John Munonye

John Munonye (born April 1929) is an important important Igbo writer and one of the most important Nigerian writers of the twentieth of century. He was born in Akokwa, Nigeria, and was educated at the University of Ibadan and the Institute of Education, London. He retired as the head of the Advanced Teacher Training College, Owerri.

Criticism and style

John Munonye, unlike some of his contemporaries professed a love for optimism in the face of colonial onslaught on traditional values. To him, the dialectical environment of African and western tradition can be seen in both a positive light and outcome for the common Igbo or Nigerian man or woman. An overriding theme in his novels is the focus on the common man. Munonye sometimes view the common man as being born into a position whereby he is already at a disadvantage, both historically and presently, He sees little difference to the fate of the common man who could be manipulated at the whims of elites and chiefs in both pre- and post-colonial Nigeria and during colonialism.

Works

*The Only Son: Heinemann, 1966
*Obi, Ibadan: Heinemann, 1969.
*Oil Man of Obange: Heinemann, 1971
*A Wreath for the Maidens: Heinemann, 1973.
*A Dancer of Fortune: Heinemann, 1974.
*Bridge to a Wedding: Heinemann, 1978.

References

*Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 117: Twentieth-Century Caribbean and Black African Writers. Edited by Bernth Lindfors, and Reinhard Sander. The Gale Group, 1992