Historical person
Christopher Okigbo
1932–1967
Christopher Okigbo was a Nigerian poet whose compressed, allusive writing made him one of the most important African poets of the generation that came to prominence around independence. Educated at Ibadan, he worked as a teacher, librarian and publisher, and his poetry drew on classical literature, Christian imagery and Igbo religious traditions while responding increasingly to Nigeria’s political crisis.
Okigbo was one of the most important anglophone African poets of his generation and a close friend of Chinua Achebe. He rejected opportunities to leave the war zone, enlisted in the Biafran army and died during fighting near Nsukka in 1967.
In Chinua Achebe’s [( There Was a Country by Achebe, the later chapters examine the federal blockade, mass starvation, international diplomacy and Biafra’s defeat in January 1970. Achebe includes poetry written during the war and reflects on the deaths of friends such as Christopher Okigbo, as well as his own service as a cultural representative for Biafra.
Non Fiction
Non Fiction featuring Christopher Okigbo (1 book)
Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.