Biography of Mariama Bâ

Senegalese author and feminist, Mariama Bâ, was born on the 29th of April 1929. Mariama's early life encompasses the struggle to get educated in an atmosphere where females were denied access to equal opportunities as their male counterparts. It is however ironic that young Mariama was born into a home of highly educated parents in Dakar, where she lived with her family. Her father was a civil servant who later became one of the first ministers of the State – Health Minister, in 1956. Her grandfather at that period interpreted for the French Occupation Regime.

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Biography of Ayi Kwei Armah

Ayi Kwei Armah, one of Africa’s literary icons, a Ghanaian, was born on 28 October 1939. He was born in the seaport of West Ghana, Sekondi Takoradi, to Fante-speaking royal parents from the Ga nation. You know what, Ayi is much more than a writer. Though he majored as a novelist, he also has written essays, poems, and short stories.

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Biography of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a renowned writer from Kenya, whose literary pen speaks eloquently in both English and Gikuyu, was born on 5th of January 1938. Originally named James Thiong’o Ngugi, the prolific writer has penned down many plays, novels, short stories and essays - not only in the familiar English but also in Gikuyu his mother tongue.

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BIOGRAPHY – Chinua Achebe

Born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe on 16th November 1930 in Ogidi town (now Anambra), east of Nigeria to the family of Isaiah Okafor and Janet Ilogbunam, Chinua Achebe, as he is often called, is a renowned Nigerian novelist. He is also an educationist, author, and poet.

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Top 14 Facts About Wole Soyinka You Probably Didn't Know

The name, Wole Soyinka, is no doubt, phenomenal. It embodies many great things – activism, social crusade, satire, theatre, dramatization, literature, and the list is endless. In short, Wole Soyinka is a name associated with an undying love for one’s country. And of course, the man behind the name is a fierce, adamant social reformer whose literary prowess has been dedicated to the cause of social justice and cultural originality for years. He’s one of Nigeria’s finest writers, and sort of a jack of all – but of course Soyinka is a master of his trade. The iconic Literary Kongi transcends the written words; hear him speak and you’ll be amazed at how richly endowed a man could be – his speeches (one of which I was privileged to listen to live at the main auditorium at the University of Lagos) are electrifying. He is such a gem.

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A Short Biography of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Born in Nsukka, Nigeria in 1977, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is among the first generation Nigerian female writers. Her debut novel titled Purple Hibiscus (2004) is a classic about which several criticisms have been written, both locally and internationally. Regarded as one of the best debut novels so far by a Nigerian writer after Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the novel has been translated into several world languages including Hebrew, Dutch and Finish. (Anyokwu, 251.) Apart from Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda has also published other works of fiction, namely, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) and The Thing Around Your Neck (2009). She has won several literary awards including the 2004 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, the 2005 Commonwealth Writers’ Best First Book Prize and the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction. Also, Adichie’s literary talent has equally been deposited in other literary outlets such as The Iowa Review and Granta. Again in 2013, Adichie came out with her blockbuster novel titled Americanah. 

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Buchi Emecheta: A Short Biography

Buchi Emecheta was born in Lagos in 1944. Although young Buchi was a brilliant child while in school, she did not have a smooth life as a child. Her brilliance and intelligence won her scholarship to the then prestigious Methodist Girl’s High School at the age of ten; but after the death of her father things began to fall apart for Buchi and the family. So when she was 17 Buchi was forced, due to circumstances beyond her control, to marry and had a child. Her marriage was not a happy one: there was always a misunderstanding between Buchi and her husband.

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