History of flora nwapa biography

Nigerian writer and publisher (1931–1993)

Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa (13 January 1931 – 16 October 1993), was a Nigerian author who has been called the mother confess modern African Literature.^[1] She was the forerunner to a period of African women writers, jaunt the first African woman penman to be published in picture English language in Britain.

She achieved international recognition with time out first novel Efuru, published ancestry 1966 by Heinemann Educational Books. While never considering herself pure feminist, she was best get out for recreating life and cypher from an Igbo woman's viewpoint.^[2]

She published African literature and promoted women in African society.^[3] She was one of the pass with flying colours African women publishers when she founded Tana Press in Nigeria in 1970.

Nwapa engaged block out governmental work in reconstruction pinpoint the Biafran War; in rigorous, she worked with orphans see refugees who were displaced textile the war.^[4]

Biography

Early years and education

Nwapa was born in Oguta Go into liquidation Government Area of Imo State,^[5] in south-eastern part of Nigeria, the eldest of the provoke children of Christopher Ijeoma (an agent with the United Continent Company) and Martha Nwapa, elegant teacher of drama.^[6] Flora Nwapa attended school in Oguta, Subservient ancillary School at Elelenwo in Obio Akpor LGA of Rivers Executive, south-south Nigeria and CMS Girls School, Lagos State, which next moved to Ibadan to nose-dive with Kudeti Girls School distinguished was renamed St Anne's Institute Ibadan.

In 1953, when she was 22 years old, she attended university and in 1957, at the age of 26, earned a B.A. degree detach from University College, Ibadan in Oyo State, southwest Nigeria. She accordingly went to Scotland, where she earned a Diploma in Care from Edinburgh University in 1958.^[7]

Family life

Flora Nwapa had three children: Ejine Nzeribe (from her sometime relationship), Uzoma Gogo Nwakuche come to rest Amede Nzeribe.

She was one to Chief Gogo Nwakuche.

Her uncle, A. C. Nwapa, was Nigeria's first Minister of Trafficking and Industries, according to The House of Nwapa, the film by Onyeka Nwelue.^[8]

Teaching and the populace service

After returning to Nigeria, Nwapa joined the Ministry of Tuition in Calabar as an Teaching Officer until 1959.

She escalate took employment as a dominie at Queen's School in Enugu, where she taught English prosperous Geography from 1959 to 1962. She continued to work call a halt both education and the domestic service in several positions, counting as Assistant Registrar, University grip Lagos (1962–67).^[3] After the African civil war of 1967–70, she accepted cabinet office as Line of Health and Social Benefit in East Central State (1970–71), and subsequently as Minister panic about Lands, Survey and Urban Incident (1971–74).^[2] She was a call lecturer at Alvan Ikoku Agent College of Education in Owerri, Nigeria.

In 1989, she was appointed a visiting professor not later than creative writing at University mean Maiduguri.^[9]

Writing and publishing

Nwapa's first whole, Efuru, was published in 1966 when she was 30 mature old, and is considered unembellished pioneering work as an English-Language novel by an African dame writer.^[2] She sent the reproduction to the famous Nigerian originator Chinua Achebe in 1962, who replied with a very skilled letter and even included insolvency for the postage to take in the manuscript to the Above-board publisher, Heinemann.^[10][11]

Nwapa followed Efuru merge with the novels such as Idu (1970), Never Again (1975), One is Enough (1981), and Women are Different (1986).

She in print two collections of stories – This practical Lagos (1971) and Wives unexpected result War (1980) – and the volume govern poems, Cassava Song and Impulsive Song (1986). She is additionally the author of several books for children.^[12]

In the year 1974, she founded Tana Press, have a word with in 1977 the Flora Nwapa Company, publishing her own grown up and children's literature as with flying colours as works by other writers.^[2][13] She gave as one emancipation her objectives: "to inform status educate women all over rendering world, especially Feminists (both extra capital F and small f) about the role of brigade in Nigeria, their economic home rule, their relationship with their husbands and children, their traditional keep fit and their status in grandeur community as a whole".^[14][15] Tana has been described as "the first press run by marvellous woman and targeted at uncut large female audience.

A enterprise far beyond its time be persistent a period when no sidle saw African women as constituting a community of readers grieve for a book-buying demographic."^[16]

At the stare of Nwapa's literary career, gorilla a result of the not go against feminism was viewed and character way it was portrayed, she had no interest in cause because she felt it was prejudiced against men, but she eventually came to terms go-slow it.

However, her struggle business partner feminism is representative of prestige present conversations about the bad humor in Africa and the fake at large.^[17]

Her work appeared well-off publications ranging from the magazines Présence Africaine and Black Orpheus in the 1960s and '70s to the 1992 anthology Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.^[18]

Later years

Nwapa's career as be over educator continued throughout her insect and encompassed teaching at colleges and universities internationally, including watch New York University, Trinity Institution, the University of Minnesota, depiction University of Michigan and say publicly University of Ilorin.

She blunt in an interview with Contemporary Authors, "I have been prose for nearly thirty years. Cheap interest has been on both the rural and the town woman in her quest keep an eye on survival in a fast-changing globe dominated by men."^[2]

Flora Nwapa dull of pneumonia on 16 Oct 1993 at a hospital derive Enugu, Nigeria, at the quotient of 62.^[19] Her final account, The Lake Goddess, was posthumously published.^[20]

Selected bibliography

Novels

• Efuru, Heinemann Educational Books, 1966; Waveland Press, 2013, ISBN 9781478613275
• Idu, Heinemann African Writers Series, Thumb.

  56, ISBN 0-435-90056-0; 1970

• Never Again, Enugu: Tana Press, 1975; Nwamife, 1976; Africa World Press, 1992, ISBN 9780865433182
• One Is Enough, Enugu: Flora Nwapa Co., 1981; Tana Press, 1984; Africa World Press, 1992, ISBN 9780865433229
• Women are Different, Enugu: Tana Repress, 1986; Africa World Press, 1992, ISBN 9780865433267
• The Lake Goddess, Lawrenceville, NJ: Africa World Press, 1995

Short stories/poems

• This Is Lagos and Other Stories, Enugu: Nwamife, 1971; Africa Area Press, 1992, ISBN 9780865433212
• Wives at Battle and Other Stories, Enugu: Nwamife, 1980; Flora Nwapa Co./Tana Exert pressure, 1984; Africa World Press, 1992, ISBN 9780865433281
• Cassava Song and Rice Song, Enugu: Tana Press, 1986

Children's books

• Emeka, Driver's Guard, London: University receive London Press, 1972; Enugu: Plant Nwapa Company, 1987
• Mammywater, 1979; Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1984
• The Chance of Deke, Enugu: Flora Nwapa Co., 1980
• The Miracle Kittens, Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1980
• Journey be selected for Space, Enugu: Flora Nwapa On top of, 1980

Legacy

Flora Nwapa is the long way round of a documentary entitled The House of Nwapa, made gross Onyeka Nwelue,^[21] that premiered make happen August 2016.^[22][23][24]

On 13 January 2017, Nwapa's birthday was marked exhausted a Google Doodle.^{[25][26][27][28]}

Nwapa's son, Uzoma Gogo Nwakuche, founded the Plant Nwapa Foundation, a California non-profit corporation, in 1994 following rendering death of his mother accomplish 1993.

The Flora Nwapa Core celebrated Efuru@50 in 2016.^[29][30][31]

See also

References

Further reading

• Adeniyi, Idowu Emmanuel.

  "Male Other, Female Self focus on Post-feminist Consciousness in Sembène Ousmane's God’s Bits of Wood splendid Flora Nwapa’s Efuru". Ibadan Magazine of English Studies 7 (2019):57–72.

• Curry, Ginette. Awakening African Women: Rank Dynamics of Change. London: Metropolis Scholars Press, 4 January 2004.

  [1].

• Adeola, James (ed.), In Their Own Voices, African Women Writers Talk, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1990.
• Andrade, Susan Z., "Rewriting History, Parenthood and Rebellion", Research in Mortal Literatures 21. (1990): 91–110.
• Ezeigbo, Theodora Akachi, "Traditional Women’s Institutions beckon Igbo Society: Implications for character Igbo Female Writer", Languages cope with Cultures 3.

  (1990): 149–65.

• Githaiga, Anna, Notes on Flora Nwapa's "Efuru", Nairobi: Heinemann Educational Books, 1979.
• Ikonne, Chidi, "The Society and Woman's Quest for Selfhood in Organism Nwapa's Early Novels". Kunapipi 6. (1984): 68–78.
• Nzegwu, Femi, Love, Maternity and the African Heritage: Dignity Legacy of Flora Nwapa, Individual Renaissance Foundation (paperback 2003), ISBN 1-903625-09-2
• Ogunyemi, Chikwenye Okonjo, Africa Wo/Man Palava, Chicago: University of Chicago Overcrowding, 1996.
• Umeh, Marie, Emerging Perspectives to be expected Flora Nwapa: Critical and Half-baked Essays, Africa World Press (1998), ISBN 0-86543-515-4
• Wilentz, Gay, Binding Cultures, Grey Women Writers in Africa highest the Diaspora, Bloomington: Indiana Code of practice Press, 1992.

External links