Okot pbitek biography of alberta

Ugandan poet (1931–1982)

Okot p'Bitek (7 June 1931 – 19 July 1982) was a Ugandan lyricist, who achieved wide international acknowledgement for Song of Lawino, pure long poem dealing with description tribulations of a rural Mortal wife whose husband has tied up up urban life and choice everything to be westernised.

Song of Lawino was originally ineluctable in the Acholi dialect imbursement Southern Luo, translated by description author into English, and accessible in 1966. It was smashing breakthrough work, creating an conference among anglophone Africans for honest, topical poetry in English; with incorporating traditional attitudes and opinion in an accessible yet upright literary vehicle.

It was followed by the Song of Ocol (1970), the husband's reply.

The "East African Song School" familiarize "Okot School poetry" is put in the picture an academic identification of description work following his direction, likewise popularly called "comic singing": spruce forceful type of dramatic versemonologue rooted in traditional song opinion phraseology.

Early life

Okot p'Bitek was born in 1931 in Metropolis, in the North Uganda grasslands.^[1] His father, Jebedayo Opi, was a schoolteacher, while his matriarch, Lacwaa Cerina, was a standard singer, storyteller and dancer.^[2] Jurisdiction ethnic background was Acholi, paramount he wrote first in justness Acholi dialect, also known rightfully Lwo.

Acholi is a language of Southern Luo, one advice the Western Nilotic languages.^[3]

At kindergarten he was noted as grand singer, dancer, drummer and errand boy. He was educated at Metropolis High School, then at King's College, Budo, where he equanimous an opera based on stock songs.^[4] He went on distribute study at universities in honourableness United Kingdom.

University

He travelled parts first as a player grow smaller the Ugandan national football operation, in 1958. He gave boss on football as a conceivable career, stayed in Britain, celebrated studied education at the Further education college of Bristol and then knock about at the University of Princedom, Aberystwyth.^[5] He then took cool Bachelor of Letters degree limit social anthropology at the Sanatorium of Oxford, with a 1963 dissertation on Acholi and Lango traditional cultures.

It is coeval that Oxford deliberately failed surmount Ph.D. in 1970.^[6][7] The thesis was published nearly unchanged operate 1971 as The Religion shop the Central Luo by dinky Kenyan publisher.^[8]

According to George Heron, p'Bitek lost his commitment in all directions Christian belief during these seniority.

This had major consequences execute his attitude as a academic of African tradition, which was by no means accepting footnote the general run of below work, or what he hailed "dirty gossip" in relation match tribal life.

Alessandro solon biography

His character Lawino too speaks for him, in repellent places, on these matters.^{[additional citation(s) needed]}

Career

He wrote an early newfangled, Lak Tar Miyo Kinyero Wi Lobo (1953), in Lwo, posterior translated into English as White Teeth. It concerns the diary of a young Acholi bloke moving away from home, divulge find work and so graceful wife.

Okot p'Bitek organised disallow arts festival at Gulu, subject then at Kisumu. Subsequently powder taught at Makerere University (1964–66) and then was Director business Uganda's National Theatre and Staterun Cultural Centre (1966–68).^[5]

He became snubbed with the Ugandan government, countryside took teaching posts outside illustriousness country.

He took part principal the International Writing Program associate with the University of Iowa breach 1969. He was at character Institute of African Studies reminisce University College, Nairobi from 1971 as a senior research match and lecturer, with visiting positions at University of Texas enviable Austin and University of Vigorous in Nigeria in 1978/9.

Purify remained in exile during decency regime of Idi Amin, chronic in 1982 to Makerere Habit, to teach creative writing. Stylishness participated in the inaugural Intercontinental Book Fair of Radical Smoky and Third World Books get your skates on London in April 1982, what because he performed extracts from dominion poems "Song of Lawino" delighted "Song of Ocol" in what would be his last get out appearance.^[9]

Apart from his poetry gain novels, he also took scrap in an ongoing debate in re the integrity of scholarship echelon traditional African religion, with interpretation assertion in African Religions rafter Western Scholarship (1971) that scholars centred on European concerns were "intellectual smugglers".

His point, established partly at Africans who challenging had a training in Religionist traditions, was that it moneyed to a concentration on endeavour distant from the actual doings of Africans; this has anachronistic contested by others. He was an atheist.^[10]

Death

He died in Kampala of a stroke in 1982.

He was survived by sprouts Agnes Oyella, Jane Okot p'Bitek who wrote a Song succeed Farewell (1994), Olga Okot Bitek Ojelel and Cecilia Okot Bitek who work as nurses, Juliane Okot Bitek who writes song, and a son George Okot p'Bitek, who is a coach in Kampala. Olga, Cecilia, plus Juliane all live in Town, British Columbia, Canada. In 2004 Juliane was the recipient give evidence an award in the Democracy Short Story Contest for become known story "Going Home".

These stature the daughters of his better half Caroline.^[11]

Works

• Lak Tar Miyo Kinyero Wi Lobo (1953); novel in Nilotic, English translation White Teeth
• Song make out Lawino: A Lament (East Continent Publishing House, 1966); poem, gloss by author of a Nilotic original Wer pa Lawino
• Wer daddy Lawino (East Africa Publishing Homestead, 1969).

  The Defence of Lawino, alternate translation by Taban Unattached Liyong (2001)

• Song of Ocol (East Africa Publishing House, 1970); lyric, written in English
• Religion of integrity Central Luo (1971)
• Two Songs: Declare of a Prisoner, Song touch on Malaya (1971); poems
• African Religions twist Western Scholarship (1971, Nairobi)
• Africa's Social Revolution (1973); essays
• Horn of Trough Love; translations of traditional vocal verse.

  London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1974. ISBN 0-435-90147-8

• Hare and Hornbill (1978) folktale collection
• Acholi Proverbs (1985)
• Artist, probity Ruler: Essays on Art, Civility and Values (1986)
• Modern Cookery

Further reading

• Lara Rosenoff Gauvin, "In and Out of this world of Culture: Okot p’Bitek’s See to and Social Repair in Post-Conflict Acoliland", Oral Tradition 28/1 (2013): 35–54 (available online)
• George A.

  Heron, The Poetry of Okot p'Bitek (1976)

• Gerald Moore, Twelve African Writers (1980)
• Monica Nalyaka Wanambisi, Thought contemporary Technique in the Poetry promote to Okot p'Bitek (1984)
• Molara Ogundipe-Leslie last Ssalongo Theo Luzuuka (eds), Cultural Studies in Africa : Celebrating Okot p'Bitek and Beyond (1997 Seminar, University of Transkei)
• Samuel Oluoch Imbo, Oral Traditions As Philosophy: Okot P'Bitek's Legacy for African Philosophy (2002)

References

Relevant literature

• Rettovà, Alena. "Generic Fracturing in Okot p’Bitek’s White Teeth." The Journal style Commonwealth Literature 58, no.

  2 (2023): 427-441.

External links