Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature. His first novel and magnum opus, Things Fall Apart (1958), occupies a pivotal place in African literature and remains the most widely studied, translated, and read African novel. Along with Things Fall Apart, his No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964) complete the "African Trilogy". Later novels include A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). In the West, Achebe is often referred to as the "father of African literature", although he vigorously rejected the characterization.
Things Fall Apart is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the invasion by Europeans during the late 19th century. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. The novel was first published in the United Kingdom in 1962 by William Heinemann Ltd, and became the first work published in Heinemann's African Writers Series.
Mulk Raj Anand was an Indian writer in English, recognised for his depiction of the lives of the poorer castes in traditional Indian society. One of the pioneers of Indo-Anglian fiction, he, together with R. K. Narayan, Ahmad Ali and Raja Rao, was one of the first India-based writers in English to gain an International readership. Anand is admired for his novels and short stories, which have acquired the status of classics of modern Indian English literature; they are noted for their perceptive insight into the lives of the oppressed and for their analysis of impoverishment, exploitation and misfortune. He became known for his protest novel Untouchable (1935), followed by other works on the Indian poor such as Coolie (1936) and Two Leaves and a Bud (1937). He is also noted for being among the first writers to incorporate Punjabi and Hindustani idioms into English, and was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan.
Gabriel Imomotimi Okara was a Nigerian poet and novelist who was born in Bumoundi in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The first modernist poet of Anglophone Africa, he is best known for his early experimental novel, The Voice (1964), and his award-winning poetry, published in The Fisherman's Invocation (1978) and The Dreamer, His Vision (2005). In both his poems and his prose, Okara drew on African thought, religion, folklore and imagery, and he has been called "the Nigerian Negritudist". According to Brenda Marie Osbey, editor of his Collected Poems, "It is with publication of Gabriel Okara's first poem that Nigerian literature in English and modern African poetry in this language can be said truly to have begun."
Timothy Mofolorunso Aluko was a Nigerian writer.
Ilesa is an ancient town located in the Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of a historic kingdom centred on that town. The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the title of the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland. The state of Ilesa consisted of Ilesa itself and a number of smaller surrounding cities.
Chief Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi was a Nigerian author of novels, short stories, and children's books.
The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003.
African literature is literature from Africa, either oral ("orature") or written in African and Afro-Asiatic languages. Examples of pre-colonial African literature can be traced back to at least the fourth century AD. The best-known is the Kebra Negast, or "Book of Kings."
Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa, was a Nigerian author who has been called the mother of modern African Literature. She was the forerunner to a generation of African women writers, and the first African woman novelist to be published in the English language in Britain. She achieved international recognition with her first novel Efuru, published in 1966 by Heinemann Educational Books. While never considering herself a feminist, she was best known for recreating life and traditions from an Igbo woman's viewpoint.
Chief Horst Ulrich Beier, commonly known as Ulli Beier, was a German editor, writer and scholar who had a pioneering role in developing literature, drama and poetry in Nigeria, as well as literature, drama and poetry in Papua New Guinea.
A Man of the People" (1966) is a novel by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe. Written as a satirical piece, "A Man of the People" follows the story told by Odili, a young and educated narrator, about his conflict with Chief Nanga, his former teacher who enters a career in politics in an unnamed fictional 20th-century African country. Odili represents the changing younger generation, while Nanga represents the traditional West African customs inspired by Achebe's native Nigeria. The book ends with a military coup, similar to the real-life coup organized by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, Major Adewale Ademoyega, Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Captain Chris Anuforo, Major Donatus Okafor, and Major Humphrey Chukwuka.
Mbella Sonne Dipoko was a novelist, poet and painter from Cameroon. He is widely considered to be one of the foremost writers of literature in English from Cameroon.
The Concubine tells the story of Ihuoma, a stuningly beautiful and kind woman who cannot seem to have a typical romantic relationship, especially marriage due to her suitors dying under different mysterious circumstances.
Ifeanyichukwu Ndubuisi Chikezie Aniebo, commonly known as I. N. C. Aniebo, is a Nigerian novelist and short story writer, who has been called "the master craftsman of the Nigerian short story".
James Currey is a former academic publisher specialising in African Studies which since 2008 has been an imprint of Boydell & Brewer. It is named after its founder who established the company in 1984. It publishes on a full spectrum of topics—including anthropology, archaeology, history, politics, economics, development studies, gender studies, literature, theatre, film studies, and the humanities and social sciences generally—and its authors include leading names such as Bethwell Ogot and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o.
Kinsman and Foreman is a 1966 social novel by Nigerian novelist T. M. Aluko. The novel is one of the novels in the Heinemann African Writers Series.Though the civil servant protagonist attempts to resist the corruption in Nigeria, he cannot and eventually is transferred to a remote position for a job. While representing the social corruption of Nigeria, the novel explores topics that build out of Aluko's experience as a civil engineer. Thematically, the novel focuses on the ethics and cultural conflicts that lead to the corruption.
Adewale Maja-Pearce is an Anglo-Nigerian writer, journalist and literary critic, who is best known for his documentary essays. He is the author of several books, including the memoirs In My Father's Country (1987) and The House My Father Built (2014), several other non-fiction titles and a collection of short stories entitled Loyalties and Other Stories (1986).
One Man, One Wife is a 1959 satire novel by Nigerian writer T. M. Aluko. It depicts the contradiction of Yoruba culture and the Christian missionaries. It was published as part of the influential African Writers Series.
Chief the Honourable Minister is a 1970 social novel by Nigerian writer T. M. Aluko. It was his third novel published in the influential African Writers Series after One Man, One Matchet.
