Benjamin Kwakye
Benjamin Kwakye (born 7 January 1967) is a Ghanaian
Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best Book Africa. His novel The Other Crucifix won the 2011 IPPY award.[2]
His is also the winner of the 2021 African Literature Association's Book of the Year Award for Creative Writing.
Kwakye was born in
Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School. He graduated from Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School. He is the author of several works of fiction and poetry, including a trilogy of the African migrant's experiences in the US (The Other Crucifix, The Three Books of Shama and The Count's False Banquet). His impressive epic poem that spans over 400 pages has been described by Kirkus Review as an "imaginative tale" of "rhyming quatrains" that move with "wit and grace" and "contains cutting insights into human nature." He has been described as staking a claim to being incontestably in the front rank of African writers and as arguably the most important novelist to come out of Ghana since Ayi Kwei Armah. Kwakye practices law as in-house counsel, and is a director of the African Education Initiative.[3] In his corporate legal career, he has worked with a number of private sector firms including Porter Wright, Abbott Laboratories, Hospira, Visa Inc. and General Motors
.
Works
- The Clothes of Nakedness, Heinemann Books, 1998, ISBN 978-0-435-91201-7
- The Sun by Night, Africa World Press, 2006, ISBN 978-1-59221-350-4
- The Other Crucifix, Ayebia Publishing, 2010; Lynne Rienner Pub, 2010, ISBN 978-0-9562401-2-5
- "Eyes of the Slain Woman", Anaphora, 2011
- Legacy of Phantoms, Africa World Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1-59221-800-4
- "Scrolls of the Living Night", Cissus World Press, 2015
- "The Executioner's Confession", Cissus World Press, 2015
- "The Three Books of Shama", Cissus World Press, 2016
- "The Count's False Banquet", Cissus World Press, 2017
- "Soul to Song", Cissus World Press, 2017
- "Songs of a Jealous Wind", Cissus World Press, 2018
- "Obsessions of Paradise", Cissus World Press, 2019
- "Songs of Benjamin", Cissus World Press, 2020
- "Innocence of Photographs", Cissus World Press, 2021
- "Shimmering at Sunset" (editor), Cissus World Press, 2021
References
- ^ "Benjamin Kwakye" at Poets & Writers.
- ^ "Benjamin Kwakye Wins Gold at IPPY Awards 2011!", Geosi Reads.
- ^ "Meet the Officers". The Africa Education Initiative. Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
External links
- Author's website
- "Poet-scholar Dike Okoro in conversation with Novelist, Benjamin Kwakye", Pencil Tribe Magazine, 9 December 2009
- benjamin-kwakye/ Writers’ Showcase: Benjamin Kwakye, The African Novel, 10 November 2008
- "An Interview with Ghanaian Author Benjamin Kwakye", Africa Book Club, 27 February 2011
- "The Other Crucifix", African Book Club, Daniel Musiitwa, 26 January 2011
- "Benjamin Kwakye – The Sun By Night", Jamati, Shirlene Alusa-Brown, 27 December 2007
- Reviews
- Peter W. Vakunta, "A Tale of Double Estrangement: A Review of Benjamin Kwakye’s The Other Crucifix.", Palapala Magazine, 1 February 2011
- "Tiring the Naked", Obsidian, Yitah,
- The Clothes of Nakedness by Benjamin Kwakye, A Review
- https://www.kirkusreviews.com/search/?sf=r&q=kwakye
- https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/benjamin-kwakye/obsessions-of-paradise/
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
