Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi, an Igbo, was born in Minna, Niger State.[2] He is a native of Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi local government area, Anambra State, Nigeria. His father was David Anadumaka, a storyteller and elephant hunter.[3]
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 careeredit
Ekwensi was employed as Head of Features at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and by the Ministry of Information during the First Republic;[4] he eventually became Director of the latter.[3] 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,[5] prior to its reabsorption by Nigeria.
Literary careeredit
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 his first book to garner international attention.[3]
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.[6]
His most successful novel was Jagua Nana (1961),[7] 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.[8] He also wrote a sequel to this, Jagua Nana's Daughter.[9]
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 16 November 2007, converted the honour to a posthumous award.[10]
Masquerade Time (children's book; London: Chelsea House Publishing; Jaws Maui, 1994)
Cash on Delivery (2007, collection of short stories)
Referencesedit
^ abcdefg"Cyprian Ekwensi dies at 86". Daily Trust online. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
^"Nigeria Today Is Like A Yarn By Cyprian Ekwensi -". The NEWS. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
^ abcAdenekan, Shola (11 November 2007). "Prolific Writer Who Chronicled Modern Life in West Africa". The New Black Magazine online. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
^Gérard, Albert S. (1986). European-Language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 654. ISBN 963-05-3834-2.
^"Cyprian Ekwensi". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Thomson Gale.
^CHUKA NNABUIFE (29 October 2009). "Authors convention begins in Minna". Nigerian Compass. Retrieved 9 November 2009.[permanent dead link]
^"Ekwensi, Cyprian". Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Running Press. 2003. pp. 226–227. ISBN 0-7624-1642-4.
^"Jagua Nana's Daughter". Michigan State University Press. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
^
"ANA plans post humous award for Ekwensi". The Tide Online. Rivers State Newspaper Corporation. 11 November 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
Further readingedit
"Cyprian Ekwensi in the eyes of Ndigbo". Nigerian Tribune online. African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc. 9 November 2007. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
Smith, Arthur E.E. (14 November 2007). "Social Consciousness in the Writings of Cyprian Ekwensi". ChickenBones: A Journal. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
Shola Adenekan, Cyprian Ekwensi obituary, The Guardian, 24 January 2008
Sonnie Ekwowusi, "Ode to a Literary Colossus", This Day, 13 November 2007 (column by former student)
External linksedit
List of books, Literary map of Africa: West Africa – Nigeria. Archived 16 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine