Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Ernest Emenyonu is a Nigerian academic, who is an

African literature African literature is literature from Africa, either oral ("orature") or written in African and Afro-Asiatic languages. Examples of pre-colonial African literature can be traced back to at least the fourth century AD. The best-known is the ''Keb ...

critic and professor. He was formerly head of the department of

English and Literary Studies English studies (usually called simply English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries; it is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is ...

, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Calabar The University of Calabar is a public university situated in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. It is one of Nigeria's second generation federal universities. The University of Calabar was a campus of the University of Nigeria until 1975. Th ...

, in that order, through the 1980s and 1990s. He was also Provost of

Alvan Ikoku Alvan Azinna Ikoku (August 1, 1900–November 18, 1971) was a Nigerian educationist, statesman, activist and politician. Life Born on August 1, 1900, in Amanagwu Arochukwu, present-day Abia State, from 1911 to 1914, he was educated at the Ar ...

College of Education now

Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education The Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri is located in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, Nigeria. It was established in April, 1963 as the Advanced Teachers Training College by the defunct Eastern Nigeria Government on the grounds of ...

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas including Owerri Municipal, ...

Imo state Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

(1992–1995). Ernest Nneji Emenyonu is one of the preeminent scholars in the world on African Literature. He has published

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

on notable writers such as

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

and

Cyprian Ekwensi Chief Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi (26 September 1921 – 4 November 2007) was a Nigerian author of novels, short stories, and children's books. Biography Early life, education and family Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi, an Igbo, was born in ...

. While at the

, Emenyonu founded and chaired the Calabar annual International Conference on African Literature and the English Language (ICALEL). This promoted interaction of

African writers This is a list of prominent and notable writers from Africa. It includes poets, novelists, children's writers, essayists, and scholars, listed by country. Algeria ''See: List of Algerian writers'' Angola ''See: List of Angolan writers'' Benin ...

and critics with visiting international scholars. Emenyonu is a research professor at

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He held the position of Head of Department of Africana Studies. Presently, he is the Editor of the oldest journal in the world on African literature, ''

African Literature Today ''African Literature Today'' (''ALT'') is a journal that was first published in 1968 and is now the oldest international journal of African Literature still publishing. The journal was founded by Eldred Durosimi Jones, and annual volumes were ed ...

''. He has made notable contributions to the University of Michigan-Flint such as bringing

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner in Literature

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

, to the campus, as well as women's rights activist

Nawal El Saadawi Nawal El Saadawi ( ar, نوال السعداوي, , 22 October 1931 – 21 March 2021) was an Egyptian feminist writer, activist and physician. She wrote many books on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice of ...

. Emenyonu is a

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of Saint Christopher, Anglican Communion. He is also a Chief in his hometown of Imo State, Nigeria. He was given the title ''Ugwu Mba 1 of Mbieri'' translated to mean "pride of his people." He is married to his longtime wife Patricia Emenyonu with four children and has three granddaughters.

Bibliography

* "Introduction", ''Goatskin Bags and Wisdom: New Critical Perspectives on African Literature'', Trenton: AWP 2000. (hb) (pb) * ''Tales of our Motherland'', Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books, 1999. * ''The rise of the Igbo novel'', Oxford University Press, 1978 , * (Editor) ''New Women's Writing in African Literature'', Department of Africana Studies, University of Michigan-Flint * ''Literature and society: selected essays on African literature'', Oguta, Nigeria: Zim Pan African Publishers, 1986 * (Editor) ''A Companion to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie'', James Currey/Boydell and Brewer, 2017,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emenyonu, Ernest Year of birth missing University of Michigan faculty Academic staff of the University of Calabar Nigerian writers Scholars of African literature