Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi

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Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi
Born1939 (age 8384)
OccupationUniversity teacher
NationalityNigerian
Literary movement Womanism
Notable worksAfrica Wo/man Palava: The Nigerian novel by women (1996)

Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi (born 1939) is a Nigerian academic, a literary critic and writer. She taught at Sarah Lawrence College and she is best known for her articles and books concerning the theory of Womanism and the African Diaspora. [1]

Contents

Career

Ogunyemi published Africa Wo/man Palava: The Nigerian novel by women in 1996. The book examined the work of eight Nigerian women writers, namely Zaynab Alkali, Simi Bedford, Buchi Emecheta, Funmilayo Fakunle, Flora Nwapa, Eno Obong, Ifeoma Okoye, and Adaora Lily Ulasi. Ogunyemi set out a new theory of Nigerian literature based on their works. [2] This theory was womanist and feminist, but Ogunyemi also noted that naming is a political issue and by labelling a theory she was not pigeon-holing the writers. [3] Alongside other critics such as Helen Chukwuma and Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie, Ogunyemi explored postcolonial ideas and argued against the work of "phallic critics". [4]

Ogunyemi was professor of literature and also chair of global studies at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York. [5] In collaboration with Tuzyline Jita Allan, Ogunyemi edited an anthology of essays, entitled Twelve Best Books by African Women: Critical Readings, which was published in 2009. [6]

Selected works

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References

  1. "Ogunyemi, Chikwenye Okonjo | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  2. "Africa Wo/Man Palava". University of Chicago Press. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  3. Oduyoye, Mercy (April 2001). Introducing African women's theology. Sheffield Academic Press. pp. 124–125. ISBN   9780567622501.
  4. Nnolim, Charles E. (2010). Issues in African literature. Malthouse Press. p. 237. ISBN   978-9788422365.
  5. "Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi · Ohio University Press / Swallow Press". www.ohioswallow.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  6. Mukherjee, Sreemati (1 July 2010). "Twelve Best Books by African Women: Critical Readings. Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi and Tuzyline Jita Allan". Contemporary Women's Writing. 4 (2): 156–158. doi:10.1093/cwwrit/vpq005. ISSN   1754-1484.

Further reading