Babafemi Adeyemi Osofisan (born June 16, 1946), known as Femi Osofisan or F.O., is a Nigerian writer noted for his critique of societal problems and his use of African traditional performances and surrealism in some of his plays. A frequent theme that his drama explore is the conflict between good and evil. He is a didactic writer whose works seek to correct his decadent society. He has written poetry under the pseudonym Okinba Launko.

Education and career

Babafemi Adeyemi Osofisan was born in the village of Erunwon,

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

, Nigeria, on June 16, 1946, to Ebenezer Olatokunbo Osofisan, a school teacher, lay reader and church organist, and Phoebe Olufunke Osofisan, a schoolteacher. His last name, Ọ̀sọ́fisan, signifies that his paternal ancestors were artists and artisans who worshipped the god of beauty and ornaments, Ọ̀ṣọ́. Osofisan attended primary school at Ife and secondary school at

Government College, Ibadan Government College Ibadan (founded 28 February 1929) is a boys' secondary school located on the hills of Apata Ganga in Ibadan, Nigeria. History The founding fathers of Government College Ibadan were Selwyn MacGregor Grier, Director of Education, ...

. He then attended the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 1962 ...

(1966–69), majoring in French and as part of his degree course studying at the

University of Dakar Cheikh Anta Diop University (french: Université Cheikh Anta Diop or UCAD), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheik ...

for a year, and going on to do post-graduate studies at the Sorbonne, Paris. He subsequently held faculty positions at the

, where he retired as full professor in 2011. He is currently a Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts, Kwara State University, Nigeria. Osofisan is Vice President (West Africa) of the

Pan African Writers' Association The Pan African Writers' Association (PAWA), founded in November 1989, is a Ghana-based cultural institution "born in the larger crucible of Pan Africanism" that is an umbrella body of writers' associations on the African continent and the Diaspor ...

."PAWA Congratulates Prof Osofisan"
''Modern Ghana'', 1 April 2016. In 2016, he became the first African to be awarded the prestigious Thalia Prize by the International Association of Theatre Critics, the induction ceremony taking place on 27 September.

Writing

Osofisan has written and produced more than 60 plays. He has also written four prose works: ''Ma'ami'', ''Abigail'', ''Pirates of Hurt'' and ''Cordelia'', first produced in newspaper columns, in '' The Daily Times'' and then ''The Guardian''. One of his prose works; Ma'ami was adapted into a film in 2011. Several of Osofisan's plays are adaptations of works by other writers: '' Women of Owu'' from

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars at ...

' ''

The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC during ...

''; ''Who's Afraid of Solarin?'' from

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

's ''

The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' ( rus, links=no, Ревизор, Revizor, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist, Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the pla ...

''; ''No More the Wasted Breed'' from

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 ...

's '' The Strong Breed''; ''Another Raft'' from

J. P. Clark John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo (6 April 1935 – 13 October 2020) was a Nigerian poet and playwright, who also published as J. P. Clark and John Pepper Clark. Life Born in Kiagbodo, Nigeria, to an Ijaw father and Urhobo mother, Clark received his ...

's ''The Raft''; ''Tegonni: An African Antigone'' from

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

′ ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Rom ...

'', and others. Osofisan in his works also emphasizes gender: his representation of women as objects, objects of social division, due to shifting customs and long-lived traditions, and also as instruments for sexual exploitation; and his portrayal of women as subjects, individuals capable of cognition, endowed with consciousness and will, and capable of making decisions and effecting actions.

Selected works

*''Kolera Kolej''. New Horn, 1975. *''The Chattering and the Song''. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1977. *''Morountodun and Other Plays''. Lagos: Longman, 1982. *''Minted Coins'' (poetry), Heinemann, 1987. *''Another Raft''. Lagos: Malthouse, 1988. *''Once upon Four Robbers''. Ibadan: Heinemann, 1991 *''Twingle-Twangle A-Twynning Tayle''. Longman, 1992. *''Yungba-Yungba and the Dance Contest: A Parable for Our Times'', Heinemann Educational, Nigeria, 1993. *''The Album of the Midnight Blackout'', University Press, Nigeria, 1994.
"Warriors of a Failed Utopia? West African writers since the 70s"
in Leeds '' African Studies Bulletin'' 61 (1996), pp. 11–36. *''Tegonni: An African Antigone''. Ibadan: Opon Ifa, 1999. *"Theater and the Rites of 'Post-Negritude' Remembering". ''

Research in African Literatures ''Research in African Literatures'' is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering African literary studies. It was established in 1970 and is published by Indiana University Press. The editor-in-chief is Kwaku Larbi Korang (Ohio State U ...

'' 30.1 (1999): 1–11. * "Love's Unlike Lading: A Comedy from Shakespeare". Lagos: Concept Publications. 2012 * "One Legend, Many seasons". Lagos: Concept Publications. 2001

Awards

* 2015: PAWA Membership Honorary Award * 2016: Thalia Prize from the International Association of Theatre Critics

References

*Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale.

External links

Femi Osofisan's Word
*Wumi Raji

''Research in African Literatures'', Volume 36, Number 4, Winter 2005, pp. 135–154 , 10.1353/ral.2005.0174. * Adesola Adeyemi

African Postcolonial Literature in English.
Martin Banham
reviews Femi Osofisan's ''Major Plays 2'' in the Leeds ''African Studies Bulletin'' 68 (2006). * Don Rubin
"A Brief Introduction to Femi Osofisan"
''Critical Stages/Scènes Critiques'', December 2016: Issue No 14. {{DEFAULTSORT:Osofisan, Femi Nigerian writers People from Ogun State 1946 births Living people Yoruba writers Government College, Ibadan alumni University of Ibadan alumni 20th-century Nigerian writers English-language writers from Nigeria Yoruba academics University of Ibadan faculty Kwara State University faculty

Education and career

Writing

Selected works

Awards

References

Further reading

External links