute, Lagos School of Pharmacy, and the Chelsea School of Pharmacy of the University of London. He taught at Igbobi College.[1]
Ekwensi married Eunice Anyiwo, and they had five children.[1]
He has many grandchildren, including his son Cyprian Ikechi Ekwensi, who is named after his grandfather, and his oldest grandchild Adrianne Tobechi Ekwensi.
Governmental career
Ekwensi was employed as Head of Features at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and by the Ministry of Information during the First Republic;[3] he eventually became Director of the latter. He resigned his position in 1966, before the Civil War, and moved to Enugu with his family. He later served as chair of the Bureau for External Publicity of Biafra,[4] prior to its reabsorption by Nigeria.
Literary career
Ekwensi wrote hundreds of short stories, radio and television scripts, and several dozen novels, including children's books.[1] His 1954 People of the City was the first book by a Nigerian to garner international attention.[2] His novel Drummer Boy (1960), based on the life of Benjamin 'Kokoro' Aderounmu was a perceptive and powerful description of the wandering, homeless and poverty-stricken life of a street artist.[5] His most successful novel was Jagua Nana (1961),[6] about a Pidgin-speaking Nigerian woman who leaves her husband to work as a prostitute in a city and falls in love with a teacher.[7] He also wrote a sequel to this, Jagua Nana's Daughter.[8]
In 1968, he received the Dag Hammarskjöld International Prize in Literature. In 2006, he became a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters.[1]
Death
Ekwensi died on 4 November 2007 at the Niger Foundation in Enugu, where he underwent an operation for an undisclosed ailment.[1] The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), having intended to present him with an award on November 16, 2007, converted the honor to a posthumous award.[9]
Works
- When Love Whispers (1948)
- An African Night’s Entertainment (1948)
- The Boa Suitor (1949)
- The Leopard's Claw (1950)
- People of the City (1954)
- The Drummer Boy (1960)
- The Passport of Mallam Ilia (written 1948, published 1960)
- Jagua Nana (1961)
- Burning Grass (1961)
- An African Nights Entertainment (1962)
- Beautiful Feathers (1963)
- Rainmaker (1965, collection of short stories)
- Iska (1966)
- Lokotown (1966, collection of short stories)
- Restless City and Christmas Gold (1975)
- Divided We Stand (1980)
- Jagua Nana's Daughter (1987)
- Behind the Convent Wall (1987)
- Gone to Mecca (1991)
- Jagua Nana's Daughter (1993)
- Cash on Delivery (2007, collection of short stories)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Cyprian Ekwensi dies at 86". Daily Trust online. 2007-11-06. http://dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4253&Itemid=45. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- ^ a b Adenekan, Shola (2007-11-11). "Obituary: Cyprian Ekwensi". The New Black Magazine online. http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com/view.aspx?index=1073. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- ^ Gérard, Albert S. (1986). European-Language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 654. ISBN 9630538342.
- ^ "Cyprian Ekwensi". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Thomson Gale. http://www.bookrags.com/biography/cyprian-ekwensi/.
- ^ CHUKA NNABUIFE (29 OCTOBER 2009). "Authors convention begins in Minna". Nigerian Compass. http://www.compassnews.net/Ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31929:authors-convention-begins-in-minna&catid=54:arts&Itemid=694. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ "Ekwensi, Cyprian". Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Running Press. 2003. pp. 226–227. ISBN 0762416424.
- ^ Gérard, p. 656
- ^ "Jagua Nana's Daughter". Michigan State University Press. http://msupress.msu.edu/bookTemplate.php?bookID=1135. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- ^ "ANA plans post humous award for Ekwensi". The Tide Online (Rivers State Newspaper Corporation). 2007-11-11. http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=11/11/2007&qrTitle=ANA%20plans%20post%20humous%20award%20for%20Ekwensi&qrColumn=SOUTH%20EAST. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
External links
- "Cyprian Ekwensi in the eyes of Ndigbo". Nigerian Tribune online (African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc). 2007-11-09. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20071221033304/http://www.tribune.com.ng/09112007/igbo_feat.html. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- The Guradian: Cyprian Ekwensi obituary
- Ode to a Literary Colossus, column by former student
Categories:- 1921 births
- 2007 deaths
- Nigerian novelists
- Nigerian writers
- Alumni of Achimota School
- Nigerian children's writers
- Pharmacists
- People from Minna
- Igbo writers
- Igbo children's writers
- Igbo pharmacists
- Igbo novelists
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