Fidelis Uchenna Okoro
Fidelis Uchenna Okoro (died 2021), also known as Fidoko, was a Nigerian poet, novelist, playwright, musician and film producer. As a faculty member of the University of Nigeria, he authored two novels, two poetry collections, and five plays; co-edited a poetry collection; released three albums; and produced four films.
Education
[edit]Okoro graduated from the University of Nigeria in the 1990s.[1][2][independent source needed]
Career
[edit]Academic
[edit]Okoro joined the teaching staff of the university[which?] in May 1997.[citation needed] He was a senior lecturer[citation needed] in the Department of English and Literary Studies at the University of Nigeria.[3]
He co-edited Africa and World Literature: University of Nigeria Journal of Literary Studies[3] and was an editorial advisor for The Muse, the student journal at the University of Nigeria.[4][independent source needed] In 2022, The Muse created the Fidelis Okoro Prize for Poetry, sponsored by Friday Romanus, in his honor.[5][independent source needed]
Okoro was nominated by the University of Nigeria Staff Awards for the "Beat Dressed Lecturer (Male)" and the "Most Popular Lecturer (Male)".[6]
Writing
[edit]Okoro authored two novels, two poetry collections, and five plays. He also co-edited Apples of Gold: A Pageant of Modern Nigerian Poems with Emeka Joseph Otagburuagu.[citation needed]
In 1998, Okoro published his first full-length work, a play entitled Wisdom of the Ostrich. He later published the plays Joys of War (2000), Prof Zemzi’s Last Rehearsal (2005),[7] Quagmire (2010),[8] and Preamble to Apocalypse (2016).[3][9] Quagmire was the runner-up for the 2010 ANA/J.P. Clark Drama Prize.[10] The same year, the book, Quagmire, was shortlisted for the NNDC Prize for Drama.[1]
Okoro's third full-length publication was the novel The Rape of Regina (2002), which was followed by Cracking the Shell (2013).[11] Cracking the Shell was shortlisted for the 2009 ANA/Jacaranda Prose Prize.[1][3]
Okoro published his first poetry collection, When the Bleeding Heart Breaks, in 2006. The collection became the first runner-up for the 2006 ANA/Cadbury Poetry Prize.[1][3][10] His second collection, Pimples and Dimples, was published in 2012 and was the first runner-up for the 2012 ANA/Gabriel Okara Poetry Prize.[citation needed]
Music
[edit]Okoro released three albums: One More Mile, Call on Me (2008),[3] and Baby Kpurunu m Ishi.
Film
[edit]In 2006, Okoro founded Fidoko Films International. With the company, he produced and direct four films: Saved by Sin (2007), Peace of the Graveyard, Uzumagada: The Search for Inspiration, and Paradisico.[3][10]
Personal life
[edit]Fidelis Okoro was a devout Jehovah’s Witness.[citation needed] He died from leukemia on June 22, 2021.[3]
Filmography
[edit]- Saved by Sin (2007)
- Peace of the Graveyard
- Uzumagada: The Search for Inspiration
- Paradisico
Publications
[edit]Novels
[edit]- The Rape of Regina. University of Nigeria Press. 2002. ISBN 978-978-2299-38-3.
- Cracking the Shell. Xlibris Corporation. 2013. ISBN 978-1-453-55222-3.
Poetry
[edit]- When the Bleeding Heart Breaks. El 'Demark Publishers. 2006. ISBN 978-9-788-06179-3.
- Pimples and Dimples. 2012.
Plays
[edit]- Wisdom of the Ostrich (1998)
- Joys of War. New Generation Books. 2000. ISBN 978-978-2900-51-7.
- Prof Zemzi’s Last Rehearsal (2005)
- Quagmire (2010)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Ibrahim, Abubakar A. (5 December 2010). "The many talents of Fidelis Okoro". Daily Trust. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- ^ "Notes on the Contributors" (PDF). Okike: An African Journal of New Writing (32): 130. February 1996.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Oluigbo, Chuks (24 June 2021). "Fidoko: The man and his art". Businessday NG. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- ^ "Contributors" (PDF). The Muse. 44: 2. July 2016.
- ^ "The 2022 Literary Arts Festival and Unveiling of The Muse no. 49 Journal". The Muse Journal. 26 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- ^ "List Of Nominees". UNN Staff Awards. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
- ^ Agu, Innocent; Amoniyan, Oluwasegun; Agu, Evangelist; Pembi, Clement (February 2020). "Portrayal of Feminine Gender in Okoro's Prof Zemzi's Last Rehearsal". Fuwgestj: Journal of the General Studies Unit. 2 (3). Federal University, Wukari: 5–21.
- ^ Ugwuanyi, Kingsley O.; Ekeh, Sosthenes N. (October 2015). "Shifting the Borders: Genre-crossing in Modern Africa Drama". Research Innovator. 2 (5): 1–11.
- ^ Udengwu, Ngozi; Nnanna, Ndubuisi; Obasi, Nelson (June 2022). "Women in Internally Displaced Persons' camps, a halfway house or a purgatory: Discourse analysis of Embers and Preamble to Apocalypse" (PDF). IKENGA: International Journal of Institute of African Studies. 23 (2): 1–37. doi:10.53836/ijia/2022/23/2/004.
- ^ a b c "Fidelis Uchenna Okoro: Immortalised in Art". The Nation Newspaper. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- ^ Umezurike, Gideon Uzoma (June 2017). "Redemptive Fantasy, Restoration and the Exigencies of Kleos and Nostos in F. U. Okoro's Cracking the Shell". The Muse. 45.
Further reading
[edit]- Nwabuisi, Benjamin Abia (December 2020). "When the Shell Refuses to Crack: Ambiguity as Structural Conduit in Fidelis Okoro's Cracking the Shell" (PDF). Ogbazuluobodo: University of Nigeria Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies. 2 (1).
- Ejesu, Onyemuche Anele (December 2020). "Ideology and Revolution in Twenty-First Century Nigerian Poetry: The Examples of Odio Odeimun and Fidelis Okoro" (PDF). Ogbazuluobodo: University of Nigeria Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies. 2 (1).
External links
[edit]- Fidelis Uchenna Okoro publications indexed by Google Scholar
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