Ifeoma Okoye Explained

Ifeoma Mokwugo Okoye
Birth Date:	Possibly 1937
Birth Place:	Anambra State, Nigeria
Occupation:	Novelist
Known For:	Children's books
Education:	St. Monica's College, Ogbunike
Alma Mater:	University of Nigeria, Nsukka Aston University

Ifeoma Mokwugo Okoye born on 21st December (possibly in 1937) is a Nigerian novelist. She has been referred to by fans as "the most important female novelist from Nigeria after Flora Nwapa and Buchi Emecheta," according to Oyekan Owomoyela.^[1] She was born in Anambra State in Eastern Region, Nigeria.^[2] She went to school at St. Monica's College in Ogbunike to receive a teaching certificate in 1959.^[3] She then graduated from the University of Nigeria in Nsukka to earn a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in English in 1977.^[4] She wrote novels including Behind the Clouds,^[5] children's novels and short stories, such as The Village Boy and Eme Goes to School.^[6]

Early life and education

Ifeoma Okoye was born on 21st December, possibly in 1937 in Anambra State, Nigeria. She went to school at St. Monica's College in Ogbunike and earned a teaching certificate. She then taught at St. Monica's college for two years. During the years of 1963 to 1967, she attended All Saints International School in Enugu. She ran her own nursery school in Enugu from 1971 to 1974. From 1974 to 1977, Okoye went to study at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English. From 1986 to 1987, she studied at Aston University in England, where she obtained a postgraduate degree in English. Later, she taught English at Nnamdi Azikiwe University until 2000.^[7]

Accomplishments

Although Okoye was known for her children's short stories, she also wrote some books for adults, such as Behind the Clouds. Behind the Clouds was about a couple who fails to have children, and how the blame mainly falls on the woman instead of the man.^[8] Okoye received prizes for both Behind the Cloud and The Village Boy from the Nigerian National Council of Art and Culture in 1983, along with earning the best fiction of the year award for the novel Men Without Ears, in 1984.^[9] In 1985, she received another award for Daily Bread after Eze at the Ife National Book Fair.^[6] She was also the African Regional Winner for the Commonwealth Short Story Competition in 1999.

Major works

Okoye's writing career began after her years in education. She wrote short stories and novels. While the majority of her works were short stories for children, she also wrote some novels for adults.^[10]

• Book: GO FOR GOLD With Your Writing: A Practical Self-Guide To Writing Gold-Winning Sentences. 28 December 2016. The Rising People's Press. 978-1-912022-56-4.
• Book: The Fourth World. Enugu, Nigeria . The Rising People's Press. 2013. 978-978-910-215-0.
• The Power of a Plate of Rice. circa 2011.^[11]
• Book: The Trial and Other Stories. January 2005. African Heritage Press. 978-0-9628864-9-2.
• Book: Ayo and His Pencil. 1995. Heinemann. 978-0-435-89677-5.
• Book: Neka Goes to Market. 1995. Heinemann Educational. 978-0-435-89723-9.
• Book: Chika's House. 1995. Heinemann. 978-0-435-89678-2.
• Book: Chimere. 1992. Longman Nigeria. 978-978-139-634-2.
• Book: Men Without Ears. 1 May 1984. Longman. 978-0-582-78581-6.
• Book: Behind the Clouds. 1 January 1982. Longman. ^[12]
• Book: Village Boy!. 1981. 1986. Macmillan Nigeria. 978-978-132-572-4.
• Book: Adventures of Tulu, the Little Monkey. 1980. Nwapa.
• Busy Bee Number Workbook. 1980.
• Book: Only Bread for Eze. 1980. Fourth Dimension. 978-978-156-066-8.
• Eme Goes to School. 1979.

See also

Nigerian woman novelists

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Buchi Emecheta
• Flora Nwapa
• Karen King-Aribisala
• Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
• Chidera Okolie
• Taiwo Odubiyi
• Adaora Lily Ulasi
• Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo
• Nnedi Okorafor
• Chika Unigwe
• Sefi Atta
• Helen Oyeyemi
• Chinelo Okparanta
• Lola Shoneyin
• Chibundu Onuzo

Further reading

• Book: In their own voices : African women writers talk. Adeola James. London: James Currey; Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann. 1990.
• Book: Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi. Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi. Africa Wo/Man Palava: The Nigerian Novel by Women. 15 April 1996. University of Chicago Press. 978-0-226-62085-5. Fakunle, Okoye, Alkali, Eno Obong, Bedford: Siddon Look.

Notes and References

1. Book: Owomoyela. Oyekan. The Columbia Guide to West African Literature in English Since 1945. 2013. Columbia University Press. 142. 9780231512152. 24 November 2014.
2. Web site: The Modern Novel The world-wide literary novel from early 20th Century onwards. www.themodernnovel.org. 2020-05-29.
3. Web site: Godwin Okondo . 2024-04-14 . IWD: Paying homage to pioneering matriarchs of Nigerian literature . 2024-07-20 . TheArtHub.
4. Web site: IIARD Home - International Institute of Academic Research and development. iiardpub.org. 2020-05-29.
5. Book: Behind the Clouds. 9780582785557. Okoye. Ifeoma. 1982. Longman .
6. Web site: 'My book is tool for gold-winning sentences'. Bivan. Nathaniel. 2017-12-02. Daily Trust. en-GB. 2020-05-29.
7. Book: Killam. Douglas. Kerfoot. Alicia L.. Student Encyclopedia of African Literature. 2008. Greenwood Publishing Group. 232. 9780313335808. 24 November 2014.
8. Web site: Ifeoma Okoye: Behind the Clouds. The Modern Novel. 24 November 2014.
9. Web site: profile of the shortlisted writers for nlng prize. 2016-08-16. Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics. en-US. 2020-05-29.
10. Ifeoma Okoye . The Modern Novel.
11. Web site: Lyer, Niranjana. The Power of a Plate of Rice by Ifeoma Okoye. Brown Paper. 3 October 2011. 16 October 2014.
12. Web site: Ifeoma Okoye. The Modern Novel.