Ezenwa-Ohaeto (1958–2005) was a Nigerian poet, short story writer and academic.[1][2][3] He was one of the first Nigerians to publish poems written in Pidgin English.[3] He died in Cambridge in 2005.[4]
Life and career
editEzenwa-Ohaeto was born on 31 March 1958 to Michael Ogbonnaya Ohaeto and Rebecca Ohaeto in Ife Ezinihite in Mbaise local government area of Imo State.[5] He began his primary education at St. Augustine Grammar School, Nkwerre in 1971.[5] He completed his secondary education in 1975 with distinction in arts and sciences with a Grade One certificate.[5] He studied at the University of Nigeria[3] under the tutelage of novelist Chinua Achebe and critic Donatus Nwoga from 1971 to 1979.[5] He subsequently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with honours in English.[5] He earned a Masters of Arts from UNN with a scholarship from the Imo state government in 1982.[5] In 1991, he was awarded a PhD in literature from University of Benin.[3][5]
Ezenwa-Ohaeto began his teaching career in 1980 as an assistant lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University.[5] From 1982 to 1992 he taught at Anambra State College of Education, Awka as a lecturer.[5] He then taught at Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education as an assistant professor from 1992 to 1998 [5] and as a senior lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University from 1998 until his death in 2005.[5] Ezenwa-Ohaeto was married to Ngozi with who he had four children.
He was the father of Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto.[6]
Awards and recognitions
edit- BBC Arts and Africa Poetry Award
- Association of Nigerian Authors/Cadbury Poetry Award
- Fellow, African Studies Centre, University of Cambridge
Bibliography
edit- Chants of a Minstrel
- I Wan Bi President
- Songs of a Traveller
- Chinua Achebe: A Biography
- The Voice of the Night Masquerade
- "If to Say I bi Soja"
- "Winging Words"
References
edit- ^ Nwakanma, Obi (2007). "Ezenwa-Ohaeto: Chants and the Minstrel". Dialectical Anthropology. 31 (1/3). Springer Science+Business Media: 65–72. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ Christine Matzke; Aderemi Raji-Oyelade; Geoffrey V. Davis (eds.). "Of Minstrelsy and Masks: The Legacy of Ezenwa-Ohaeto in Nigerian Writing". Matatu. ISBN 978-90-420-2168-6.
- ^ a b c d "Ezenwa - Ohaeto". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Nigeria: Ezenwa Ohaeto (1958-2005)". This Day. Lagos. 8 November 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2022 – via AllAfrica.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Emmanuel K. et al., 2012, Pg. 322
- ^ Chika, Chimezie (2022). "Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto: The Shape of Dreams and Memories". AfroCritik. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
Citation
edit- Emmanuel K. Akyeampong; Henry Louis Gates Jr., eds. (2012). Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford University Press.
  | This article about a Nigerian writer or poet is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |