One of Nigeria’s most celebrated authors, Ben Okri is the author of many post-colonial novels, poetry, short story collections and essays. With his new eco-fable, “Every Leaf a Hallelujah,” and a revised edition of his 1995 novel, “Astonishing the Gods,” his voice is as vital and resonant as ever. He is joined by Chika Okeke-Agulu at this event for a discussion of his recent works.
Okri won the Booker Prize in 1991 for “The Famished Road,” and his novel “Astonishing the Gods” was selected as one of the BBC’s “100 Novels That Shaped Our World.” Okri is considered one of the foremost African authors in the post-modern and post-colonial traditions. In addition, he is the author of numerous collections of poetry which include “An African Elegy,” “Tales of Freedom” and, most recently, “A Fire in My Head: Poems for the Dawn.”
Chika Okeke-Agulu is an Igbo-Nigerian artist, curator and art historian. He is professor in the Department of Art and Archaeology and The Department of African American Studies, and director of the Program in African Studies at Princeton University.
This event was recorded on March 3, 2022.