Commonwealth Writers' Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1987) Winner
Ben Okri
ベン・オクリ
Ben Okri
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1959-03-15 （Minna, Nigeria）
- Nationality
- Nigerian, British
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- London (early childhood) → Nigeria (Minna, Lagos, etc.) → Notting Hill (London)
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Poet, Novelist
- Active Years
- 1978-2025
- Affiliations
- International PEN (Vice-President), Caine Prize (Vice-President), Royal National Theatre (Board member), Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (Vice-President)
- Memberships
- Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), International PEN (Vice-President / member)
- Influenced By
- Francis Bacon, Michel de Montaigne, William Blake, William Shakespeare, Arabian Nights / Aesop's Fables and oral traditions
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Essex | — | Comparative Literature | — | 1978–1980 (在籍・学業途中) | United Kingdom |
University of Essex
Comparative Literature
Period:
1978–1980 (在籍・学業途中)
Country:
United Kingdom
Studied comparative literature with a Nigerian government grant; funding later fell through and he experienced a period of homelessness.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Booker Prize | The Famished Road | — | The Booker Prizes | 受賞 |
| 2001 | Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) | — | — | British honours system | 受勲 |
| 2023 | Knight Bachelor | — | — | British honours system | 叙勲（ナイト） |
| 1987 | Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region, Best Book) | Incidents at the Shrine | — | Commonwealth Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1987 | Aga Khan Prize for Fiction | The Dream Vendor's August | — | The Aga Khan Prize | 受賞 |
| 1988 | Guardian Fiction Prize (shortlisted) | Stars of the New Curfew | — | The Guardian | ショートリスト |
| 2014 | Bad Sex in Fiction Award | — | — | Literary Review | 受賞 |
| 1995 | Crystal Award (World Economic Forum) | — | — | World Economic Forum | 受賞 |
| 1997 | Honorary doctorates | — | — | Various universities | 授与（複数年・複数機関） |
Booker Prize
1991
Work:
The Famished Road
Organization:
The Booker Prizes
Result:
受賞
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
2001
Organization:
British honours system
Result:
受勲
Knight Bachelor
2023
Organization:
British honours system
Result:
叙勲（ナイト）
Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region, Best Book)
1987
Work:
Incidents at the Shrine
Organization:
Commonwealth Foundation
Result:
受賞
Aga Khan Prize for Fiction
1987
Work:
The Dream Vendor's August
Organization:
The Aga Khan Prize
Result:
受賞
Guardian Fiction Prize (shortlisted)
1988
Work:
Stars of the New Curfew
Organization:
The Guardian
Result:
ショートリスト
Bad Sex in Fiction Award
2014
Organization:
Literary Review
Result:
受賞
Crystal Award (World Economic Forum)
1995
Organization:
World Economic Forum
Result:
受賞
Honorary doctorates
1997
Organization:
Various universities
Result:
授与（複数年・複数機関）
Awards & Nominations
Aga Khan Prize for Fiction
1 appearances
-
Edition 18 (1987) Winner
Booker Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 23 (1991) Winner
Works
Major Works
The Famished Road
1991 Novel (spiritual/visionary realism)Set in a fictional African city where spirits and the living intersect, it follows the spirit-child Azaro through social upheaval and political turmoil; the first volume of a trilogy.
SpiritsDream vs. realityPolitical and social upheavalComing of age and fate
Starbook
2007 NovelA fable-like novel using legend and mythic imagery to explore human spirit and history.
LegendMythHistory and memory
Flowers and Shadows
1980 Novel (debut)Debut novel published when he was 21; early work showing seeds of his later style.
YouthSocial critique
A Way of Being Free
1997 EssaysCollection of essays on freedom, creativity and ethics.
FreedomCreativityEthics
Bibliography
- Flowers and Shadows (1980)
- The Landscapes Within (1981)
- Incidents at the Shrine (short stories, 1986)
- Stars of the New Curfew (short stories, 1988)
- The Famished Road (1991)
- Songs of Enchantment (1993)
- Astonishing the Gods (1995)
- Dangerous Love (1996)
- Infinite Riches (1998)
- In Arcadia (2002)
- Starbook (2007)
- The Age of Magic (2014)
- The Freedom Artist (2019)
- Every Leaf a Hallelujah (2021)
- The Last Gift of the Master Artists (2022)
Adaptations
- N – The Madness of Reason (film, 2014)
- The Outsider (stage adaptation of Camus's The Stranger, 2018)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Prose guided by dream-logicNarrative incorporating oral traditions and spirit beliefPoetic essays with political and ethical concerns
- Recurring Motifs
- Spirits and the spirit worldDreams and visionsFreedom vs. oppressionNature and the forestThe power of stories
Legacy
Ben Okri is one of the leading contemporary African writers, internationally acclaimed for work that reconsiders reality through dream-like and spiritual dimensions. He won the 1991 Booker Prize and has received numerous honours while contributing to literary institutions and education.
Academic Societies
- Royal Society of Literature
- Various universities awarding honorary fellowships and doctorates
In Popular Culture
- His lines (from Mental Fight) are quoted on public memorials in London (Memorial Gates) and his public speeches reach cultural events such as COP26.
Quotes
-
Beware of the stories you read or tell; subtly, at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world.
Source: Wordsmith.org / quotation collection (2017) -
I grew up in a tradition where there are simply more dimensions to reality: legends and myths and ancestors and spirits and death ... Which brings the question: what is reality?
Source: Interview (The National / others) (2011)
Trivia
- Won the Booker Prize in 1991 for The Famished Road, becoming the youngest winner at the time (age 32).
- Appointed OBE in 2001 and knighted in 2023.
- Received the Bad Sex in Fiction Award in 2014.
- Spent a period homeless in London when scholarship funding failed early in his studies.