Nigerian literature expresses the struggles of
a country that has survived the exploitation of colonialism and capitalism
as well as the devastation of civil war and authoritarianism. Given the
turmoil in Nigerian history, it is inevitable that the postcolonial Nigerian
artist would fulfill the traditional role of artist as the voice of the
people. The manifestation of protest in the novels, plays and poetry of
Nigerian authors in the last 40 years attests to the role of artist as
the cry of protest.
Since the publication of Flora Nwapa's Efuru in 1966, Nigerian women
have been prolific publishers. Although by Western definitions, these writers
would not likely qualify as feminists, their works offer realistic pictures
of gender issues in a patriarchal society. The cries of protest from the
Nigerian women authors expose the hegemonic order is a society wrapped
in a history of colonialism and patriarchy.
Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa was born January
18, 1931 in Oguta, East Central State, Nigeria. She obtained a Bachelor
of Arts degree from University College, Ibadan in 1957, and a Diploma in
Education from University of Edinburgh the following year. Upon her return
to Nigeria, she joined the Ministry of Education in Clabar as an Education
Officer until 1959. She then accepted a teaching position at Queen's School
in Enugu, where she taught English and Geography from 1969-71. She continued
to work in both education and civil service in several positions, including:
Assistant Registrar, University of Lagos (1962-1976), Minister of Health
and Social Welfare, East Central State (1970-71), and Minister of Lands,
Survey and Urban Development (1971-74).
Flora Nwapa began her career as an author with the publication of Efuru
in 1966. Nwapa is often credited with being the first African woman
to publish in English (although some controversy exists around this claim).
She followed with her second novel, Idu, in 1971. After publication
of these two novels, Nwapa became unsatisfied with the publicity and distribution
efforts by her publisher, Heinemann Educational. In 1974, she founded Tana
Press, Ltd and in 1977, Flora Nwapa Books. She published the rest of her
works, as well as many other works from other writers, through one of her
two publishing companies.
Nwapa continued her career as an educator throughout her life, teaching
at colleges and universities around the world, including among others,
New York University, Trinity College, University of Minnesota, University
of Michigan and University of Ilorin.
Flora Nwapa died at the age of 62 in 1993.
(Biographical information obtained from Contemporary Authors, Gale Research, 1996)
Novels
Short Stories / Poems
Children's Books
Although Nwapa repeatedly denied being a feminist,
many of her works do address questions of tradition and transformation
for women. Nwapa craftfully weaves together traditional Igbo mores and
myths with imported views of women to create complex characters struggling
for independence in their societies. She shows women succeeding outside
of the traditional woman's role of mother and wife, while also reaffirming
Igbo culture.
In an interview with Contemporary Authors, Nwapa commented, "I
have been writing for nearly thirty years. My interest has been on both
the rural and the urban woman in her quest for survival in a fast-changing
world dominated by men."
Adeola, James, editor. In Their Own Voices, African Women Writers
Talk. Portsmouth (NH): Heinemann, 1990.
Andrade, Susan Z. "Rewriting History, Motherhood and Rebellion."
Research in African Literatures. 21 (1990) 91-110.
Ezeigbo, Theodora Akachi. "Traditional Women's Institutions in Igbo
Society: Implications for the Igbo Female Writer." African Languages
and Cultures. 3 (1990) 149-65.
Ikonne, Chidi. "The Society and Woman's Quest for Selfhood in Flora
Nwapa's Early Novels." Kunapipi. 6 (1984) 68-78.
Ogunyemi, Chikwenye Okonjo. Africa Wo/Man Palava. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1996.
Wilentz, Gay. Binding Cultures, Black Women Writers in Africa and the
Diaspora. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992.
Author: Susan Leisure, Fall 1996
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& Issues(Image of an "Homme Carrefour" from Donald J. Cosentino's Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou [Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1995].)