Arinze Ifeakandu

Arinze Ifeakandu is a Nigerian writer and the author of the collection of stories God's Children Are Little Broken Things,[1] which won the Dylan Thomas Prize[2] and the Republic of Consciousness Prize for the US and Canada,[3] and was shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize,[4] the Lambda Awards,[5] and received the Story Prize's Spotlight Award.[6] He also won an O. Henry Prize for one of the stories.[7]

Arinze Ifeakandu
Born1995
OccupationWriter
NationalityNigerian
Alma materUniversity of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Iowa
GenreFiction
Notable worksGod's Children Are Little Broken Things
Notable awardsDylan Thomas Prize, O. Henry Prize
Website
arinzeifeakandu.com

Education

Ifeakandu attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Iowa Writers' Workshop.[8]

Literary career

Ifeakandu's short story collection, God's Children Are Little Broken Things, was published by A Public Space Books in 2022. Kirkus Reviews gave it a rave:

The stories in Ifeakandu's debut collection are nothing less than breathtaking and daring, each exploring queer relationships in all their nuanced and unpredictable configurations: secret romances, brief but passionate encounters, relationships that are tested by cultural pressures.[9]

In a 5-star review, Open Country Mag called it "a momentous debut of gay love and human fullness", writing:

Stripped to its most important relationships, God’s Children narrates youthful love in a country where being gay is difficult. Lush with evocative passages, it uncompromisingly follows the promise and pains of its characters. So real are they, you could almost reach out and touch them; so easily could you make their complications yours, untangling their excesses and poring over the minute details. Ifeakandu does not sacrifice flow; in this book, sentences curl like perfect ocean waves on a bright day.[10]

The Times Literary Supplement described the characters as "by necessity virtuosos of concealment and students of contrasting masculinities. When they’re alone together they express themselves tenderly, and sometimes camp it up; in public they can’t risk standing out." [11] i-D portrayed the stories as "bitter sweet" and Ifeakandu as "a master observer."[12]

The Irish Times wrote that the stories "depict queer love in all its beauty, strength, and frailty."[13] The Common suggested that "Ifeakandu deserves to be widely read for a precise, elegant, and erotic individual voice melded to a breadth of cultural material; he makes each character’s particular experiences feel universal, and the reader ache and love along with them."[14]

Publications
  • God's Children Are Little Broken Things (A Public Space Books, 2022)

References
  1. Willie-Okafor, Paula. "With God's Children Are Little Broken Things, Arinze Ifeakandu Garners Breakout Acclaim". Open Country Mag. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  2. Creamer, Ella. "Arinze Ifeakandu wins Dylan Thomas prize for 'kaleidoscopic reflection of queer life in Nigeria'". The Guardian. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  3. Manley, Janet. "Arinze Ifeakandu has won the 2022 Republic of Consciousness prize". Literary Hub. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  4. Schaub, Michael. "Finalists for the 2022 Kirkus Prize Are Revealed". Kirkus. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  5. Lewis, LeKesha. "Announcing the 35th Annual Lammy Awards Finalists". Lambda Literary. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  6. "2022/23 Winner & Finalists". The Story Prize. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  7. Groff, Lauren. "Announcing the Winners of the 2023 O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction". Literary Hub. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  8. Eng, Viviane. "THE PEN TEN: AN INTERVIEW WITH ARINZE IFEAKANDU". PEN.org. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  9. "GOD'S CHILDREN ARE LITTLE BROKEN THINGS". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  10. Esomnofu, Emmanuel. "God's Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu Review—A Momentous Debut of Gay Love and Human Fullness". Open Country Mag. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  11. Gordon, Edmund. "Alone in each other's company". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  12. C.J., Nelson. "Arinze Ifeakandu writes bittersweet stories of Nigerian queerness". i-D. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  13. Doyle, Martin. "Arinze Ifeakandu: An exploration of what it means to be gay in contemporary Nigeria". The Irish Times. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  14. Lichtblau, Julia. "Review: God's Children Are Little Broken Things". The Common. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
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