Donatus Ibeakwadalam Nwoga | |
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Born | Donatus Ibeakwadalam Nwoga 30 July 1933 |
Died | 1991 (aged 57–58) |
Nationality | Nigerian |
Alma mater | University of London; Queen's University Belfast |
Occupations |
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Years active | ?—1991 |
Notable work | West African Verse: An Anthology, and Poetic Heritage: Igbo Traditional Verse |
Donatus Nwoga (30 July 1933 – 1991) was a poetry critic and professor of African literature at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Nwoga was from Mbaise in Imo State, Nigeria. He studied at St Brigid's School, Ahiara.[1] In the 1950s, Nwoga studied at the University of London and then at Queen's University Belfast, where he attended classes with the poet Seamus Heaney.[2] Nwoga was a founding editor of the student magazine Gorgon and likely the first person to publish Heaney's work.[3][4]
Nwoga and Romanus Egudu researched Igbo poetry and published a collection of translated into English.[5] Nwoga taught with Chinua Achebe in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.[6]
He was a member of organisations including the African Literature Association, the International African Institute, the Association for Commonwealth Language and Literature Studies, and The Folklore Society.[1]
Nwoga was the author of West African Verse: An Anthology, and Poetic Heritage: Igbo Traditional Verse, among other publications.[7][8]
Following Nwoga's death in 1991, Heaney wrote a tribute to him titled "A Dog Was Crying Tonight in Wicklow Also".[9]
The Institute of African Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, launched a Dictionary of Igbo Proverbs in Nwoga's honour.[10]
A memorial lecture was in Nwoga's name was created at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.[11] In the opening remarks of the 2020 lecture, Dean of the Faculty of Arts Nnanyelugo Okoro described Nwoga as "a humanist and intellectual elephant.[11]
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