Ola Rotimi

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Ola Rotimi (born April 13, 1938 in Sapele , † August 18, 2000 in Ile-Ife ) was a Nigerian writer who wrote in English and was particularly known for his plays . In addition, he also wrote short stories , radio plays and literary studies. He was born Emmanuel Gladstone Olawale Rotimi; his mother belonged to the Ijaw people , his father to the Yoruba . Rotimi studied theater studies at Boston University and Yale University between 1959 and 1966 . He then returned to Nigeria, where he held professorships at the universities of Port Harcourt and Ile-Ife. During this time he also worked as a theater director and staged some plays in Germany and Italy. In 1991 he retired from academic operations in Nigeria. In the nineties he lived in the Caribbean and in the United States, where he sometimes held other teaching positions. In 2000, shortly before his death, he moved to Nigeria again.

In 1963 Rotimi's first play To Stir the God of Iron premiered in Boston. His best-known work is The Gods Are Not to Blame , which appeared in 1971 and was awarded the Arts d'Afrique Prize. It is a drama written in blank verse that is based on Sophocles ' King Oedipus . Unlike the ancient model, Rotimi does not hold the gods responsible for their suffering, but rather the people themselves. Some of his other plays are historical dramas. A recurring motif is the powerlessness of the individual who opposes society. Frequently mentioned problems are nationalism and the need for social reforms. Rotimi's roots are seen in the Yoruba culture, whereby in his work he tries to deal with the culture of the whole of Nigeria.

Works

  • To Stir the God of Iron (1963)
  • Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again (1966)
  • The Gods Are Not to Blame (1971)
  • Kurunmi: An Historical Tragedy (1971)
  • Initiation Into Madness (1973)
  • Grip Am (1973)
  • Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (1974)
  • Akassa Youmi (1977)
  • Holding Talks (1979)
  • If: A Tragedy of the Ruled (1983)
  • Everyone His / Her Own Problem (radio play, 1987)
  • Hopes of the Living-Dead (1988)
  • African Dramatic Literature: To Be or to Become? (Monograph, 1991)

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Helen Chukwuma: Entry on Ola Rotimi, in: Eugene Benson, LW Conolly (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English , Routledge: London / New York (1994), Vol. 2, pp. 1382f.
  2. ↑ Short biography in the online edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica , viewed December 4, 2009

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rotimi, Ola
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rotimi, Emmanuel Gladstone Olawale (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Sapele (Nigeria)
DATE OF DEATH August 18, 2000
Place of death Ile-Ife (Nigeria)