X-factoria:
I hope those folks from the South-Eastern part of the country, who are constantly and desperately in search of a hero, would understand this and save us all the embarrassment and the noise they make.

First, they tried to make a cowardly Ojukwu a hero, then Chinua Achebe. Maybe their heroes are still in the womb and for God's sake, no one would scold them if they don't have one.

The Southeasterns have one thousand and one heroes than the cowards and opportunists in the Southwest. Get it into your skull. Even after the civil war we are still far better.

Well...enough of this tribal madness going on here. I think the question a lot of us here should be asking ourselves is how can we become greater than the two subjects currently being discussed put together. Well for me i will be greater than the two(2) of them put together not just because i'm Nigerian but because i'm African and a proud one at that.

Chimamanda just confirmed how political Noble prize is..she just busted 'em


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Na23h9-AE&feature=endscreen&NR=1

emeseilari:

Okay lets say a Chinese or an Indian author's literary work sold 20 million copies in Asia, does that make them fathers of literature. This is part what Prof meant when he warned against trivialising literature.

If that is the case then why are you guys trying to trivialize the nobel prize for literature then.

Am just confused here. Omo see vocabularies in peoples write-up. E con b like say av neva step into school before. Pls can u make ur words simple 2 our undastandin? The grammar self make me feel strong headach

Am just confused here. Omo see vocabularies in peoples write-up. E con b like say av neva step into school before. Pls can u make ur words simple 2 our undastandin? The grammar self make me feel strong headach.

one.east:
Chimamanda just confirmed how political Noble prize is..she just busted 'em


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Na23h9-AE&feature=endscreen&NR=1

That over-hyped girl just referred to the Nobel Prize as being political. I'm sure her view would have been different if her Mentor, Achebe had won it!

With her Nobel-degrading utterances, I think she should forget ever winning the award!

Chinua Achebe never considered himself the "Father of African Literature." His many admirers gave him that title.

I wish Wole Soyinka would have said this while Chinua Achebe was alive. Even though Mr. Soyinka made some valid points in his interview, I do detect a hint of jealousy.

TheBookWorm: Chinua Achebe never considered himself the "Father of African Literature." His many admirers gave him that title.

I wish Wole Soyinka would have said this while Chinua Achebe was alive. Even though Mr. Soyinka made some valid points in his interview, I do detect a hint of jealousy.

Nah, the jealous one was the one that said this:

"He did make one rather unfortunate statement that brought down the hornet’s nest on his head, something like: “The fact that Wole Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize does not make him the Asiwaju (Leader) of African literature”.

Anyway, can I get a list of more Nigerian writers?

I just discovered; Helen Oyeyim, Taiye Selasi, and Chibundu Onuzo.

More please!

phantom: ....funny enough i just googled 'father of african literature' and i laughed my butt off at the results from page 1 inwards.there was just one dissenting voice......guess who?? .
i respect WS but truth is hes just like the rest of his kinsmen.....just a lot better at hiding his!

The number of hits may be in their tens of thousands
It will take WS another one thousand lifetimes to change it
As my husband will always say akata no get small one

Ola Johnson: Chinua Achebe rejected the title but some Igbo are here forcing it on him even after his death. This is what is happening in Igboland where when a person walks, a group of old men with red caps give him the title of Onye Na Gaga 1, a buys a car first he gets the title of Onye Puzo Zu Motor 1, etc. Hope the family of Chinua Achebe won't be sent to the EVIL FOREST for rejecting the title.

Rejected the title?
Bwahahahahahahahahahaha
If I called Seun Osewa the father of Nigerian blogging,he will most likely laugh it off and say that he was just trying to make a difference in his little corner and doesn't deserve a title
It is called being gracious

It is very hard to compare Chinua Achebe with Wole Soyinka.

If one is to read a novel by Chinua Achebe, you notice that you become engrossed into the book. It shows that he is a master storyteller.

And let me be honest, it took me a while to appreciate Wole Soyinka's literary masterpieces. When I read his work in high school, his work was like reading an African Shakespeare. It took me going to college and reading his work again to appreciate his style. His work is also good for plays just like Shakespeare.

So I think it is safe to say that Chinua Achebe is the Father of Africa's Modern Literature, but Wole Soyinka is like Africa's Shakespeare. But this is just my humble opinion.

I think the most tragic story concerning one of Africa's literary masters is the story of Christopher Okigbo.

This man had such a bright future and could of been compared to greats like Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allen Poe.

Unfortunately war ended his short life. Now that is truly the tragic story. I hope one day, someone may find a lost treasure trove of his poetry. That would be a benefit for all of mankind.

Following

Look what I found when I typed in "Father of African Literature."

'Father of modern African literature' Achebe, 82, dies after short illness

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/father-of-modern-african-literature-achebe-82-dies-after-short-illness-8545670.html

The father of Africa’s literary legacy

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-father-of-africas-literary-legacy/article4538831.ece

Chinua Achebe, 'the father of modern African literature', talks to Ed Pilkington about inventing a new language, his years in exile from his beloved Nigeria - and why he changed his name from Albert

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/jul/10/chinuaachebe

Father of African literature, Chinua Achebe dies at age 82 - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/obituaries/ci_22852931/father-african-literature#ixzz2TlRfI9FU

shymexx: Anyway, can I get a list of more Nigerian writers?

I just discovered; Helen Oyeyim, Taiye Selasi, and Chibundu Onuzo.

More please!

Check out Elechi Amadi, Ola Rotimi, Isidore Okpewho, Buchi Emecheta, Cyprian Ekwensi, Festus Iyayi, Kole Omotosho, Niyi Osundare, Ken Saro-Wiwa and Amos Tutuola. I read books written by all these authors during my youth

babyosisi:

Rejected the title?
Bwahahahahahahahahahaha
If I called Seun Osewa the father of Nigerian blogging,he will most likely laugh it off and say that he was just trying to make a difference in his little corner and doesn't deserve a title
It is called being gracious

Babyosisi, I salute!!!
U don deal with these half-baked "intellectuals" wey full this place. One by one they scampered away
I salute, madam. Na you be the real Iroko...

Where the heck was I all the while..... thread gone cold

Let the dead rest with their titles and honors please. This particular late son of ours deserve every respect he gets. Finito!

TheBookWorm: It is very hard to compare Chinua Achebe with Wole Soyinka.

If one is to read a novel by Chinua Achebe, you notice that you become engrossed into the book. It shows that he is a master storyteller.

And let me be honest, it took me a while to appreciate Wole Soyinka's literary masterpieces. When I read his work in high school, his work was like reading an African Shakespeare. It took me going to college and reading his work again to appreciate his style. His work is also good for plays just like Shakespeare.

So I think it is safe to say that Chinua Achebe is the Father of Africa's Modern Literature, but Wole Soyinka is like Africa's Shakespeare. But this is just my humble opinion.

Thank you!


Wole Soyinka is a very very deeply intelligent and engaging man,no one can even dare say otherwise
His place in African literature cannot be denied
I am glad when questions about Wole or Achebe feature on the American game show "Jeopardy",I smile like I know them both personally and glad that they are my countrymen

For those who have never heard him speak,rather than stay on nairaland and argue because he is a Yoruba man,seek out his clips and listen to the man deliver a lecture
It is like being in a romantic atmosphere
That Chinua was named the father of Africal literature did not need a response from Wole
All he needed to have done was acknowledge Chinua's greatness which does not diminish his
The way he answered that question was totally unnecessary

Now back to Wole
If you must listen to one speech,he made,the nobel lecture of 1986 is it
Every Nigerian ought to listen to this



http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=1499


Let me use his opportunity to educate those who may not have even lifted up a prose by him but just yak yak because he is Yoruba

aribisala0: So many people have responded without understanding what they have read,what literature is or what Wole is saying
First of all what is literature?
Traditionally ,for Europeans,it would refer to the "written" word/language

NOT necessarily written for Africans
http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/siryan/academy/foundation/what_is_literature.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_literature


I realise there are several sensible definitions but a working definition for me would have to go beyond "writing" and focus on "RECORDED" which may involve human memory, or other technology than writing otherwise we would be saying literature is closed to blind people or that audio forms are NOT literature and if we admit audio forms do we admit performances that are typical of Africans and their use of language involving no writing?
These issues have been debated elsewhere and responding without undersanding these issues is just folly

I think the primary quarrel which many modern writers have with designating Achebe "father" of Afrian literature is simple; namely that it reinforces the European prejudices that there was no literature before they "civilized" us .Also it confines any works previously Not done in European languages to the dustbin and sells the idea we did not record anything before Europeans civilized us and our young people lose curiousiy about their heritage and accept there was no African Literaure till Achebe came along.
We have had literature in Africa for millenia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebra_Negast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Sundiata
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utendi_wa_Tambuka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_Texts


The stories of Kunkuru,Yemenibo,Anansi etc are ALL literature.


What about the Ifa Odus/Canon are they not literature even recognized as a Masterpice of Oral Humaniy


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masterpieces_of_the_Oral_and_Intangible_Heritage_of_Humanity
Does literature have to be written or can it be recorded and transmitted in other ways. Braille,audio recording, human memory and oral tradition.This question has been debated elsewhere.The context of Wole's argument as I understand it is "Africa has had literature for centuries just like Europeans and others" and so to designate anyone who is alive or even was alive in recent memory as Father is patronizing and wrong.The fact that white people did not know about our "literature" that it was written or not ,did not comply with their definition of literaure is irrelevant.


Let us take a number of forms drama and poetry. Did Africans have drama before Achebe or even before colonization? Does failure to record them in written or "European compliant" ways make them any less "literature" than Shakespeare etc.
Achebe's work is peppered with wonderful examples of ,in my view, literary forms,which clearly are ancient Igbo heritage that have clearly been transmitted over several generations. .So Achebe is not even the father of Igbo literature which has been around for centuries but a child of it how then can he or anyone be the Father of African literature. That is like calling anyone of recent memory father of African music. The objections raised to this title being given to anyone alive or recently dead is that it diminishes Africa because it says there was no Igbo literature before Achebe no other African language literature or tha literature MUST be written and preferably acknowledged and validated externaly. All humans even blind and deaf can access literature and have done for ever.

Genealogies,tribal stories and many more forms are and have been performed in many African societies for ever in complex ways that are uniquely "African" but in my view qualify ,too, as literature. Those who wish to call Achebe Father may try "Father of "WRITTEN ENGLISH" Nigerian literature but [b]even that may be argued as he is not known for drama or other forms designed to be performed. [/b]We must not forget that the African is ,perhaps, drawn more o those forms that are performed rather than read as many masquerade ceremonies(Even among the Igbos ) show.I think there is a very grave misunderstanding of what literature is and I agree that this unseemly argument impugns Achebe's legacy.

This post is the best on here. You are very intelligent. Any de-tribalised nigerian would agree with you. Trust nigerians, ethno-emotional attachment prevails in ALL issues.

God bless you for this. I'm saving ur post.


Frawzey

[quote author=babyosisi]Wole Soyinka should be careful not to destroy the legacy he has built by involving himself in unsavory affairs.
The first time the Prof disappointed me was when he spoke in support of Patience Jonathan's perm sec appointment,now this.


Chinua Achebe was called the father and grandfather of African literature by others
He did not label himself that
People recognized his immeasurable contribution to African literature and bestowed on him that honor in his lifetime so it is quite petty for WS whom I respect a great to utter such words.
It makes him sound jealous and he should be above such pettiness.
Michael Jackson was called the King of Pop
Elvis was the King of Rock and Roll
Donna Summer was the Queen of Disco While Aretha Franklin is and remains the Queen of soul
That label on Chinua is deserving.


Secondly why speak about Chinua's Book in his death what you couldn't say while he was alive?
I love Soyinka but his words here are beneath a man of his calibre
Maybe old age is setting in
Still respect you sir but you disappoint me here once again

so sad.the internet has made commentaries on a specialized field like literature an all comers affairs.That explains why some people cannot correctly interpret a simple interview like this.

@ayox2003^^^ Aribisala is arguably one of the most intelligent posters on NL, but he's been AWOL on NL for a while, am happy he made an appearance on this thread!

eGuerrilla:

Check out Elechi Amadi, Ola Rotimi, Isidore Okpewho, Buchi Emecheta, Cyprian Ekwensi, Festus Iyayi, Kole Omotosho, Niyi Osundare, Ken Saro-Wiwa and Amos Tutuola. I read books written by all these authors during my youth

Thanks, Sir.

You're the man!!!

TheBookWorm: I think the most tragic story concerning one of Africa's literary masters is the story of Christopher Okigbo.

This man had such a bright future and could of been compared to greats like Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allen Poe.

Unfortunately war ended his short life. Now that is truly the tragic story. I hope one day, someone may find a lost treasure trove of his poetry. That would be a benefit for all of mankind.

That was someone who shouldn't have died young. I read some of his works and his style of writing is just so spiritual but still quintessentially African. He was definitely great!

Anyone who has read my writings anywhere else will know that I have great respect and admiration for Wole Soyinka
If you asked me to name 5 greatest Nigerians I would like or would have liked to shake hands with and say thank you
Wole Soyinka is definitely one of them,the others are now late and they include the late Chinua Achebe,Dim Ojukwu,Gani Fawehinmi and Margaret Ekpo

i have my own title for WS and i have written it over a dozen times
I call him the sexiest senior citizen alive
I am yet to see a 70 something year old man with such sex appeal

On that note,I am done with this thread

the yorubas and the igbos are at war again.achebe has made his mark so nobody can change that.

Off topic:

Let me share this great video of Ben Okri's speech at the celebration of Steven Biko's life. Met Ben Okri once whilst in uni and this man oozes everything you can ascribe "Special" to. He's definitely the man!!!! And he's also a black militant - peep the black beret - that's reminiscent of the Black Panther Party!!

Black Consciousness!!!! Start from the 15min mark.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIQtNot1BeI

django1: @ayox2003^^^ Aribisala is arguably one of the most intelligent posters on NL, but he's been AWOL on NL for a while, am happy he made an appearance on this thread!

Honestly, his points are flawless. Come-to-think-of-it, if civilisation started in Egypt- which is now africa- before the birth of Christ, then its very senseless to say the "Father of African Literature" died in 2013. Makes african literature assume a toddler stage. Even Igbo literature has been way before the birth of Achebe but the fact that we africans are poor record keepers made our past heroes and giant disappear into oblivion.

For a thing, Achebe did excellently well in his chosen field but saying he's the Father of those who passed his culture to him makes it very watery. Plus, because it was written in a whitemans language makes it "un-african".

Achebe is definitely the most popular writer but Father? Shove it.


Frawzey

Obiagu1:

Some people are called 'Heroes' but they dispute it, what do you say about that?
Is it not humility?

Then stop calling him one.

ayox2003:

Honestly, his points are flawless. Come-to-think-of-it, if civilisation started in Egypt- which is now africa- before the birth of Christ, then its very senseless to say the "Father of African Literature" died in 2013. Makes african literature assume a toddler stage. Even Igbo literature has been way before the birth of Achebe but the fact that we africans are poor record keepers made our past heroes and giant disappear into oblivion.

For a thing, Achebe did excellently well in his chosen field but saying he's the Father of those who passed his culture to him makes it very watery. Plus, because it was written in a whitemans language makes it "un-african".

Achebe is definitely the most popular writer but Father? Shove it.


Frawzey

[size=28pt]Father of modern African literature[/size]