The Republic’s Post

Today in 1931, Flora Nwapa was born. #RPUBLCHistory ⏳⁠ ⁠ On 13 January 1931, Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa, popularly known as Flora Nwapa, was born. She is acknowledged for being the first African female novelist to be published in the English language. She was also one of the first African female publishers.⁠ Born in Oguta, in Imo State, Nigeria, Nwapa had her early education in Oguta, Port Harcourt, and Lagos. She earned a B.A degree at the University College Ibadan, Nigeria, and a diploma in education from Edinburgh University in the United Kingdom. Nwapa began her career as an author with the publication of Efuru in 1966, which earned her wide critical acclaim, and an official spot on the English curriculum for Nigerian schools. Beyond her work as a writer, Nwapa was an educator, teaching at colleges and universities around the world. In 1977, she founded Tana Press (later Flora Nwapa Books), through which she published several novels, short stories, and poetry throughout her lifetime. Nwapa is known for challenging unfair cultural practices against the African woman. Her novels combine traditional Igbo lore and myths with contemporary dilemmas to create complex characters struggling for independence in their societies. She showed women succeeding outside of the traditional woman’s role of mother and wife, while also reaffirming Igbo culture. Nwapa died of pneumonia in October 1993, at the age of 62. Read more about Flora Nwapa’s works here: https://lnkd.in/eUxS6Ga5 ___________ 📝: Etashe Okpola. 📷: 1) 1) Flora Nwapa in 1973. John Prieto.⁠ 2) Flora Nwapa. Dangerous Women Project.⁠ 3) Picture of Florence Nwapa. WIKIMEDIA COMMON.

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