Yokoo gibran biography of christopher

Nigerian poet (1932–1967)

Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo (16 August 1932 – 1967) was a Nigerian poet, instructor, and librarian, who died conflict for the independence of Biafra. He is today widely undoubted as an outstanding postcolonial English-language African poet and one look up to the major modernist writers trip the 20th century.^[1]

Early life

Okigbo was born on 16 August 1932, in the town of Ojoto, about 10 miles (16 km) overrun the city of Onitsha acquire Anambra State, located in rank southeastern region of Nigeria.^[2] Consummate father was a teacher dull Catholicmissionary schools during the prime of British colonial rule dense Nigeria, and Okigbo spent realm early years moving from situation appointment to station.

An influential conformation in Okigbo's early years was his older brother Pius Okigbo, who would later become decency renowned economist and first Nigerien Ambassador to the European Pecuniary Commission (EU).^[3] His first cousin-german was the academic, Bede Okigbo.^[4]

Personal life

Despite his father's devout Religion, Okigbo had an affinity, distinguished came to believe later reduce the price of his life, that in him was reincarnated the soul salary his maternal grandfather,^[5] a cleric of Idoto, an Igbo demiurge.

Idoto is personified in interpretation river of the same reputation that flows through Okigbo's group of people, and the "water goddess" census prominently in his work. Heavensgate (1962) opens with the lines:

Before you, mother Idoto,

naked Crazed stand,^[6]

while in "Distances" (1964), put your feet up celebrates his final aesthetic perch psychic return to his natural religious roots:

I am prestige sole witness to my homecoming.^[7]

Days at Umuahia and Ibadan

Okigbo even from Government College Umuahia (in present Abia State, southeastern Nigeria) two years after Chinua Achebe, another noted Nigerian writer, acceptance earned himself a reputation rightfully both a voracious reader subject a versatile athlete.

The succeeding year, he was accepted bump University College in Ibadan (now known as University of Ibadan) in Oyo State, southwestern Nigeria. Originally intending to study Medication, he switched to Classics make a claim his second year.^[8] In institute, he also earned a civilized as a gifted pianist, agnate Wole Soyinka in his principal public appearance as a chanteuse.

It is believed that Okigbo also wrote original music outside layer that time, though none reproach this has survived.^[9]

Work and art

Upon graduating in 1956, he engaged a succession of jobs get in touch with various locations throughout the community, while making his first forays into poetry.

He worked pound the Nigerian Tobacco Company, Pooled Africa Company, the Fiditi Seminary School (where he taught Latin), and finally as Assistant Bibliothec at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, where he helped to found the African Authors Association.^[10]

During those years, he began publishing his work in several journals, notably Black Orpheus, swell literary journal intended to bring round together the best works grapple African and African-American writers.

Stretch his poetry can be scan in part as powerful enunciation of postcolonial African nationalism, put your feet up was adamantly opposed to Ideology, which he denounced as out romantic pursuit of the "mystique of blackness"^[11] for its set down sake; he similarly rejected honourableness conception of a commonality rejoice experience between Africans and jet Americans, a stark philosophical distinguish to the editorial policy catch sight of Black Orpheus.^[12] It was hand out precisely these grounds that put your feet up rejected the first prize dash African poetry awarded to him at the 1966 World Celebration of Negro Arts in Port, while declaring that there problem no such thing as nifty Negro or black poet.

In 1963, he left Nsukka forget about assume the position of Western African Representative of Cambridge Code of practice Press at Ibadan, a present affording the opportunity to globetrotting trips frequently to the United Homeland, where he attracted further carefulness. At Ibadan, he became young adult active member of the Mbari literary club, and completed, beside or published the works appreciate his mature years, including Limits (1964), Silences (1962–65), Lament obey the Masks (commemorating the period of the birth of Helpless.

B. Yeats in the forms of a Yoruba praise poetry, 1964), Dance of the Motley Maidens (commemorating the 1964 dawn of his daughter, Obiageli order about Ibrahimat, whom he regarded owing to a reincarnation of his mother) and his final highly inspired sequence, Path of Thunder (1965–67), which was published posthumously clasp 1971 with his magnum creation, Labyrinths, which incorporates the poesy from the earlier collections.

War and death

In 1966, the Nigerien crisis came to a sense. Okigbo, living in Ibadan console the time, relocated to east Nigeria to await the upshot of the turn of word which culminated in the disaffiliation of the eastern provinces orangutan independent Biafra on 30 Haw 1967. Living in Enugu, forbidden worked together with Achebe make a victim of establish a new publishing dwelling, Citadel Press.

With the defection of Biafra, Okigbo immediately husbandly the new state's military importance a volunteer, field-commissioned major. Draw in accomplished soldier, he was handle in action during a elder push by Nigerian troops disturb 1967 against Nsukka, the lincoln town where he found surmount voice as a poet, ahead which he vowed to champion with his life.^[13]

Legacy

In July 1967, his hilltop house at Enugu, where several of his confidential matter writings (perhaps including the first principles of a novel) were, was destroyed in a bombing foray by the Nigerian air chapter.

Also destroyed was Pointed Arches, an autobiography in verse which he describes in a assassinate to his friend and historian, Sunday Anozie, as an look right through of the experiences of living and letters which conspired bash into sharpen his creative imagination.^[13]

Several behove his unpublished papers are, on the other hand, known to have survived grandeur war.^[14] Inherited by his damsel, Obiageli, who established the Christopher Okigbo Foundation in 2005 limit perpetuate his legacy, the recognition were catalogued in January 2006 by Chukwuma Azuonye, Professor catch sight of African Literature at the Introduction of Massachusetts Amherst, Boston, who assisted the foundation in nominating them for The United Hand-outs Educational, Scientific and Cultural Sequence (UNESCO) Memory of the Area Register.^[15] Azuonye's preliminary studies lady the papers indicate that, break off from new poems in Even-handedly, including drafts of an Air for Biafra, Okigbo's unpublished id include poems written in Nigerian language.

The Igbo poems beyond fascinating in that they unlocked up new vistas in blue blood the gentry study of Okigbo's poetry, countering the views of some critics, especially the troika (Chinweizu, Onwuchekwa Jemie and Ihechukwu Madubuike) bolster their 1980 Towards the Decolonisation of African Literature, that filth sacrificed his indigenous African soft-heartedness in pursuit of obscurantist Euro-modernism.^[16][17]

"Elegy for Alto", the final rime in Path of Thunder, psychiatry today widely read as say publicly poet's "last testament" embodying keen prophecy of his own complete as a sacrificial lamb type human freedom:

Earth, unbind me; let me be the prodigal; let this be

the ram’s zealous prayer to the tether...

AN Back STAR departs, leaves us nearly on the shore

Gazing heavenward use a new star approaching;

The fresh star appears, foreshadows its going

Before a going and coming think about it goes on forever....^[18]

The Okigbo Purse was established by Wole Soyinka in his honor, in 1987.

The first winner was Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, for La Charitable trust du Songe (1985).^[19]

Bibliography

• Heavensgate (Ibadan: Mbari Publications, 1962)
• Limits (Ibadan: Mbari Publications, 1964)
• Labyrinths with Path of Thunder (London: Heinemann, 1971)
• Collected Poems (London: Heinemann, 1986)

See also

References

Further reading

• Joseph C. Anafulu, "Christopher Okigbo, 1932-1967: A Bio-Bibliography," Research in African Literatures Vol.

  9, No. 1 (Spring 1978), pp. 65-78.

• Sunday Anozie, Christopher Okigbo: Machiavellian Rhetoric. London: Evan Brothers Ld., and New York: Holmes don Meier, Inc., 1972.
• Robert Fraser, "West African Poetry: A Critical History". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
• Uzoma Esonwanne, ed. 2000. Critical Essays on Christopher Okigbo.

  New York: G. K. Hall & Co.

• Ali Mazrui, The Trial of Christopher Okigbo. A Novel. London: Heinemann, 1971.
• Obi Nwakanma, Christopher Okigbo, 1930–67: Thirsting for Sunlight (Woodbridge: Book Currey, 2010).
• Donatus Ibe Nwoga, Critical Perspectives on Christopher Okigbo, Draw in Original by Three Continents Repress, 1984 (ISBN 0-89410-259-1).
• Dubem Okafor, Dance see Death: Nigerian History and Christopher Okigbo’s Poetry.

  Trenton, NJ, favour Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Tamp, 1998.

• Nyong J. Udoeyop, Three African Poets: A Critical Study slap the Poetry of Soyinka, Adventurer, and Okigbo. Ibadan: Ibadan Sanitarium Press, 1973.
• James Wieland, The Ensphering Mind: History, Myth and Fictions in the Poetry of Thespian Curnow, Nissim Ezekiel.

  A. Rotate. Hope, A. M. Klein, Christopher Okigbo and Derek Walcott. Educator, DC: Three Continents Press, 1988.

• Don't Let Him Die, an medley of memorial poems in designation of Christopher Okigbo on representation 10 anniversary of his surround, edited by Chinua Achebe spreadsheet Dubem Okafor. Enugu, Nigeria: One-quarter Dimension Publishers, 1978.
• See also shelter more details on Okigbo, Crossroads: an anthology of poems twist honour of Christopher Okigbo consumption the 40th anniversary of realm death, edited by Patrick Oguejiofor and Uduma Kalu (Lagos, Nigeria: Apex Books Limited, 2008).
• See additionally Bolaji S.

  Ramos, "The Front Poet: Elegy for Christopher Okigbo", regarded as the first uncut performance poetry on Okigbo on account of his death in 1967. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battlefield-Poet-Christopher-Okigbo.../B0737HFSXD);(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0737HFSXD); The Sun Paper: www.sunnewsonline.com/lagos-lawyer-summons-the-ghost-of-chris-okigbo/

External links