Commonwealth Writers' Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (1993) Winner
Isidore Okpewho
イシドア・オクペホ
Isidore Okpewho
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1941-11-09 （Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria）
- Died
- 2016-09-04 （Binghamton, New York, United States） age 74
- Nationality
- Nigerian
- Languages
- English, Urhobo, Igbo
- Residence History
- Delta State, Nigeria → Binghamton, New York, United States
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, critic, scholar, classicist
- Active Years
- 1968-2016
- Affiliations
- University of Ibadan, Binghamton University (SUNY), International Society for the Oral Literatures of Africa (ISOLA) - served as President, Harvard University (visiting)
- Memberships
- International Society for the Oral Literatures of Africa (ISOLA)
- Influenced By
- Classical scholarship, African oral traditions
- Influenced
- Scholars and students in African literary studies, Nigerian writers and poets (e.g., Niyi Osundare)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University College, Ibadan | Classics | Classics | First-class Honours (B.A.) | — | Nigeria |
| University of Denver | Comparative Literature | Comparative Literature | PhD | — | United States |
| University of London | — | — | D.Litt. | — | United Kingdom |
University College, Ibadan
Classics
/ Classics
Degree:
First-class Honours (B.A.)
Country:
Nigeria
Graduated with first-class honours in Classics
University of Denver
Comparative Literature
/ Comparative Literature
Degree:
PhD
Year of Graduation:
1976
Country:
United States
PhD in Comparative Literature
University of London
Degree:
D.Litt.
Year of Graduation:
2000
Country:
United Kingdom
D.Litt. in the humanities
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | African Arts Prize for Literature | The Last Duty (manuscript) | — | African Arts Center (associated with UCLA) | Winner |
| 1993 | Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Africa) | Tides | Best Book (Africa) | Commonwealth Writers' Prize | Winner |
| 1998 | Dean's Award for Honors Teaching Excellence | — | — | SUNY Binghamton | Recipient |
| 2010 | Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) | — | 人文学 | Nigerian National Merit Award | Recipient |
| 2003 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | Fellow |
African Arts Prize for Literature
1972
Work:
The Last Duty (manuscript)
Organization:
African Arts Center (associated with UCLA)
Result:
Winner
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Africa)
1993
Work:
Tides
Category:
Best Book (Africa)
Organization:
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Result:
Winner
Dean's Award for Honors Teaching Excellence
1998
Organization:
SUNY Binghamton
Result:
Recipient
Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM)
2010
Category:
人文学
Organization:
Nigerian National Merit Award
Result:
Recipient
Guggenheim Fellowship
2003
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
Fellow
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Victims
1970 NovelAn early novel exploring social issues in Nigeria and the personal conflicts of its characters.
social issuesindividual vs community
The Last Duty
1976 NovelA novel that won a prize in manuscript form; deals with duty, morality, and intergenerational tensions.
dutymoralityintergenerational relations
Tides
1993 NovelPublished in 1993; won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Africa) that year.
history and memorysocial change
Call Me By My Rightful Name
2004 NovelA late novel addressing colonial legacies and questions of identity.
identitycolonial legacy
The Epic in Africa: Toward a Poetics of the Oral Performance
1979 Scholarly work / Oral literature studyA seminal study that analyses African epics and the poetics of oral performance.
oral literatureepicliterary theory
Myth in Africa: A Study of Its Aesthetic and Cultural Relevance
1983 Scholarly work / Myth studiesExamines the aesthetics and cultural relevance of myth in Africa; a foundational work in African myth studies.
mythcultural relevanceaesthetics
Bibliography
- The Victims (1970)
- The Last Duty (1976)
- The Epic in Africa (1979)
- Myth in Africa (1983)
- African Oral Literature (1992)
- Tides (1993)
- Once Upon a Kingdom (1998)
- Call Me By My Rightful Name (2004)
- Blood on the Tides (2014)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- clear, scholarly prose rooted in classical trainingnarrative structures that incorporate epic and oral elements
- Recurring Motifs
- oral traditionepic and mythidentity and history
Legacy
Okpewho made definitive contributions to the study of African oral literature and epic; he is regarded as one of Nigeria's leading literary figures. His work influenced both scholarship and creative writing across generations.
Academic Societies
- International Society for the Oral Literatures of Africa (ISOLA)
Archives
- Binghamton University -- Africana Research/Collections
In Popular Culture
- Mentioned as an iconic figure in Nigerian and international literary studies and memorials
Quotes
-
"Novelist, poet, folklorist, scholar, and university administrator, Okpewho was a Jack of many trades and master of all, who left his mind-prints on virtually every aspect of African literature and literary studies."
Source: Eulogy by Niyi Osundare (2016)
Trivia
- Elected Folklore Fellow International by the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in 1993.
- Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2003.
- Died in Binghamton, New York on 4 September 2016 and was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover, New Jersey.