Of Minstrelsy and Masks: The Legacy of Ezenwa-Ohaeto in Nigerian Writing (Matatu 33) - Hardcover

Christine Matzke (Ed.); Aderemi Raji-Oyelade (Ed.); Geoffrey V. Davis (Ed.)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9042021683 ISBN 13: 9789042021686

Publisher: Editions Rodopi BV, 2007

Synopsis

This collection is dedicated to a distinguished scholar and writer who for a quarter of a century wrote consistently on African literature and the arts and was a major voice in Nigerian literary circles. Ezenwa-Ohaeto made a mark in contemporary Nigerian poetry by committing pidgin to written form and, by so doing, introducing different creative patterns. He also saw himself as a 'minstrel', as someone who wanted to read, express and enact his work before an audience. First and foremost, however, Ezenwa-Ohaeto was someone who 'un-masked' ideas and meanings hidden in the folds of literary works and made them available to an international academic public. With his outstanding work on Chinua Achebe, he influenced the reception of African literary biography. His networks and connections were extensive and wide-ranging, and they are partly reflected in the essays, creative writing and personal notes assembled in this volume. In their various modes and expressions, the contributions included here constitute a tribute to Ezenwa Ohaeto's many talents and achievements. As an extension of Ezenwa Ohaeto's legacy, they expand on various aspects of minstrelsy and the un/masking of texts in a Nigerian and broader African context. The book is divided into six sections. "In Memoriam" contains personal tributes by long-standing colleagues, mentors and friends. "Poetry and Fiction" collects the voices of three generations of Nigerian writing from the 1960s to the present day, followed by poetic and pictorial insights into the domestic and social life of the scholar and family man. Section Four comprises two interviews, while Sections Five and Six are devoted to critical evaluations of Ezenwa Ohaeto's work and to contemporary perspectives on Nigerian literature respectively. TABLE OF CONTENTS: EZENWA OHAETO: Raising a Chant SECTION 1: IN MEMORIAM Bernth LINDFORS: Ezenwa Ohaeto (1958-2005): Obituary Eckhard BREITINGER: In Memoriam Ezenwa Ohaeto Ernest N. EMENYONU: Gone Too Soon! Tho

About this title

About the Author:

Contributors: Toyin Adewale–Gabriel, Akachi Adimora–Ezeigbo, Susan Arndt, Eckhard Breitinger, Isidore Diala, Sule E. Egya, Ernest N. Emenyonu, Chinua Ezenwa–Ohaeto, Ngozi Ezenwa–Ohaeto, Chukwuemeka Ike, Lyn Innes, Esiaba Irobi, Okinba Launko (Femi Osofisan), Bernth Lindfors, Kahiudi Claver Mabana, Patrice Nganang, J.O.J. Nwachukwu–Agbada, Obi Nwakanma, Odia Ofeimun, Obododimma Oha, Tanure Ojaide, Gabriel Okara, Tejumola Olaniyan, Paul O. Onovoh, Ogochukwu Promise, Aderemi Raji–Oyelade, Frank Schulze–Engler, Chika Unigwe, Chantal Zabus

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Armenian

About this edition

• Publisher: Editions Rodopi BV
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 9042021683
• ISBN 13: 9789042021686
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 382