Ikeogu Oke has been announced as the winner of the 2017 NLNG Prize for Literature at the World Press Conference hosted today.
Ikeogu Oke won the $100,000 prize with his poetry collection, The Heresiad, published by KraftGriots.
This announcement follows an initial longlist of eleven authours released in July which was later whittled down to a shortlist of three authors in August. Tanure Ojaide (Songs of Myself: Quartet), and Ogaga Ifowodo (A Good Mourning) made up the the shortlisted trio.
In a chat with Olisa Blogazine, the writer called the award a “great recognition” of his work as a poet, while urging for a “poetrymania” across globe, a dream he hopes would make poetry more “pleasurable.”
He said:
“I thank the NLNG. I thank the judges for the decision. I thank everyone that has supported my work over the years. This is a great recognition of my work as a poet. I urge everyone to keep working harder so that poetry received the recognition it deserves. I believe we can start a poetrymania in Nigeria and across the globe and this will come from poets working together to make poetry pleasurable. I am grateful. I am humbled. Even though I work hard at what I do, I am humbled by this honour.”
Past winners of the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature since 2004, include Gabriel Okara (co-winner, 2004, poetry), Professor Ezenwa Ohaeto (co-winner, 2004, poetry) for The Dreamer, His Vision; Ahmed Yerima (2005, drama) for his play, Hard Ground; Mabel Segun (co-winner, 2007, children’s literature) for her collection of short plays Reader’s Theatre; Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo (co-winner, 2007, children’s literature) for her book, My Cousin Sammy; Kaine Agary (2008, prose) for her book Yellow Yellow; Esiaba Irobi (2010, drama) who clinched the prize posthumously with his book Cemetery Road; Adeleke Adeyemi (2011, children’s literature) with his book The Missing Clock; Chika Unigwe (2012, prose), with her novel, On Black Sisters Street; Tade Ipadeola (2013, poetry) with his collection of poems, The Sahara Testaments and Professor Sam Ukala (2014, drama) with his play, Iredi War, and Season of Crimson Blossoms, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (2016- prose).
Congratulations to him!
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