Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa (13 January 1931 – 16 October 1993), was a Nigerian author who has been called the mother of modern African Literature. She was the forerunner to a generation of African women writers, and the first African woman novelist to be published in the English language in Britain. She achieved international recognition with her first novel '' Efuru,'' published in 1966 by

Heinemann Educational Books William Heinemann Ltd., with the imprint Heinemann, was a London publisher founded in 1890 by William Heinemann. Their first published book, 1890's ''The Bondman'', was a huge success in the United Kingdom and launched the company. He was joined ...

. While never considering herself a feminist, she was best known for recreating life and traditions from an

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

woman's viewpoint.Susan Leisure
"Nwapa, Flora"
Postcolonial Studies @ Emory, Emory University, Fall 1996. She published African literature and promoted women in African society.Literary Encyclopedia
/ref> She was one of the first African women publishers when she founded Tana Press in Nigeria in 1970. Nwapa engaged in governmental work in reconstruction after the

Biafran War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...

; in particular, she worked with orphans and refugees who were displaced during the war.

Biography

Early years and education

Nwapa was born in

Oguta Oguta is a town on the east bank of Oguta Lake in Imo State of southeastern Nigeria. Oguta is called "Oguta-Ameshi" or "Ameshi"- by its aborigines. Indigenes - consists of two parts, the old part which holds the 27 villages of Oguta, and the ...

,Hamilton, Janice, ''Nigeria in Pictures'', p. 71. in south-Eastern Nigeria, the eldest of the six children of Christopher Ijeoma (an agent with the

United Africa Company The United Africa Company (UAC) was a British company which principally traded in West Africa during the 20th century. The United Africa Company was formed in 1929 as a result of the merger of The Niger Company, which had been effectively owne ...

) and Martha Nwapa, a teacher of drama. Flora Nwapa attended school in Oguta, Secondary School at Elelenwa in Port Harcourt and

CMS Girls School, Lagos St Anne's School, Ibadan is a secondary school for girls in Ibadan, Nigeria. The school took its current name in 1950, after a merger between Kudeti Girls School, founded in 1899, and CMS Girls School, Lagos, founded in 1869. It can therefore clai ...

, which later moved to Ibadan to merge with Kudeti Girls School and was renamed St Anne's School Ibadan. In 1953, when she was 22 years old, she attended university and in 1957, at the age of 26, earned a B.A. degree from

University College, 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 ...

. She then went to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, where she earned a Diploma in Education from

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

in 1958.

Family life

Flora Nwapa had three children: Ejine Nzeribe (from her previous relationship), Uzoma Gogo Nwakuche and Amede Nzeribe. She was married to Chief Gogo Nwakuche. Her uncle, A. C. Nwapa, was Nigeria's first Minister of Commerce and Industries, according to ''The House of Nwapa'', the documentary by

Onyeka Nwelue Onyeka Nwelue (born 31 January 1988) is a Nigerian filmmaker, publisher, talk-show host, author, Visiting scholar, academic visitor and founder of the James Currey Society, at the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford and a Visiting Sch ...

Teaching and public service

After returning to Nigeria, Nwapa joined the Ministry of Education in

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and cre ...

as an Education Officer until 1959. She then took employment as a teacher at Queen's School in Enugu, where she taught English and Geography from 1959 to 1962. She continued to work in both education and the civil service in several positions, including as Assistant Registrar,

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

(1962–67). After the

Nigerian civil war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

of 1967–70, she accepted cabinet office as Minister of Health and Social Welfare in East Central State (1970–71), and subsequently as Minister of Lands, Survey and Urban Development (1971–74). She was a visiting lecturer at

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, ...

, Nigeria. In 1989, she was appointed a visiting professor of creative writing at University of Maiduguri

Writing and publishing

Nwapa's first book, '' Efuru'', was published in 1966 at the age of 30 years and is considered a pioneering work as an English-Language novel by an African woman writer. She sent the transcript to the famous Nigerian author

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 ...

in 1962, who replied with a very positive letter and even included money for the postage to mail the manuscript to the English publisher, Heinemann. Nwapa followed ''Efuru'' with the novels such as '' Idu'' (1970), ''Never Again'' (1975), ''One is Enough'' (1981), and ''Women are Different'' (1986). She published two collections of stories''This is Lagos'' (1971) and ''Wives at War'' (1980)and the volume of poems, ''Cassava Song and Rice Song'' (1986). She is also the author of several books for children. In the year 1974, she founded Tana Press, and in 1977 the Flora Nwapa Company, publishing her own adult and children's literature as well as works by other writers. She gave as one of her objectives: "to inform and educate women all over the world, especially Feminists (both with capital F and small f) about the role of women in Nigeria, their economic independence, their relationship with their husbands and children, their traditional beliefs and their status in the community as a whole". Margaret Busby, "Flora Nwapa", '' Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent'' (1992), Vintage: 1993, p. 399. Tana has been described as "the first press run by a woman and targeted at a large female audience. A project far beyond its time at a period when no one saw African women as constituting a community of readers or a book-buying demographic." At the beginning of Nwapa's literary career, as a result of the way feminism was viewed and the way it was portrayed, she had no interest in feminism because she felt it was prejudiced against men but she eventually came to terms with it. However, her struggle with feminism is representative of the present conversations about the movement in Africa and the world at large. Her work was anthologized in publications ranging from ''

Présence Africaine ''Présence Africaine'' is a pan-African quarterly cultural, political, and literary magazine, published in Paris, France, and founded by Alioune Diop in 1947. In 1949, ''Présence Africaine'' expanded to include a publishing house and a bookstore ...

'' and ''

Black Orpheus ''Black Orpheus'' (Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play '' Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Morae ...

'' in the 1960s and '70s to ''

Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, ...

'' in 1992.

Later years

Nwapa's career as an educator continued throughout her life and encompassed teaching at colleges and universities internationally, including at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, the

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 ...

and the

University of Ilorin University of Ilorin, also known as Unilorin, is a federal government-owned university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. It was established by a decree of the federal military government in August, 1975. The establishment aimed to implement one o ...

. She said in an interview with ''Contemporary Authors'', "I have been writing for nearly thirty years. My interest has been on both the rural and the urban woman in her quest for survival in a fast-changing world dominated by men." Flora Nwapa died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on 16 October 1993 at a hospital in Enugu, Nigeria, at the age of 62. Her final novel, ''The Lake Goddess'', was posthumously published.

Selected bibliography

;Novels *'' Efuru'', Heinemann Educational Books, 1966; Waveland Press, 2013, *'' Idu'', Heinemann

African Writers Series The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann (publisher), Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an int ...

, No. 56, ; 1970 *''Never Again'', Enugu: Tana Press, 1975; Nwamife, 1976; Africa World Press, 1992, *''One Is Enough'', Enugu: Flora Nwapa Co., 1981; Tana Press, 1984; Africa World Press, 1992, *''Women are Different'', Enugu: Tana Press, 1986; Africa World Press, 1992, *''The Lake Goddess'', Lawrenceville, NJ: Africa World Press, 1995 ;Short stories/poems *''This Is Lagos and Other Stories'', Enugu: Nwamife, 1971; Africa World Press, 1992, *''Wives at War and Other Stories'', Enugu: Nwamife, 1980; Flora Nwapa Co./Tana Press, 1984; Africa World Press, 1992, *''Cassava Song and Rice Song'', Enugu: Tana Press, 1986 ;Children's books *''Emeka, Driver's Guard'', London: University of London Press, 1972; Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1987 *''Mammywater'', 1979; Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1984 *''The Adventures of Deke'', Enugu: Flora Nwapa Co., 1980 *''The Miracle Kittens'', Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1980 *''Journey to Space'', Enugu: Flora Nwapa Company, 1980

Legacy

Flora Nwapa is the subject of a documentary entitled ''The House of Nwapa'', made by

, that premiered in August 2016. On 13 January 2017, Nwapa's birthday was marked with a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

. Flora Nwapa's son, Uzoma Gogo Nwakuche, founded the Flora Nwapa Foundation, a California non-profit corporation in 1994 following the death of his mother in 1993. The Flora Nwapa Foundation celebrated Efuru@50 in 2016.Yinka Olatunbosun
"Nigeria: Drums for Flora Nwapa's Efuru At 50"
''This Day'', 4 September 2016.

References

External links

"Flora Nwapa (1931–1993)"
Authors' Calendar.
"Efuru Turns 50: 6 Writers Visit Select Pages from Flora Nwapa's Debut Novel"
''The Republic'', 23 February 2017.
"Forfatterinne i dag: Flora Nwapa"
A 1987 Norwegian TV documentary providing insight into Flora Nwapa's family life. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nwapa, Flora 20th-century American women writers 20th-century Nigerian educators 20th-century Nigerian novelists 20th-century Nigerian women writers 20th-century women educators 1931 births 1993 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh American children's writers American women academics American women children's writers Book publishers (people) Deaths from pneumonia in Nigeria English-language writers from Nigeria Igbo academics Igbo educators Igbo novelists Igbo women writers International Writing Program alumni New York University faculty Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States Nigerian publishers (people) Nigerian schoolteachers Nigerian women academics Nigerian women novelists Nigerian women's history People from Imo State St Anne's School, Ibadan alumni University of Ibadan alumni University of Ilorin faculty University of Lagos faculty University of Michigan faculty University of Minnesota faculty