BEN OKRI'S AWKWARD LAUREL

Ben Okri of course is one of the most outstanding, fecund writers Africa has ever produced - he was still a rather young man when he won the 1991 Booker prize (for his work, The Famished Road). 

Okri has harvested many other awards and laurels over the years, but probably his most awkward gong came in late 2014 when he won the Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award, on the strength of a description in his novel, The Age Of Magic. 

  

Lao and Mistletoe are the protagonists in the love scene, and here is how Okri

"When his hand brushed her nipple it tripped a switch and she came alight. He touched her belly and his hand seemed to burn through her.

"He loved her with gentleness and strength, stroking her neck, praising her face with his hands, till she was broken up and began a low rhythmic wail...     

"The universe was in her and with each movement it unfolded to her. Somewhere in the night a stray rocket went off...".

BOOKS BY BEN OKRI

• Flowers and Shadows 1980)
• The Landscapes Within (Harlow: Longman, 1981)
• The Famished Road London: 1991)
• Songs of Enchantment (London: Jonathan Cape, 1993)
• Astonishing the Gods 1995
• (Dangerous Love (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson,1996)
• Infinite Riches (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998)
• In Arcadia (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2002)
• Starbook 2007)
• The Age of Magic (London: Head of Zeus, 2014)

Poetry, essays and short story collections

• Incidents at the Shrine (short stories, 1986)
• Stars of the New Curfew (short stories; , 1988)
• An African Elegy (poetry; London: Jonathan Cape, 1992)
• Birds of Heaven (essays; London: Phoenix House, 1996)
• A Way of Being Free (essays; London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson: 1997; London: Phoenix House, 1997)
• Mental Fight (poetry: London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1999; London: Phoenix House, 1999)
• Tales of Freedom (short stories; London: Rider & Co., 2009)
• A Time for New Dreams (essays; London: Rider & Co., 2011)
• Wild (poetry; London: Rider & Co., 2012)

Books by Ben Okri

YEMISI AREMU OTASANYA (Author)

(Yemisi Otasanya in her own words)

‘My passion for writing started at the age of 8, when out of boredom, I picked up my pencil and wrote my first poem. Daddy was my first audience. May God bless his soul. He laughed heartily after reading the poem. It was more of a paradox about a frog who could not sing, but was a choir master.

Rather than hang out with my friends during playtime, I spent most of the time imagining about adventures in space, fighting aliens and conquering colonies. I imagined I was a dashing irresistible warrior princess with no interest in love, a super hero, a secret spy and much more. At the age of 11, while in year 1 of Junior Secondary School, I wrote an adventure script and shared it with my friends. They loved it and pressurized me to write more, but I deterred. 

As a teenager, I wanted to be a scientist and not pursue writing. I had a secret herbarium where I carried out research on the flora in Abuja city and did a lot of research writing and occasional articles in local dailies. I also engaged in loads of freelance writing and editing for friends, collecting stipends in return.

I am currently an IT project manager, an author, a mother and wife and I love studying nature, stars and their constellations, elements, history, cultures, managing complex projects, meeting people, dancing (I have my own symphony, lol). I am crazy about science fiction.

I do loads of research before embarking on a writing project and I have God as my father. I never make assumptions about people or jump to conclusions without hearing both sides of the story. I believe we all have the chance to be better. My weed is writing. I hope you enjoy reading my books.’

Books by Yemisi Otasanya

Perfect Body, Perfect Baby After Delivery

Above The Ether