Chris Abani
Christopher Abani | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 27, 1966 Afikpo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, poet, professor |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Known for | Novels, poetry, teaching |
| Notable work | GraceLand, The Secret History of Las Vegas, Sanctificum |
Christopher Abani (born 27 December 1966) is a Nigerian American writer recognized as part of a contemporary wave of Nigerian authors who articulate the experiences of individuals born and raised in Nigeria for an English-speaking readership.
Biography
Abani’s birthplace is Afikpo, located in Ebonyi State in southeastern Nigeria. His heritage includes an Igbo father and an English mother.
At just 16 years old in 1985, he released his debut novel, Masters of the Board, a political thriller serving as an allegory for a recent coup in Nigeria. Following this publication, Abani was detained for six months under accusations of plotting to overthrow the government. After his release, he persisted with his writing but was imprisoned again for one year due to his 1987 novel Sirocco, during which he suffered torture at Kiri Kiri prison. Post-release, he authored anti-government plays that were staged near official government buildings over a two-year period. A third incarceration saw him placed on death row; however, he was freed in 1991 when friends intervened by bribing officials. Subsequently, Abani moved with his family to the United Kingdom, where he lived until 1999 before relocating to the United States, his current residence.
Education and career
Abani earned a B.A. in English and Literary Studies from Imo State University, Nigeria; followed by an M.A. in Gender and Culture from Birkbeck, University of London; and later completed both an M.A. in English and a Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Southern California.
Throughout his career, he has been honored with numerous distinguished awards including the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, the 2001 Prince Claus Awards, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, the California Book Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the PEN/Hemingway Award. Between 2007 and 2012, Abani served as Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.
Presently, he holds the position of Director of the Program of African Studies as well as Board of Trustees Professor of English at Northwestern University.
His 2010 poetry volume, Sanctificum (published by Copper Canyon Press), fuses elements of religious ritual, the Igbo language, and reggae-inspired rhythms into a liturgical love poem transcending racial boundaries.
Abani established the Black Goat poetry series under New York’s Akashic Books imprint, which has published poets including Kwame Dawes, Christina Garcia, Kate Durbin, Karen Harryman, Uche Nduka, Percival Everett, Khadijah Queen, and Gabriela Jauregui.
His crime novel The Secret History of Las Vegas garnered the 2015 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original.
In 2016, Israeli independent publisher Ra'av issued a comprehensive selection of Abani’s works titled Shi’ur Geografia (meaning "Geography Lesson" in Hebrew), marking the introduction of his poetry to Hebrew-speaking audiences with favorable critical acclaim.
Published works
Novels
- Masters of the Board (Delta, 1985)
- GraceLand (FSG, 2004 / Picador, 2005)
- The Virgin of Flames (Penguin, 2007)
- The Secret History of Las Vegas (Penguin, 2014)
Novellas
- Becoming Abigail (Akashic Books, 2006)
- Song For Night (Akashic Books, 2007)
Poetry
- Kalakuta Republic (Saqi, 2001)
- Daphne's Lot (Red Hen Press, 2003)
- Dog Woman (Red Hen Press, 2004)
- Hands Washing Water (Copper Canyon Press, 2006)
- There are no names for red (Red Hen Press, 2010)
- Feed me the sun (Peepal Tree Press, 2010)
- Sanctificum (Copper Canyon Press, 2010)
- Smoking the Bible (Copper Canyon Press, 2022)
Essays
- The Face (Restless Books, 2014)
Awards and honours
Abani’s literary achievements have been recognized through various prestigious awards for both his fiction and poetry. Among these are the Middleton Fellowship awarded by the University of Southern California in 2001, the Lannan Foundation Literary Fellowship and the Hellman/Hammet Grant from Human Rights Watch in 2003, as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction granted in 2009.
His first novel, GraceLand, secured the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in 2005. It was also shortlisted for several other notable prizes such as the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction and the Commonwealth Writers Prize in the Africa region. The novella Becoming Abigail was selected as an Editor’s Choice by The New York Times, a Critic’s Choice by Chicago Reader, and featured as a book club pick by Essence Magazine. Both The Virgin of Flames and Song For Night were likewise recognized as Editor’s Choice selections by The New York Times.
Further distinctions include receiving the Distinguished Humanist Award from the University of California, Riverside in 2008 and winning the PEN/Beyond Margins Award for Song For Night that same year. His novel The Secret History of Las Vegas earned the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original in 2015.
| Year | Title | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | PEN USA West Freedom-to-Write Award | ||
| Prince Claus Award for Literature & Culture | |||
| 2002 | Imbongi Yesizwe Poetry International Award | ||
| 2005 | "Blooding" in StoryQuarterly | Pushcart Prize | Nominee |
| GraceLand | PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel | Winner | |
| GraceLand | Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Debut Novel | Winner | |
| GraceLand | California Book Award for Fiction | Silver Medal | |
| GraceLand | Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction | Finalist | |
| GraceLand | Commonwealth Writers Prize Best Books (Africa Region) | Finalist | |
| 2006 | "Template:Sortname" | Pushcart Prize for Poetry | Nominee |
| GraceLand | International Dublin Literary Award | Shortlist | |
| 2007 | Becoming Abigail | PEN/Beyond Margins Award | Finalist |
| Sanctificum | Pushcart Prize for Poetry | Nominee | |
| 2008 | Song For Night | PEN/Beyond Margins Award | Winner |
| Template:Sortname | Lamada Award | Nominee | |
| 2009 | Song For Night | St. Francis College Literary Prize | Shortlist |
| 2015 | Template:Sortname | Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original | Winner |
See also
External links
- 1966 births
- 20th-century Nigerian novelists
- 21st-century Nigerian novelists
- 21st-century Nigerian poets
- Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London
- Crime fiction writers
- Edgar Award winners
- Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winners
- Igbo novelists
- Igbo poets
- Igbo-language writers
- Imo State University alumni
- Living people
- Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States
- Nigerian male novelists
- Nigerian male poets
- Nigerian people of English descent
- Nigerian publishers (people)
- Northwestern University faculty
- People from Ebonyi State
- Prisoners and detainees of Nigeria
- University of California, Riverside faculty
- University of Southern California alumni
- Political prisoners in Nigeria