Pita Nwana

Nwosu Pita Nwana (1881 — 1968) was a Nigerian novelist and carpenter.[1] He is chiefly known as the writer of the first Igbo novel Omenuko.[2][3][4] Nwana's Omenuko is regarded as the bedrock for fiction in Igbo literature.[5]

Life and career

Nwana was born in 1881. He was the youngest child in a family of seven.[5] He worked as a carpenter at Methodist College Uzuakoli and later as an interpreter for Rev. J. Wood at then Ibo Institute.[5] In 1933, he wrote Omenuko which won a prize in a competition run by the International African Institute,[6] and was later published by Longman in 1935.[7]

References
  1. Ricard, Alain (2004). The languages & literatures of Africa: the sands of Babel. James Currey Publishers. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-85255-581-1.
  2. Emenyọnu, Ernest (1978). The Rise of the Igbo Novel (Reprinted ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 212. ISBN 9789781540233.
  3. Damrosch, David (2020). Comparing the Literatures: Literary Studies in a Global Age. Princeton University Press. p. 392. ISBN 9780691134994.
  4. Emenanjọ, E. Nọlue (1975). F. Chidozie Ogbalu; E. Nọlue Emenanjọ (eds.). Igbo Language and Culture. Vol. 1 (Illustrated and Reprinted ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 216. ISBN 9780195752755.
  5. Akolisa, Uche (15 January 2021). "Igbo Literature: Omenuko, Ije Odumodu, Mbediogu na akwụkwọ Igbo ndị ọzọ ị gaghị echefu echefu maka mwelite ha welitere asụsụ Igbo". BBC Igbo (in Igbo). Lagos. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  6. Campbell, George L (1998). Concise compendium of the world's languages. Routledge. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-415-16049-0.
  7. Dathorne, O.R. (1975). African literature in the twentieth century. University of Minnesota Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-8166-0769-3.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.