88th birthday of Flora Nwapa

(Born 13 January 1931, Ugwuta, Biafra)

Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe

OKEE NWANYI MMADU, first African (continental) woman published novelist – Efuru, 1966, and, soon after, Idu, which she begins to work on at the onset of the Igbo genocide (mid-1966) and later publishes in 1970.

Nwapa’s landmark works as well as those of sociologist Kamene Okonjo’s project the legacy of the historic complementarity of Igbo gender relations, not the fractious/antagonistic/conflictive relations which define/defined the experiences and inheritance in some other histories, some other geographies… Thus, Nwapa and Okonjo’s foundational works open up the expanse of possibilities in Igbo Women/African peoples-centred studies in which the scholarship, artistry and writings of subsequent generations of intellectuals, working worldwide, have flourished immensely.

(Jaki Byard Trio, “Trendsition zildjian” [personnel: Byard, piano; David Izenzon, bass; Elvin Jones, drums; recorded: Prestige, New York, US, 31 October 1967])

*****Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe is the author, with Lakeson Okwuonicha, of Why Donald Trump is great for Africa (2018)

(https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Donald-Trump-great-Africa-ebook/dp/B07KFQHXKV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1542585950&sr=8-1)

Twitter @HerbertEkweEkwe

87th birthday of Flora Nwapa

(Born 13 January 1931, Ugwuta, Biafra)

Okee nwanyi mmadu, first African (continental) woman published novelist – Efuru, 1966, and, soon after, Idu, which she begins to work on at the onset of the Igbo genocide (mid-1966) and later publishes in 1970; her landmark works as well as those of sociologist Kamene Okonjo’s open up the expanse of possibilities in Igbo Women/African World Studies within which the scholarship, artistry and writings of subsequent generations of intellectuals, working worldwide, have flourished immensely

(Jackie McLean Quintet, “Action” [personnel: McLean, alto saxophone; Charles Tolliver, trumpet; Bobby Hutcherson, vibraphone; Cecil McBee, bass; Billy Higgins, drums; recorded: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, US, 16 September 1964])

 Twitter @HerbertEkweEkwe

86th birthday of Flora Nwapa

(Born 13 January 1931, Ugwuta, Biafra)

Okee nwanyi mmadu, first African (continental) woman published novelist – Efuru, 1966, and, soon after, Idu, which she begins to work on at the onset of the Igbo genocide (mid-1966) and later publishes in 1970; her landmark works as well as those of sociologist Kamene Okonjo’s open up the expanse of possibilities in Igbo Women/African World Studies within which the scholarship, artistry and writings of subsequent generations of intellectuals, working worldwide, have flourished immensely

(Alice Coltrane Quintet, “Mantra” [personnel: Coltrane, piano; Pharoah Sanders, tenor saxophone (heard on the right channel and takes the second saxophone solo); Joe Henderson, tenor saxophone (takes the first saxophone solo and heard on the left channel); Ron Carter, bass; Ben Riley, drums; recorded: Coltrane home studio, Dix Hills, New York, US, 26 January 1970])

Twitter @HerbertEkweEkwe