F. Abiola Irele

Francis Abiola Irele (commonly Abiola Irele, born 1936) is a Nigerian academic who has been called the doyen of Africanist literary scholars worldwide. He is currently Visiting Professor of African and African American Studies and of Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University. [ [http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/LiteratureEnglish/WorldLiterature/Africa/?ci=0195086198&view=usa Reviews of his essays, OUP website] ] [ [http://aaas.fas.harvard.edu/faculty/francis_a_irele/index.html Faculty page, Harvard University] ]

Irele graduated from Ibadan University in 1960. Immediately after graduation, he went to Paris to learn French and completed a Ph.D in French at the University of Paris, Sorbonne in 1966. He held teaching positions at the University of Ghana, University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), and University of Ibadan. In 1989, he moved to Ohio State University in the U.S. as Professor of African, French and Comparative Literature.

Publications

Irele's writing includes:
* "The African Imagination: Literature in Africa and the Black Diaspora", Oxford University Press (paperback 2001) ISBN 0195086198
* "The African Experience in Literature and Ideology", Indiana Univ Press (reprint 1990), ISBN 0253331242

* He is joint editor with Simon Gikandi of "The Cambridge History of African and Caribbean Literature", Cambridge University Press (2004), ISBN 0 521 59434 0

Further reading

* F. Abiola Irele, "What is Africa to me?: Africa in the Black Diaspora Imagination" (Distinguished Lecture at Ohio State University, Oct 30, 2002) accessed at [http://www.osu.edu/lecture/archive/abiola/index.html] Feb 14, 2007 - includes video
* Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, "Literature, Culture and Thought in Africa: A conversation with Abiola Irele", in West Africa Review, Issue 7 (2005) accessed at [http://www.africaresource.com/war/issue7/naallah1.html] Feb 14, 2007
* Wumi Raji, "Churchill College Celebrates Abiola Irele" (report of 70th birthday celebration, Nov 2006) accessed at [http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/articles/1424/1/Churchill-College-Celebrates-Abiola-Irele.html] Feb 14, 2007

Notes