Kofi Awoonor

**Kofi Awoonor** (dem born am as **George Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor-Williams**; 13 March 1935 – 21 September 2013) na he be Ghanaian poet den author wey ein work combine de poetic traditions of ein native Ewe people den contemporary den religious symbolism so say ego depict Africa for de decolonization tym. He start dey rep plus de name **George Awoonor-Williams**, wey dem sana publish as **Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor**. He teach African literature for University of Ghana. Na Professor Awoonor dey among menners wey dem kill for September 2013 attack for Westgate shopping mall wey dey Nairobi, Kenya insyd, wer na he be sam participant for Storymoja Hay Festival.

## Ein early life den education
Na dem born George Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor-Williams insyd Wheta, insyd de Volta Region of wat na then ebe de Gold Coast, present-day Ghana. Na he be de eldest of 10 kiddies insyd de family. Na he be paternal descendant of de Awoonor-Williams family of Sierra Leone Creole descent. Na ein grandmommie be Ewe dirge singer.

He attend Achimota School wey he then proceed go de University of Ghana, wey he graduate insyd 1960. He study literature at University College London, wey he earn Master's Degree insyd 1970. He get ein Ph.D. at SUNY at Stony Brook, wey dey New York insyd 1972.

## Poetry
De early poetry of Awoonor dey borrow from de Ewe oral tradition. Insyd ein critical book Guardians of de *Sacred Word and Ewe Poetry*, he render Ewe poetry insyd translation *(1974)*. *The Breast of the Earth: A Study of the History, Culture, and Literature of Africa South of the Sahara is another work of literary criticism (1975).*

## Death
For 21 September 2013, na Awoonor dey among those dem kill insyd an attack at de Westgate shopping mall insyd Nairobi. De Ghanaian government confirm Awoonor ein death de next day. Na dem sanso shoot ein kiddie son Afetsi Awoonor, wey na he accompany am, buh na dem later discharge am from hospital.

Na dem fly Awoonor ein remains from Nairobi to Accra, Ghana, for 25 September 2013.

Na dem cremate den bury ein body for sam particular spot insyd ein hometown for Wheta insyd de Volta Region. Na der sanso be no crying anaa mourning for ein funeral all according to ein will before ein death.

## Ein works

### Poetry

* *Rediscovery and Other Poems* (Mbari Publications, 1964)
* *Night of My Blood* (Doubleday, 1971) – poems wey dey explore Awoonor ein roots, den de impact of foreign rule insyd Africa
* *Ride Me, Memory* (1973)
* *The House by the Sea* (Greenfield Review Press, 1978)
* *Until the Morning After: Selected Poems, 1963–85* (Greenfield Review Press, 1987)
* *The Promise of Hope: New and Selected Poems, 1964–2013* (Amalion / University of Nebraska Press, 2014)

### Novels

* *This Earth, My Brother* (Doubleday, 1971) – a cross between a novel den a poem
* *Comes the Voyager at Last: A Tale of Return to Africa* (Africa World Press, 1992)

### Non-fiction

* *The Breast of the Earth: A Survey of the History, Culture, and Literature of Africa South of the Sahara* (Anchor Press, 1975; )
* *The Ghana Revolution: Background Account from a Personal Perspective* (1984)
* *Ghana: A Political History from Pre-European to Modern Times* (Sedco, 1990)
* *Africa: The Marginalized Continent* (1994)
* *The African Predicament: Collected Essays* (Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2006; ISBN 9789988550820)

### As editor anaa translator

* *Messages: Poems From Ghana* (1971). Eds. Kofi Awoonor & G. Adali-Mortty.
* *Guardians of the Sacred Word: Ewe Poetry* (1974). Trans. Kofi Awoonor.

### Poems

* The Cathedral
* The Weaver Bird
* Across a New Dawn
* A Call
* On the Gallows Once
* Lament of the Silent Sister
* Had Death Not Had Me in Tears
* Songs of Sorrow
* First Circle
* A Death Foretold

## Read further
* Robert Fraser, *West African Poetry: A Critical History*, Cambridge University Press (1986), 
* Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates (eds), *Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience*, Basic Civitas Books (1999),  – p. 153
* Lauret E. Savoy, Eldridge M. Moores and Judith E. Moores (eds), *Bedrock: Writers on the Wonders of Geology,* (Trinity University Press, 2006).
## References


## External links

* Report on the death of Kofi Awoonor, 22 September 2013.
* Paula Kahumbu of Princeton University and director of the Story Moja Hay Festival relates her time with Awoonor the Friday evening before his death
* Biographical details, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
* Interview, *Sun* newspaper (Nigeria), 18 June 2006.
* Poem: Songs of Sorrow by Kofi Awoonor
* Francis Kwarteng, "A Tribute to Prof. Kofi Awoonor", *VibeGhana*, 23 September 2013.