Buchi Emecheta
Buchi Emecheta OBE | |
---|---|
Born | Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta 21 July 1944 |
Died | 25 January 2017 London, England | (aged 72)
Nationality | Nigerian |
Education | Methodist Girls' School, Yaba, Lagos; University of London |
Occupation | Writer |
Notable work |
|
Awards | Jock Campbell Prize (1978); Best of Young British Novelists (1983) |
Florence Onyebuchi "Buchi" Emecheta
Emecheta's themes of child slavery, motherhood, female independence and freedom through education gained recognition from critics and honours. She once described her stories as "stories of the world, where women face the universal problems of poverty and oppression, and the longer they stay, no matter where they have come from originally, the more the problems become identical." Her works explore the tension between tradition and modernity.[2] She has been characterized as "the first successful black woman novelist living in Britain after 1948".[3]
Early life and education
Buchi Emecheta was born on 21 July 1944, in
Due to the gender bias of the time, the young Emecheta was initially kept at home while her younger brother was sent to school; but after persuading her parents to consider the benefits of her education, she spent her early childhood at an all-girls' missionary school. When she was nine years old, her father died "of complications brought on by a wound contracted in the swamps of
Onwordi immediately moved to
At the age of 22, pregnant with her fifth child, Emecheta left her husband.[16][17] While working to support her children alone, she earned a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Sociology in 1972 from the University of London.[5][6][16] In her 1984 autobiography, Head above Water, she wrote: "As for my survival for the past twenty years in England, from when I was a little over twenty, dragging four cold and dripping babies with me and pregnant with a fifth one—that is a miracle."[18] She went on to gain her PhD from the university in 1991.[19]
Career
Emecheta began writing about her experiences of
From 1965 to 1969, Emecheta worked as a library officer for the British Museum in London.[6] From 1969 to 1976, she was a youth worker and sociologist for the Inner London Education Authority,[6][23] and from 1976 to 1978 she worked as a community worker in Camden, North London,[4][6] meanwhile continuing to produce further novels at Allison and Busby, with Margaret Busby as her editor[1] – The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), The Joys of Motherhood (1979) and Destination Biafra (1982) – as well as the children's books Titch the Cat (1979, based on a story by her 11-year-old daughter Alice)[24] and Nowhere To Play (1980).[25]
Following Emecheta's success as an author, she travelled widely as a visiting professor and lecturer. She visited several American universities, including
Over her career, Emecheta worked with many cultural and literary organizations, including the
Buchi Emecheta suffered a stroke in 2010,[16] and her last years were marked by increasing disability and illness.[9] She died in London on 25 January 2017, aged 72.[16][20][30]
Awards and recognition
Among honours received during her literary career, Emecheta won the 1978 Jock Campbell Prize[1] from the New Statesman (first won by Chinua Achebe's Arrow of God)[31] for her novel The Slave Girl,[4][32] and she was on Granta magazine's 1983 list of 20 "Best of Young British Novelists".[16][32][33] She was a member of the British Home Secretary's Advisory Council on Race in 1979.[7]
In September 2004, she appeared in the "A Great Day in London" photograph taken at the
She received an Honorary doctorate of literature from
Legacy
In 2017, Emecheta's son Sylvester Onwordi announced the formation of the Buchi Emecheta Foundation – a charitable organisation promoting literary and educational projects in the UK and in Africa
Emecheta features at number 98 on a list of 100 women recognised in August 2018 by
In March 2019, Camden Town Brewery launched a football kit using artwork featuring "some of the most inspiring female icons to have influenced the brewery's home borough of Camden".[46]
On 21 July 2019, which would have been Emecheta's 75th birthday,
In October 2019, a new exhibition space in the library for students at Goldsmiths, University of London, was dedicated to Buchi Emecheta, marked by a reception with short talks by Goldsmiths warden Frances Corner and the Head of Library Services, Leo Appleton, preceding an address by Margaret Busby.[53][54][55]
In October 2021, Emecheta's second novel, Second Class Citizen, was reissued as a
Works
Novels
- In the Ditch (1972)[4]
- Second Class Citizen (1974)[4]
- The Bride Price (1976)[4][7]
- The Slave Girl (1977); winner of the New Statesman's 1978 Jock Campbell Award[4]
- The Joys of Motherhood (1979)[4]
- The Moonlight Bride (1981)[7]
- Destination Biafra (1982)[4]
- Naira Power (1982)[7]
- Adah's Story [In the Ditch/Second-Class Citizen] (London: Allison & Busby, 1983).
- The Rape of Shavi (1983)[4]
- Double Yoke (1982)[4][5]
- A Kind of Marriage (London: Macmillan, 1986); Pacesetter Novels series.
- Gwendolen (1989). Published in the US as The Family[59]
- Kehinde (1994)[4]
- The New Tribe (2000)[4]
Autobiography
- Head above Water (1984; 1986)[7][32]
- Voices of the Crossing - The impact of Britain on writers from Asia, the Caribbean and Africa. Ferdinand Dennis, Naseem Khan (eds), London: Serpent's Tail, 1998. Buchi Emecheta: p. 93 "Crossing Boundaries."
Children's/Young adults' books
- Titch the Cat (illustrated by Thomas Joseph; 1979)[7][32]
- Nowhere to Play (illustrated by Peter Archer; 1980)[4][32]
- The Wrestling Match (1981)[7]
Plays
- Juju Landlord (episode of
- A Kind of Marriage, BBC television, 1976.[4][61]
- Family Bargain, BBC Television, 1987.[62]
Articles and shorter writings
- Introduction and comments to Our Own Freedom, photographs by Maggie Murray; 1981[63][64]
- The Black Scholar, November–December 1985, p. 51.
- "Feminism with a small 'f'!" in Kirsten Holst Petersen (ed.), Criticism and Ideology: Second African Writers' Conference, Stockholm 1988, Uppsala: Scandinanvian Institute of African Studies, 1988, pp. 173–181.
- Essence magazine, August 1990, p. 50.
- The New York Times Book Review, 29 April 1990.
- Publishers Weekly, 16 February 1990, p. 73; reprinted 7 February 1994, p. 84.
- World Literature Today, Autumn 1994, p. 867.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Busby, Margaret (3 February 2017). "Buchi Emecheta obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ a b "Buchi Emecheta | Biography, Books, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ Dawson, Ashley, "Beyond Imperial Feminism: Buchi Emecheta's London Novels and Black British Women's Emancipation", in Mongrel Nation: Diasporic Culture and the Making of Postcolonial Britain, University of Michigan Press, 2007, p. 117.
- ^ ISBN 9788126908325.
- ^ ISBN 9780815314318.
- ^ ISBN 9780810322769.
- ^ ISBN 9781857431223.
- ^ "Buchi Emecheta, hero". February 2023.
- ^ a b Onwordi, Sylvester, "Remembering my mother Buchi Emecheta, 1944–2017", New Statesman, 31 January 2017.
- ISBN 9781410350268.
- ^ "Culture stars who died in 2017: from Doreen Keogh to Bruce Forsyth : Buchi Emecheta". The Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9781410342034.
- ^ "Emecheta, Buchi", Biography, Postcolonial Studies @ Emory.
- ^ "Buchi Emecheta Essay". eNotes.com.
- ^ Jussawalla, Feroza F., Reed Way Dasenbrock, "Buchi Emecheta", Interviews with Writers of the Post-colonial World, University Press of Mississippi, 1992, p. 84.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kean, Danuta (26 January 2017). "Buchi Emecheta, pioneering Nigerian novelist, dies aged 72". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ Adeleye-Fayemi, Bisi, "LOUD WHISPERS: The First Class Citizen (Buchi Emecheta 1944-2017)", Above Whispers, 18 February 2017.
- ^ Emecheta, Buchi, Head Above Water, p. 5, quoted in Stephen Jantuah Boakye, "Suspense Strategies in Buchi Emecheta's Head Above Water", Language in India, Vol. 13:4, April 2013. ISSN 1930-2940.
- ISBN 9780787667184.
- ^ a b "Buchi Emecheta: Nigerian author who championed girls dies aged 72". BBC News. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ British Book News. National Book League. 1986.
- ^ "Buchi Emecheta - Literature". literature.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Busby, Margaret, "Buchi Emecheta", Daughters of Africa, London: Jonathan Cape, 1992, p. 656.
- ^ "Buchi EMECHETA (Nigeria)", L'AFRIQUE ECRITE AU FEMININ | Les auteures anglophones.
- ^ "A Life well lived – Buchi Emecheta's life in novels", The Guardian (Nigeria), 26 January 2017.
- ISBN 9780761801290.
- ^ Fraser, C. Gerald, "Writer, Her Dream Fulfilled, Seeks to Link Two Worlds", The New York Times, 2 June 1990.
- ISBN 9781857431797.
- ^ The Council of the Caine Prize for African Writing, "Tribute to Buchi Emecheta (1944–2017)", Caine Prize blog, 1 February 2017.
- ^ Adesanya, Femi, "Nigerian Literary Icon, Buchi Emecheta Has Died", Information Nigeria, 25 January 2017.
- ^ Amoia, Alba, and Bettina Liebowitz Knapp, Multicultural Writers Since 1945: An A-to-Z Guide, Greenwood Press, 2004, p. 26.
- ^ a b c d e "Buchi Emecheta 1944–", Concise Major 21st Century Writers , encyclopedia.com.
- ^ Emecheta, Buchi, "Head Above Water", Granta 7: Best of Young British Novelists | Essays & Memoir, 1 March 1983.
- ^ Levy, Andrea, "Made in Britain. To celebrate the impact of their different perspectives, 50 writers of Caribbean, Asian and African descent gathered to be photographed. Andrea Levy reports on a great day for literature", The Guardian, 18 September 2004.
- ^ Le Gendre, Kevin (17 October 2004). "Books: A great day for a family get together Who are the movers and shakers in black British writing? And can they all fit on one staircase?". The Independent on Sunday.
- ^ Jagne, Siga Fatima, and Pushpa Naidu Parekh (eds), Buchi Emecheta biography, Postcolonial African Writers: A Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook, Routledge, 1998, p. 149.
- ^ "Vlog: British-Nigerian author's books set for February 2018 revamp". msbwrites.co.uk. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ Onwordi, Sylvester, "Buchi Emecheta Foundation and Omenela Press created to Preserve a Legacy", KTravula.com, 20 November 2017.
- ^ "Celebrating Buchi Emecheta" Archived 22 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Royal African Society
- ^ "Celebrating Buchi Emecheta – February Event" Archived 9 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Buchi Emecheta website.
- ^ Cobbinah, Angela (19 February 2018). "Buchi Emechata: keeping her legacy alive". Angela Cobbinah.
- ^ Ezeigbo, Akachi, "Celebrating Buchi Emecheta in London a year after", The Guardian (Nigeria), 11 February 2018.
- ^ Cobbinah, Angela, "How African writer gave women and girls a voice", Camden New Journal, 16 February 2018.
- ^ Hampson, Laura, and Gareth Richman, "20 of the most significant women in history", Evening Standard, 9 August 2018.
- ^ "100 Women Who Changed the World: the results", History Extra, 9 August 2018.
- ^ "Women of Camden – How a football kit became a work of art", London Post, 5 March 2019.
- ^ Adekunle, "Google doodle celebrates Buchi Emecheta 75th posthumous birthday", Vanguard, 21 July 2019.
- ^ "Buchi Emecheta's 75th Birthday". Google. 21 July 2019.
- ^ Perrone, Alessio, "Buchi Emecheta: Google Doodle celebrates prolific British-Nigerian author", The Independent, 21 July 2019.
- ^ Mackrell, Daniel, "Who is Buchi Emecheta and why is she today's Google Doodle?", Metro, 21 July 2019.
- ^ "Google Doodle celebrates Buchi Emecheta on 75th posthumous birthday", The Punch (Nigeria), 21 July 2019.
- ^ "Google Doodle: 5 tins to sabi about Buchi Emecheta", BBC News, Pidgin, 21 July 2019.
- ^ "Buchi Emecheta Space Opening and Present Futures Exhibition", Goldsmiths Students' Union, 23 October 2019.
- ^ Gabi-Williams, Olatoun, "When Goldsmiths College honoured Buchi Emecheta", The Guardian (Nigeria), 24 November 2019.
- ^ "Celebrating Buchi Emecheta". Library blog. Goldsmiths University of London. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ Self, John (31 October 2021). "Second-Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta review – fresh and timeless". The Observer.
- Penguin Books Limited. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (4 September 2023). "In the Ditch by Buchi Emecheta review – 'a documentary novel' from the 1970s". The Observer.
- ISBN 9789042012981.
- ISBN 9780865438231.
- ^ a b Malik, Sarita, "Black TV Writers", BFI ScreenOnline.
- ISBN 9780810375949.
- ISBN 9780907179092.
- ISBN 9780865434554.
Further reading
- Ben-Iheanacho, Elizabeth O. (10 November 2021), "Where Are the 'Daughters' of Emecheta?", The Republic (Nigeria), Vol. 5, No. 4, October/November 2021.
- Curry, Ginette. Awakening African Women: The Dynamics of Change. Cambridge Scholars Press, 2004.
- Umeh, Marie (ed.), Emerging Perspectives on Buchi Emecheta (Foreword by Margaret Busby), Africa World Press, 1996. ISBN 9780865434554.
Selected tributes and obituaries
- Dennis Abrams, "Comments On the Work of the Late Nigerian Novelist Buchi Emecheta", Publishing Perspectives, 30 January 2017.
- Adekeye Adebajo, "Tribute to an African woman of courage", The Guardian (Nigeria), 31 January 2017.
- Adekunle, "Tribute to a literary lioness", Vanguard (Nigeria), 17 February 2017.
- Jane Bryce, "A Sort-of Career: Remembering Buchi Emecheta", Wasafiri, 10 February 2017.
- Margaret Busby, "Buchi Emecheta obituary", The Guardian, 3 February 2017.
- Eashani Chavda, "Black British Writing: A Tribute To Buchi Emecheta", gal-dem, 18 May 2017.
- Vimbai Chinembiri, "Buchi Emecheta: How she made her writing a voice for women" Archived 18 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Her (Zimbabwe), 28 January 2017.
- The Council of the Caine Prize for African Writing, "Tribute to Buchi Emecheta (1944–2017)", Caine Prize blog, 1 February 2017.
- William Grimes, "Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian Novelist, Dies at 72", The New York Times, 10 February 2017.
- Fred Obera, "Nigeria: Remembering Nigerian Literary Icon Buchi Emecheta", AllAfrica, 26 January 2017.
- Margaret Olele, "Of Buchi Emecheta and womankind", The Guardian (Nigeria), 14 March 2017.
- Sylvester Onwordi, "Remembering my mother Buchi Emecheta, 1944–2017", New Statesman, 31 January 2017. Also as "Remembering Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian novelist, feminist, my mother", African Arguments (Royal African Society), 1 February 2017.
- Niyi Osundare, "The Unintended Feminist: For Buchi Emecheta, 1944–2017", Sahara Reporters, 29 January 2017.
External links
- "Buchi Emecheta - Five books in tribute", Sunday Trust, 5 February 2017.
- Buchi Emecheta at British Council: Literature
- Buchi Emecheta bio at the BBC Worldwide.
- Buchi Emecheta page at Emory University.
- The Roland Collection of Films & Videos on Art. Writers Talk: Ideas of our Time – Buchi Emecheta speaks with Susheila Nasta.
- Buchi Emecheta page at Sable.
- Margaret Busby, "Where to start with: Buchi Emecheta", The Guardian, 20 March 2024.