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第1回（1987年） Winner
Ben Okri
ベン・オクリ
Ben Okri
プロフィール
- 性別
- 男性
- 生誕
- 1959-03-15 （Minna, Nigeria）
- 国籍
- Nigerian, British
- 言語
- English
- 居住地歴
- London (early childhood) → Nigeria (Minna, Lagos, etc.) → Notting Hill (London)
経歴
- 職業
- Writer, Poet, Novelist
- 活動期間
- 1978年〜2025年
- 所属
- 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)
- 所属団体
- Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), International PEN (Vice-President / member)
- 影響を受けた人物
- Francis Bacon, Michel de Montaigne, William Blake, William Shakespeare, Arabian Nights / Aesop's Fables and oral traditions
学歴
| 学校 | 学部 | 学科 | 学位 | 期間 | 国 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Essex | — | Comparative Literature | — | 1978–1980 (在籍・学業途中) | United Kingdom |
University of Essex
Comparative Literature
期間:
1978–1980 (在籍・学業途中)
国:
United Kingdom
Studied comparative literature with a Nigerian government grant; funding later fell through and he experienced a period of homelessness.
受賞歴
| 年 | 賞名 | 対象作品 | 部門 | 主催 | 結果 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
対象作品:
The Famished Road
主催:
The Booker Prizes
結果:
受賞
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
2001
主催:
British honours system
結果:
受勲
Knight Bachelor
2023
主催:
British honours system
結果:
叙勲（ナイト）
Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region, Best Book)
1987
対象作品:
Incidents at the Shrine
主催:
Commonwealth Foundation
結果:
受賞
Aga Khan Prize for Fiction
1987
対象作品:
The Dream Vendor's August
主催:
The Aga Khan Prize
結果:
受賞
Guardian Fiction Prize (shortlisted)
1988
対象作品:
Stars of the New Curfew
主催:
The Guardian
結果:
ショートリスト
Bad Sex in Fiction Award
2014
主催:
Literary Review
結果:
受賞
Crystal Award (World Economic Forum)
1995
主催:
World Economic Forum
結果:
受賞
Honorary doctorates
1997
主催:
Various universities
結果:
授与（複数年・複数機関）
受賞・候補エディション
作品
代表作
The Famished Road
1991年 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年 NovelA fable-like novel using legend and mythic imagery to explore human spirit and history.
LegendMythHistory and memory
Flowers and Shadows
1980年 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年 EssaysCollection of essays on freedom, creativity and ethics.
FreedomCreativityEthics
全著作
- 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)
翻案
- N – The Madness of Reason (film, 2014)
- The Outsider (stage adaptation of Camus's The Stranger, 2018)
作風・主題
- 文体
- Prose guided by dream-logicNarrative incorporating oral traditions and spirit beliefPoetic essays with political and ethical concerns
- 頻出モチーフ
- Spirits and the spirit worldDreams and visionsFreedom vs. oppressionNature and the forestThe power of stories
評価・遺産
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.
関連学会
- Royal Society of Literature
- Various universities awarding honorary fellowships and doctorates
大衆文化への影響
- His lines (from Mental Fight) are quoted on public memorials in London (Memorial Gates) and his public speeches reach cultural events such as COP26.
引用
-
Beware of the stories you read or tell; subtly, at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world.
出典: Wordsmith.org / quotation collection (2017年) -
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?
出典: Interview (The National / others) (2011年)
豆知識
- 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.