Seeing Nigerian Writers -- ep. by Howard Rambsy II

A brief take on how perspective shapes categorization in Nigerian literature, tracing shifting views from Igbo and Yoruba writers to global recognition of figures like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Written by Howard Rambsy II

Read by Kassandra Timm

Transcript

What we see depends on who we are.

 A Black American undergraduate glanced at a roster of Black writers and said, “Oh, those are African writers.”

 A Black American graduate student looked at the same list and said, “Oh, those are Nigerian writers.”

 And then a graduate student from Nigeria read it and said, “Oh, those are Igbo [Ibo] writers — we should include some of my writers who are Yoruba.”

 You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions — a podcast about the reach and circulation of Black literary art and more.

 The so-called “first wave” of Nigerian writers gained global attention during the 1950s through the 1970s. The most famous was an Igbo writer, Chinua Achebe, whose landmark novel Things Fall Apart still remains widely read and stays on must-read lists around the world. The promotion of Achebe’s work paved the way for other Igbo novelists such as Cyprian Ekwensi and Flora Nwapa.

 The well-known Heinemann African Writers Series amplified the voices of Nigerian novelists, especially Igbo writers, on a global stage. Yoruba-language literature, though vibrant and inventive, did not receive comparable translation and marketing support.

 During the twenty-first century, Nigerian writers across ethnic groups have made major strides. They collectively publish with major international houses; they earn prestigious awards; and they enjoy wide critical and popular readerships. Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Buchi Emecheta, Ben Okri, Teju Cole, Chigozie Obioma, and many others have all garnered acclaim and critical attention.

 Perhaps the best-known new writer of the twenty-first century is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. An Igbo writer, Adichie has won numerous international prizes and delivered widely viewed public talks. Her works have been translated into dozens of languages and adapted for stage and screen, cementing her reputation as one of the defining literary voices of our time.

 Categories like “African,” “Nigerian,” or “Igbo” can take on very different meanings depending on where we stand and where we come from. These terms are not fixed labels but shifting lenses shaped by cultural background, training, geography, and experience. As new generations of readers encounter these writers, their perspectives will continue to broaden the map of Nigerian literature and redraw its borders, expanding who is visible and locatable in that category of writers.

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This episode was written by Howard Rambsy, edited by Elizabeth Cali, and read by me, Kassandra Timm.

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