Elechi Amadi

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Elechi Amadi (born May 12, 1934 in Aluu, Nigeria , † June 29, 2016 in Port Harcourt ) was a Nigerian writer . His novels and dramas revolve around customs, beliefs, religious practices and village life in Nigeria before people had contact with the western world. Amadi's best known work is his first novel, The Concubine .

biography

Amadi was born in 1934 in Aluu in the delta region of eastern Nigeria. His family belongs to the Ikwere people . He studied at the State College in Umuahia (1946-1952), at the Survey School in Oyo (1953-1954) and at the University of Ibadan (1955-1959). He received his degrees in physics and mathematics. He worked for a while as a surveyor and later as a teacher in various schools, including the Nigerian Military School in Zaria (1963–1966). Amadi completed his military service in the Nigerian army and fought for Nigeria in the Nigeria-Biafra War as a captain. After the war, Amadi left the army and worked for the River State Government as Secretary of State (1973-1983), Education Commissioner (1987-1988) and Commissioner for Land and Housing (1989-1990).

He was Writer in Residence and Lecturer at Rivers State College of Education, where he also held the positions of Dean of the Arts Faculty, Head of Literature, and Director of General Studies . On May 13, 1989, a symposium was held at the University of Port Harcourt on the occasion of Amadi's 55th birthday. In May 2004, the Association of Nigerian Authors organized a conference in Rivers State Branch in honor of his 70th birthday.

On January 5, 2009, Amadi was abducted by strangers from his home in Aluu, Port Harcourt. He was released 23 hours later on the evening of January 6th.

Amadi was married twice, he had eight daughters and four sons.

Awards

  • 1992 - Rivers State Silver Jubilee Merit Award
  • 2003 - Honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in Education from Rivers State University of Science and Technology
  • 2003 - Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Education
  • 2003 - Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR)

Work and reviews

His first publication was the poem Penitence in 1957 in the Campus Magazin of the University of Ibadan . Amadi's first novel, The Concubine, was published in London in 1966 and was hailed as one of the "most perfect first publications". Alastair Niven wrote about the novel: "Although firmly anchored in the fishing villages of the Niger Delta , The Concubine still has the timelessness and universality of great novels." The Concubine was made into a film and had its premiere in Abuja in March 2007 . Amadi's second novel, The Great Ponds, was published in 1969. The action takes place in pre-colonial East Nigeria and revolves around the dispute between two village communities over the belonging of a pond. In 1973, Amadi's autobiography , Sunset in Biafra, was published. It is based on his personal experiences from the Nigeria-Biafra war.

bibliography

  • The Concubine (novel) - 1966 (London: Heinemann African Writers Series); Ibadan: Heinemann Books 1993
  • The Great Ponds (novel) - 1969, Heinemann
  • Sunset in Biafra (Diary) - 1973
  • Isiburu (drama) - 1973, Heinemann
  • Peppersoup and The Road (drama) 1977; Ibadan: Onibonoje Publishers
  • Dancer of Johannesburg (Drama) - 1978, Ibadan: Onibonoje Publishers
  • The Slave (novel) - 1978, Heinemann
  • Ethics in Nigerian Literature (Essay) - 1982
  • Estrangement (novel) - 1986, Heinemann

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Elechi Amadi ( Memento from January 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Simon Gikandi: Encyclopedia of African Literature . Taylor & Francis, 2003, ISBN 978-1-134-58223-5 , pp. 26 (English, full text in the Google book search).
  3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.elechiamadi.org
  4. ↑ Preface to Seiyifa Koroye, Critical Perspectives on Elechi Amadi ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Port Harcourt: Pearl @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.elechiamadi.org
  5. ↑ "Gunmen kidnap Nigerian novelist," BBC News, January 6, 2009.
  6. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.elechiamadi.org
  7. ↑ A Celebration of JP Clarke's 50 Years of Artistry, A Presentation by Elechi Amadi ( Memento of the original from February 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - August 13, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.elechiamadi.org
  8. ↑ Eustace Palmer, "Elechi Amadi and Flora Nwapa" African Literature Today, no. 1, 1969, p.56.
  9. ^ Alastair Niven, A Critical View on Elechi Amadi's "The Concubine" (London, 1981), p. 7.
  10. ^ Niven, A Critical View on Elechi Amadi's "The Concubine", (1981), p. 5.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Amadi, Elechi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Aluu, Nigeria
DATE OF DEATH June 29, 2016
Place of death Port Harcourt