Akinwunmi Isola
Professor Akinwunmi Isola (24 December 1939[1][2] – 17 February 2018) was a Nigerian playwright, novelist, actor, dramatist, culture activist
and scholar. He was known for his writing in, and his work in promoting, the Yoruba language.[3]
Early life and career
He
was born in Ibadan in 1939, attended Labode Methodist School and Wesley College.
He studied at the University of Ibadan, earning a B.A. in French. He earned an M.A. in Yoruba
literature from the University of Lagos
in 1978 before commencing academic work as a lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University.
He
was appointed Professor at the same University in 1991. Isola wrote his first
play, Efunsetan Aniwura,[4]
during 1961-62 while still a student at the University of Ibadan. This was followed by a novel, O Leku. In 1986, he wrote and composed the college anthem
that is currently being sung in Wesley College Ibadan.
He
went on to write a number of plays and novels. He broke into broadcasting,
creating a production company that has turned a number of his plays into
television dramas and films. Though he claims that "my target audience are
Yorubas", Isola has also written in English[5] and translated to Yoruba.
On
May 4, 2015, his book, Herbert Macaulay and the Spirit of Lagos was staged at
University of Ilorin, Kwara state at the Performing Arts Theatre, it was
directed by Adams Abdulfatai Ayomide, for the annual season of plays festival.
In
2000, in recognition of his immense contributions, he was awarded the National
Merit Award and the Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters. He was a
visiting professor at the University of Georgia.[6]
Personal life
Akinwunmi
Isola was married and had four children.
Death
References
Nichols, Lee (20 February 1981). "Conversations with African Writers: Interviews
with Twenty-six African Authors". Voice of America – via Google Books.
#nationalweekofremembrancefordepartedwriters
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