56 Years of Nigerian Literature

Google Doodle celebrating Nigeria's Independence Day 2016

Today Nigeria turns 56. Happy Independence Naija!!!!! It's also that time of year when I dedicate this blog to all things Nigerian literature. It is my little way of saying Happy Independence to my fatherland.

This years marks my fifth celebratory year, in which I focus on certain aspects of Nigeria's literary history since 1960. Each year I have tried to highlight different things. When Nigeria turned 52 - my first year - I looked at the first three generations of Nigerian literature, Onitsha Market Literature and Hausa Popular Literature. At 53, I explored the Nigerian Civil War through books and Lagos fiction. 54 saw me getting personal - focusing on more books set in Lagos (celebrating the city where I was born and raised and spent majority of my life) and literature from Northern Nigeria (focusing on the region my Nigerian side is from). Finally, last year - year 55 was all about my obsession with book covers and illustrations.

Well, this year I've decided to celebrate something that is near and dear to me - women writers. Because, why not recognise the brilliant and talented Nigerian women writers out there. So over the next month, you'll meet novelists, short story writers, poets and more. I will aim to do a post a day (but please don't hold me to that :)). Enjoy!!!!

Feminine Power (1994) by Nike Davies-Okundaye.

from bookshy http://ift.tt/2dyRYi8

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