Ernest Emenyonu
Ernest Emenyonu is a notable African literature critic and professor. He was formerly head of department of English and Literary Studies, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, in that order, through the 1980s and 1990s. He was also Provost of Alvan Ikoku College of Education in Imo state Nigeria.
Ernest Emenyonu is one of the preeminent scholars in the world on African Literature. He has published biographies on notable writers Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi. While at the University of Calabar, Prof Emenyonu founded and chaired the Calabar annual International Conference on African Literature and the English Language ICALEL. This promoted interaction of African writers and critics with visiting international scholars.
Prof. Emenyonu is a research professor at The University of Michigan. He held the position of Head of Department of Africana Studies. Presently, he is the Editor of the oldest journal in the world on African literature- African Literature Today. He continues to write, publish and serve as a literary critic . He has made notable contributions to the University of Michigan-Flint such as bringing Nobel Prize winner in Literature Wole Soyinka to the campus, as well as women's rights activist Nawal El Sadaawi.
Ernest Emenyonu is Knight of Saint Christopher Church. He is also a Chief in his hometown of Imo State, Nigeria. He was given the title Ugwu Mba 1 of Mbieri translated to mean "pride of his people." He is married to his longtime wife Patricia Emenyonu with four children and has three granddaughters.
References
- Introduction” Goatskin Bags and Wisdom: New Critical Perspectives on African Literature, Emenyonu, E. N., Trenton: AWP 2000. ISBN 0-86543-670-3 (hb) ISBN 0-86543-671-1 (pb)
- Tales of our Motherland, E. N. Emenyonu, Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books, 1999.
- The rise of the Igbo novel, Emenyonu, E. N., Oxford University Press, 1978 ISBN 978-154-023-0, ISBN 0-19-575447-6
- New Women's Writing in African Literature, Emenyonu, E. N. (ed), Department of Africana Studies, University of Michigan-Flint
- Literature and society: selected essays on African literature, Emenyonu, E. N., Oguta, Nigeria: Zim Pan African Publishers, 1986
