Everyone had Chinua Achebe in mind as the next person to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for Nigeria.... However, since he's late now - who has the best chance of winning the coveted prize??

Personally, I think Ben Okri is the most deserving Nigerian for the prize... He's the best Nigeria has to offer for now - and I wish him all the best... Africa definitely needs to win it again.

This should not be in politics section. Perhaps in education section

that chidinma girl-

^^^I doubt it - I don't think she's on Ben Okri's level yet...

Andre Uweh: This should not be in politics section. Perhaps in education section

Literature should be better

Niyi Osundare.

shymexx I agree. Ben Okri is a master writer. Fully deserving of the Nobel.

Have you read Astonishing the Gods?

Ben Okri

Awards and honours

1987 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region, Best Book) - Incidents at the Shrine
1987 Aga Khan Prize for Fiction - Incidents at the Shrine
1988 Guardian Fiction Prize - Stars of the New Curfew (shortlisted)
1991 to 1993 Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts Trinity College, Cambridge
1991 Booker Prize - The Famished Road
1993 Chianti Ruffino-Antico Fattore International Literary Prize - The Famished Road
1994 Premio Grinzane Cavour (Italy) -The Famished Road
1995 Crystal Award (World Economic Forum)
1997 Honorary Doctorate of Literature, awarded by University of Westminster
2000 Premio Palmi (Italy) - Dangerous Love
2001 Order of the British Empire (OBE)
2002 Honorary Doctorate of Literature, awarded by University of Essex
2004 Honorary Doctor of Literature, awarded by University of Exeter
2008 International Literary Award Novi Sad (International Novi Sad Literature Festival, Serbia).
2009 Honorary Doctorate of Utopia, awarded by University voor het Algemeen Belang, Belgium
2010 Honorary Doctorate, awarded by School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
2010 Honorary Doctorate of Arts, awarded by the University of Bedfordshire



Novels

Flowers and Shadows (1980)
The Landscapes Within (1981)
The Famished Road (1991)
Songs of Enchantment (1993)
Astonishing the Gods (1995)
Birds of Heaven (1995)
Dangerous Love (1996)
Infinite Riches (1998)
In Arcadia (2002)
Starbook (2007)


Poetry, essays and short stories

Incidents at the Shrine (1986)
Stars of the New Curfew (1988)
An African Elegy (1992)
A Way of Being Free (1997)
Mental Fight (1999)
Tales of Freedom (2009)
A Time for New Dreams (2011)
Wild (2012)

I don't really see any body winning that prize for now except CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE

I really like Ben Okri's work, but I think Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie may be the next Nigerian to win the Nobel Laureate in Literature.

All she has to do follow up on the success of her first novel, "Half of a Yellow Sun."

yes it the turn of the Ibos the Best humans

omonnakoda: yes it the turn of the Ibos the Best humans

Is this necessary?

Why must we see everything through the tribal lens?

sbeezy8: that chidinma girl-

chimanma is too tribal just like ashebe so we know her future just like ashebe = No Nobel. All her writings just like ashebe are all tribal and biafran so whose gonna take her seriously.?

Feed me more:

Is this necessary?

Why must we see everything through the tribal lens?

It is getting quite tiresome.

Yet, some of these people will be the same people complaining about racism in the United States or the United Kingdom. If they cannot show their fellow countryman with respect, how do they expect the respect of others?

omonnakoda: yes it the turn of the Ibos the Best humans

Will you shut up and get lost from this thread. Ignorant fool.

ROSSIKE: shymexx I agree. Ben Okri is a master writer. Fully deserving of the Nobel.

Have you read Astonishing the Gods?

Nah, I'm planning to add it to my reading list for this summer...

Eko Ile:


chimanma is too tribal just like ashebe so we know her future just like ashebe = No Nobel. All her writings just like ashebe are all tribal and biafran so whose gonna take her seriously.?

GBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TheBookWorm: I really like Ben Okri's work, but I think Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie may be the next Nigerian to win the Nobel Laureate in Literature.

All she has to do follow up on the success of her first novel, "Half of a Yellow Sun."

I think Chimamanda is a good writer, however, she needs to come out of the shadows of Chinua Achebe - and create a niche for herself in the literary world... "Half of a Yellow Sun" is a good novel but all her recent works have been mediocre at best... And her style of writing doesn't have the type of African spiritualism and soul most African writers are known for them... Perhaps, it's because she's a devoted Christian.... She also doesn't have the consistency required for the top prize

Ben Okri on the other hand writes with African spiritualism and soul - and his works give you the realness, though it's fiction... His mastery of the language and his use of English is also on a different level compared to Chimamanda... And he's consistent as well...

I was opportune to attend a seminar in which he was a guest speaker whilst I was Uni - and this man definitely made me proud to be Nigerian... I became an instant fan!!

I just hope one of them wins the prize for Nigeria...

Can you lot take your tribalism off my thread - let's have a normal discourse without bringing the next person down!!

Andre Uweh: This should not be in politics section. Perhaps in education section

Why can't you drag it there??

shymexx:

I think Chimamanda is a good writer, however, she needs to come out of the shadows of Chinua Achebe - and create a niche for herself in the literary world... "Half of a Yellow Sun" is a good novel but all her recent works have been mediocre at best... And her style of writing doesn't have the type of African spiritualism and soul most African writers are known for them...

Do you know that for this very reason I've been unable to read past the first couple of pages of that Half of A Yellow Sun book? Her writing just seems so pedestrian.

If you wish to read spirtualism, just read W.E.B. Du bois book, "Souls of Black Folk."

Sorry I went on a tangent.

shymexx:

Nah, I'm planning to add it to my reading list for this summer...

Cool. Astonishing the Gods is one of those novels you read and you ask yourself, ''Did a Nigerian really write this book?'' Okri's command of the English language is just exceptional.

As I'm sure you know, The Famished Road is his most accomplished novel, and if he's ever gonna win the Nobel, it will be largely because of that work.

ROSSIKE:
Do you know that for this very reason I've been unable to read past the first couple of pages of that Half of A Yellow Sun book? Her writing just seems so pedestrian.

Perhaps, that's why majority of the people can relate to her because of the simplicity in her style of writing... She's more of a storyteller...

You need to be a novel head to be able to see that she needs to step it up a bit...

TheBookWorm: If you wish to read spirtualism, just read W.E.B. Du bois book, "Souls of Black Folk."

Sorry I went on a tangent.

However, W.E.B wasn't really an "African" per se and most would argue that there's no way "Souls of Black Folk" could give that quintessentially African spiritualism that's a derivative from our unique cultures and traditions..

ROSSIKE:
Cool. Astonishing the Gods is one of those novels you read and you ask yourself, ''Did a Nigerian really write this book?'' Okri's command of the English language is just exceptional.

As I'm sure you know, The Famished Road is his most accomplished novel, and if he's ever gonna win the Nobel, it will be largely because of that work.

Word!

Not just the way he writes - you need to hear him speak as well...

I'll open a thread about the book when I get to read it this summer..

ROSSIKE:

Will you shut up and get lost from this thread. Ignorant fool.

Are you talking to your mother like that??

Ive not read Ben Okri in a while and neither Chimamanda but looking at the last 5 winners of the Literature, the writer has to have a strong blend of his roots with contemporary narration (contemporary now covers war, same sex issues, economic deprivations) - issues that can move the world on an emotional scale
This i dont know yet if we have someone in naija that can do this

I love the writer of Baba Segi's wives

I love Ben Okri, his writings are just exceptional for those who have read some his novels and books, especially his fictional stories, Niyi Osundare is another well rounded poet and Literary icon, both are well respected but i think Ben Okri stands the best chance.

Chimamanda is going to be very great!!! i do not harbor any iota of pessimism about her talent and prospects, but its not time yet..she would be very great and that is for sure.

Literature is more than storytelling and so populist appeal is no measure of literary success. Otherwise Jackie Collins would be established as a literary icon
It is difficult to write quality works of literature whether prose or poetry without actually having lived life or having genuine experiences to write about whilst still quite young. This has even caused speculation(not by me) about whether Shakespeare or someone else wrote his several masterpieces. Of course one can go to school and study how to write,study the works of master and then rework that to match one's situation.It is difficult but literary succcess often comes with a lifetime of effort,not many succeed while young and not everyone can win awards.
Talking about Nigeria's next great is an interesting one. We do not have that many writers,certainly not as many as we should have.So we tend to over embellish and hyperbolize whatever success our young ones might have.I think the literary world is kind and perhaps indulgent to Nigerian writers though the trailblazers have burdened the young generation with a weight of expectation that few other African writers have.Okri is able to write the way he does because he has lived in Nigeria,the real Nigeria and has a wealth of experience to draw upon. I admire him greatly and yet when matched against foreign competition he is not yet there in my opinion.

shymexx:

However, W.E.B wasn't really an "African" per se and most would argue that there's no way "Souls of Black Folk" could give that quintessentially African spiritualism that's a derivative from our unique cultures and traditions..

I disagree with your W.E.B. Du Boise comment. He saw himself as African. The man even died and was buried in Ghana. "Souls of Black Folk" gives an amalgamation of what it means to have African spiritualism.

That is why many black churches across the globe sings the old negro spirituals that helped Black Americans survive the horrors of slavery.