The Trial Of Christopher Okigbo

Written during the Nigerian-Biafran War of the late 1960s, The Trial of Christopher Okigbo boldly tackles questions of Pan-Africanism and independence - with the answers leading to blissful immortality or eternal damnation... After a fatal car accident, Hamisi wakes up in a strange land called After-Africa – an afterworld for all Africans who have died since history began. He soon finds out, however, that his position in the afterlife hangs in the balance. To be allowed to stay, Hamisi must participate in the absurd trial of the renowned poet and solider, Christopher Okigbo, who was killed on the front lines. His crime? Choosing war over his art... The Trial of Christopher Okigbo is a wondrously surreal examination into the responsibilities of art and war and their uncomfortable coexistence. '[The Trial of Christopher Okigbo is] its own best proof that important political questioning and art are not mutually exclusive.' New York Times 'Whether in speech or in writing, Mazrui dissected and unravelled Africa in a delightful manner.' Guardian

A collection of essays and reviews, both favourable and negative, about the Igbo poet. The book begins with a memorial essay by Chinua Achebe. Other contributors examine the imagery that Okigbo drew from nature, history and politics, exploring the surrealistic qualities of his work.

"A discourse on society, art, and war though weighed down by the systemic misogyny."--Goodreads

Biography of the Nigerian poet whose work combined Igbo mysticism and classical influences.

This book is the first comparative work of its kind to provide an extended analysis of the contribution of Kamau Brathwaite and Christopher Okigbo. It considers the poetic works of these two artists as they responded to the transformations taking place within Africa and the Caribbean during the Independence period. Some of the issues discussed include: politics and art, religion, spirituality, traditional culture versus popular culture, language and identity, literature and orality, cyber-culture and identity. This book highlights some of the similarities and differences in the life and work of these two poets and examines various aspects of their style. It provides a clearer understanding of the stances these artists took on crucial issues that would shape the face of their respective societies way beyond the Independence period.

In 1996 President Nelson Mandela described Professor Ali A. Mazrui (1933-2014) as "an outstanding educationist and freedom fighter." In 2002 the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan referred to Professor Mazrui as "Africa's gift to the world." Author of more than 35 books and hundreds of articles, Professor Mazrui was an African scholar who had treated with uncommon verve and flair a wide-range of themes that included globalization, the triple heritage, peace, and social justice. This volume engages with some of those themes that excited his mind for over six decades. The multidisciplinary essays seek to underline the highlights of Mazrui's intellectual journey and attest to the fact that he was public intellectual par excellence. Indeed, in 2005, he was named one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world. This book is a product of a symposium held from 15 to 17 July 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya. The symposium was jointly organized by the Twaweza Communications, Nairobi, Kenya, and the Institute of Global Cultural Studies (State University of New York at Binghamton) which Ali Mazrui created and presided over as the Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities from 1991 to 2014.