The Mother Of African LiteratureGuardian Life — The Guardian Nigeria Newspaper – Nigeria and World News

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Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa was born on this day, the 13th of January in 1931 in Oguta, Imo state.

At a time when going to school at a young age was a prestigious achievement, the 22-year-old gained admission to University College, Ibadan in 1953. Upon graduation, the 26-year-old headed to Scotland to earn a diploma in education.

After her education at Edinburgh University, the 27-year-old landed a teaching job at Queens College Enugu. Her job allowed her to have time to pursue other interests and so, Nwapa wrote short stories. She sent one of her stories to Nigeria’s international literary figure, Chinua Achebe. A surprised Nwapa got positive feedback and money from Achebe to send to her publisher, Heinemann. This became her motivation.

In 1966, at 30, Nwapa’s first novel, Efuru put her on the international spotlight making her the first African woman to have her novel published in the English language in Britain.

Florence Nwapa’s book Efuru

Soon, Nwapa became known…



Source: Guardian Newspaper