By R Mokoena
Nigeria's Wale Okediran is easily one of Africa's
most prolific writers of fiction. Think Meja Mwangi of Kenya, or David G Maillu
- you get the idea. Or if you like, since Wale Okediran is also a qualified
medical doctor, you might want to compare him with South Africa's Gomolemo
Mokae, a revered medical doctor and creative writer. Oh, and by the way, Wale
Okediran is also a formidable politician in his own right too!
But of course, here we are mainly concerned with
Wale Okediran the award-winning quality writer, who has been publishing his
works for decades. The Bibliography of the man can be seen below, but we advise
the general reader in Africa perhaps unfamiliar with this outstanding writer to
try to lay their hands on some of his published work.
As one would expect, Okediran is an erudite man; his
varied intellectual pursuits and experiences guarantee this. He is a visionary
and innovator, as witness what he has been doing for the world of writers as a
whole for years.
Okediran is a mine of information, and again we
encourage the general reader to at least scour the internet to garner more information
on the man and his works. Here we reproduce just one miniscule comment of
his:
Okediran: "I enjoy Russian literature,
especially the works of Pasternak and Dostoyevsky among others, because the
Russia of their time had so many similarities with Nigeria of today. In fact,
Dostoyevsky's The Possessed inspired my Dreams
of Twilight. In Nigeria, Soyinka, Achebe, Osundare and many of our up and
coming writers continue to fascinate me,"
Books
by Wale Okediran
Strange Encounters
The
boys at the Border
Rainbows
are for lovers
Dreams
die at twilight
Sighs
of desires
Tenants
of the house
After
the flood
Storms of passion
The
weaving looms: fiction
The
Riot and other stories
Reflections
on the engaging tripod of literature, medicine and politics
