Otosirieze Obi-Young Explained

Otosirieze Obi-Young
Birth Place:Aba, Abia State, Nigeria
Occupation:Writer, editor, journalist, curator
Organization:Folio Nigeria, Open Country Mag
Alma Mater:University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Iowa

Otosirieze Obi-Young (born 1994) is a Nigerian writer, editor, culture journalist and curator. He is editor of Open Country Mag.[1] He was editor of Folio Nigeria, a then CNN affiliate,[2] and former deputy editor of Brittle Paper.[3] [4] In 2019, he won the inaugural The Future Awards Africa Prize for Literature.[5] [6] [7] He has been described as among the "top curators and editors from Africa."[8]

Career

Obi-Young was born in Aba, Nigeria. He studied at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He taught at Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu. He attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

He has served on the judging panel of the Gerald Kraak Prize, an initiative for writing and visual art about on gender, social justice and sexuality.[9] [10] He was a judge for the Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship.[11] He is an editor at 14, Nigeria's first queer art collective. He is the founder of the Art Naija Series anthologies, which include Enter Naija: The Book of Places[12] and Work Naija: The Book of Vocations.[13]

Views on LGBTQ literature

Obi-Young is an advocate for LGBTQ writing in Africa.[14] [15] He has written: "To write literature humanizing queerness is only as political as it is not, because it is grounded in lived experience. How can one un-robbed of empathy say that to show these lives in literature is a 'political concession'?" He expressed scepticism about the marketing category of LGBT literature because "it has no counter-reference":

"Why should literature exploring same-sex desire be categorized based on who its characters find themselves loving or on who its writers themselves love, especially as such categorization is withheld from literature exploring desire for the opposite sex? It takes focus away from the skill of its writers and pushes it to their subject, a denial not bestowed on writers of 'heterosexual literature'."[16]

Views on contemporary African literature

In 2018, Obi-Young used the term "the confessional generation" to describe his generation of African writers.[17] He has said:

"The next generation of writers, the ones who began to blossom last year and would peak in five years’ time, is dominated by people who are either queer or female and who have already begun to revolt against the normalized absence of their kind in literature."[18]

Fiction

In a feature, the Los Angeles Review of Books wrote about Obi-Young's short story "A Tenderer Blessing":

“Much still remains unspoken. Obi-Young relies on body language cues and the spaces between words to shape the intimacy. As readers, we feel almost as though we've been holding our breath the whole story, waiting for him to finally say it. We feel almost as though we have ourselves come out."

Works

Short stories

Culture writing

Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: de Waal . Shaun . African literature and film in the global conversation – an interview with Otosirieze Obi-Young . News24 . 4 January 2023 . May 7, 2023.
  2. News: Clement . Phillips . Folio Group appoints Otosirieze Obi-Young as editor . 13 June 2020 . 18 May 2020.
  3. Web site: Bedingfield . William . Eight Nigerian authors discuss Nigeria's literary culture . Dazed Digital . December 25, 2018. 9 April 2018 .
  4. Web site: Otosirieze : Statement on Leaving Brittle Paper . 2020-04-15. Otosirieze. en-US. 26 April 2020.
  5. News: Burna Boy, Israel Adesanya, Timini Egbuson, Simi 'Drey' Adejumo, Tolani Alli, others emerge winners at The Future Awards Africa 2019 . 22 January 2020 . The Future Awards Africa . 26 November 2019.
  6. Web site: Burna Boy, Tolani Alli, Isaac Success … Meet the Winners at The Future Awards Africa 2019! . Bella Naija . 25 November 2019. 26 November 2019.
  7. News: Ibeh . Chukwuebuka . Otosirieze Obi-Young Wins Inaugural The Future Awards Prize for Literature . November 24, 2019. 25 November 2019 . Brittle Paper.
  8. Web site: 14 August 2019. 2019: Top 10 Literary Curators and Editors from Africa Right Now. The Moveee. Eniola . Emmanuel . 28 December 2021.
  9. Web site: Otosirieze joins Gerald Kraak Prize and Anthology judging panel . 25 December 2018 . The Reading List . September 2018.
  10. Web site: 'Beauty maintained despite violation': Queer African writing shines in fourth Gerald Kraak Anthology. Otosirieze . Obi-Young . News24. 18 August 2022. July 10, 2023.
  11. News: Changes to MMF Judging Panel . 21 August 2019 . Miles Morland Foundation . 1 May 2019.
  12. Web site: Ugwu . Emeka . A Letter from a Homeless Prodigal . The Chimurenga Chronic . 25 December 2018. 20 June 2017 .
  13. Web site: Ihejirika . Uzoma . Q&A with Otosirieze Obi-Young on Enter Naija, Emerging Writers and Provincialism . Bakwa . 25 December 2018. 3 November 2016 .
  14. Web site: d'Adesky . Anne-Christine . On a Progressive Platform for New African Literature . . 3 October 2019 . 11 February 2020.
  15. Web site: Gleibermann . Erik . Queer Nigerians Rewrite the Body . Los Angeles Review of Books . January 6, 2020 . 11 February 2020.
  16. Web site: Obi-Young . Otosirieze . Dear Mr. Brittle: Queer Literature in Africa Is Not a Trend, Has Always Existed . Brittle Paper . December 18, 2017. 11 February 2020.
  17. Web site: Obi-Young . Otosirieze . The Confessional Generation . Brittle Paper . January 26, 2018. 11 February 2020.
  18. Web site: Mogami . Gaamangwe . A Dialogue with Otosirieze Obi-Young . Africa in Dialogue . July 24, 2017. 11 February 2020.
  19. Web site: Obi-Young . Otosirieze . 2021-09-20 . Cover Story: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Half of a Yellow Sun at 15, Her Private Losses, and Public Evolution . 2022-11-09 . Open Country Mag . en-US.
  20. Web site: Obi-Young . Otosirieze . 2021-07-04 . Cover Story: How Teju Cole Opened a New Path in African Literature . 2022-11-09 . Open Country Mag . en-US.
  21. Web site: Obi-Young . Otosirieze . 2021-06-25 . In Cameroonian Literature, a New Generation Comes of Age . 2022-11-09 . Open Country Mag . en-US.
  22. Web site: Obi-Young . Otosirieze . 2021-01-16 . Maaza Mengiste's Chronicles of Ethiopia . 2022-11-09 . Open Country Mag . en-US.
  23. Web site: Profiles: 2019 100 Most Influential Young Nigerians . Avance Media . Prince Akpah. 20 January 2020. 19 August 2020.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Otosirieze Obi-Young".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.