Zaynab
Alkali is a pioneer in her own way, in her own right - like a handful of other
extraordinary African female writers. Her compatriots, Zulu Sofola - the
first Nigerian woman to publish quality plays; and Flora Nwapa (the first
Nigerian woman to publish novels) made history.... just like in South Africa,
Miriam Tlali was the first black woman to write and publish a novel.
On her own
part, Zaynab Alkali is acknowledged as the first woman novelist from Northern
Nigeria, and a literary academic to boot. Over the years, she has made a name
for herself as novelist, poet, short story writer, and editor.
Alkali was born in Tura-Wazila in Borno State in 1950. She graduated from Bayero University Kano with a BA in 1973. She obtained a doctorate in African Studies in the same university and became the principal of a girls' school - Sakera Girls' Boarding School.
Alkali was born in Tura-Wazila in Borno State in 1950. She graduated from Bayero University Kano with a BA in 1973. She obtained a doctorate in African Studies in the same university and became the principal of a girls' school - Sakera Girls' Boarding School.
She went on to become a polished academic, a lecturer and writer of note. Markedly, she rose to become a dean in the Faculty of arts at Nasarawa State University in Keffi where she taught creative writing. And she began publishing her work since over 30 years ago.
Over the
years, readers and pundits have been pleasantly surprised by the freshness and
variety of her writings. Those who expected docile female protagonists are
confronted with the literary vibrancy and competence of the author.
Indeed,
Alkali's characters can be feisty (eg Li, in The Stillborn), well rounded,
ambitious, probing - no wonder "feminists" are very much interested
in the disparate strands of Zaynab Alkali's writings.
Selected Works
Selected Works
The Stillborn
The Virtuous Woman
Cobwebs & Other Stories
The Descendants
The Initiates
Zaynab
Alkali, Al Imfeld (eds), Vultures in the
Air: Voices from
Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria
