Niyi Osundare
Niyi Osundare is a leading Nigerian poet, dramatist, linguist, and literary critic. His poetry is influenced by the oral traditions of his Yorùbá culture. Osundare is a champion of free speech and his creative and critical writings are closely associated with political activism, decolonization, black internationalism, and the environment. He is the recipient of numerous prizes, including the Noma Award (Africa's most prestigious book award), the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Poetry Prize, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Tchicaya U Tam'si Poetry Prize, the ANA/Cadbury Poetry Prize (twice), and the Fonlon/Nichols Award, which he received in 1998 for "excellence in literary creativity combined with significant contributions to Human Rights in Africa." In 2014, Osundare was admitted to the National Order of Merit, his country's highest honor for intellectual distinction. Until recently, he was the Distinguished Professor of English at the University of New Orleans.
“One hasn't become a writer until one has distilled writing intoa habit, and that habit has been forced into an obsession.Writing has to be an obsession. It has to be something as organic,physiological and psychological as speaking or sleeping or eating.”