Chief Sir Ernest Emenyonu is a Nigerian academic, who is an African literature critic and professor. He was formerly head of the department of English and Literary Studies, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, in that order, through the 1980s and 1990s. He was also Provost of Alvan Ikoku College of Education, now Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, in Imo state, Nigeria (1992–1995).[1]
Ernest Emenyonu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ernest Nneji Emenyonu Imo State, Nigeria |
| Occupation(s) | African literature critic and professor |
Ernest Nneji Emenyonu is one of the preeminent scholars in the world on African Literature.[2][3] He has published biographies on notable writers such as Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi.[4] He is also the author of The Rise of the Igbo Novel [1] While at the University of Calabar, Emenyonu founded and chaired the Calabar annual International Conference on African Literature and the English Language (ICALEL).[5] This promoted interaction of African writers and critics with visiting international scholars.[citation needed]
Emenyonu is a research professor at University of Michigan. He held the position of Head of Department of Africana Studies. Presently, he is the Editor of the oldest journal in the world on African literature, African Literature Today.[6][7] He has made notable contributions to the University of Michigan-Flint, such as bringing Nobel Prize-winner in Literature Wole Soyinka, to the campus, as well as women's rights activist Nawal El Saadawi.[8]
Emenyonu is a Knight of Saint Christopher, Anglican Communion.[5] He is also a Chief in his hometown of Imo State, Nigeria. He was given the title Ugwu Mba 1 of Mbieri, meaning in translation "pride of his people".[5] He is married to his longtime wife Patricia Emenyonu, with four children and three granddaughters.[citation needed]
Bibliography
edit- "Introduction", Goatskin Bags and Wisdom: New Critical Perspectives on African Literature, Trenton: AWP 2000. ISBN 0-86543-670-3 (hb) ISBN 0-86543-671-1 (pb)
- Tales of our Motherland, Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books, 1999.
- The rise of the Igbo novel, Oxford University Press, 1978 ISBN 978-154-023-0, ISBN 0-19-575447-6
- (Editor) New Women's Writing in African Literature, Department of Africana Studies, University of Michigan-Flint
- Literature and society: selected essays on African literature, Oguta, Nigeria: Zim Pan African Publishers, 1986
- (Editor) A Companion to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, James Currey/Boydell and Brewer, 2017, ISBN 978-1847011633
References
edit- ^ "History of Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education". Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ Williams, Stephen (13 September 2014). "An icon of African literature: A man of the people". African Business Magazine. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ^ Adeaga, Tomi (2019). Payback and Other Stories: An Anthology of African and African Diaspora Short Stories. Munster, Germany: LIT Verlag Munster. p. 165. ISBN 978-3-643-91054-7.
- ^ "Cyprian Ekwensi". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ a b c Igwe, Chidi. "Professor Ernest Nneji Emenyonu, Keynote Speaker, 15th Annual International Conference of the Igbo Studies Association". www.igbostudiesassociation.org. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Gold, Robert (5 February 2020). "The past, present, and future of African Literature Today". UM-Flint NOW. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ "African Literature Today | University of Michigan-Flint". www.umflint.edu. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "Faculty Profiles | University of Michigan-Flint". www.umflint.edu. Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.