Ekwensi, Cyprian

Ekwensi, Cyprian 

Born 1921 in Minna. Nigerian novelist who writes in English.

In the novels People of the City (1954; Russian translation, 1965) and Jagua Nana (1961), Ekwensi criticizes the morality of Nigeria’s developing bourgeoisie and reveals the psychological problems of urbanization in Africa. In the novel Beautiful Feathers (1963) he appealed to the people to unite. The fate of the people involved in the ethnic conflict that initiated the civil war of 1967–70 are dealt with in the novel Iska (1966). The life of the Fula cattle breeders is depicted poetically in the novella Burning Crass (1962; Russian translation, 1963).

Ekwensi has also written books for young people and retellings of popular legends.

WORKS

Lokotown and Other Stories. [No place] 1966.
Restless City and Christmas Gold. London, 1975.

REFERENCES

Ivasheva, V. V. Literatura stran Zapadnoi Afriki. Moscow, 1967.
Vavilov, V. N. Proza Nigerii. Moscow, 1973.
Vavilov, V. N. “Literatura Nigerii.” In Sovremennye literatury Afriki: Sev. i Zap. Afrika. Moscow, 1973.
Laurence, M. “Masks of the City: Cyprian Ekwensi.” In her Long Drums and Cannons. London-Melbourne-Toronto, 1968.

S. P. KARTUZOV