Akin Adesokan


Akin Adesokan is a Nigerian writer, scholar and novelist with research interests into twentieth and twenty-first century African and African American/African Diaspora literature and cultures. He is currently the associate professor of comparative literature at Indiana University Bloomington. He exerts influence on Nigerian cultural environment through commentary, advocacy, and writing.

Education

Adesokan has a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2005, an MA from the same university in 2003, and a Bachelors from the University of Ibadan where he emerged the best student in the Theatre Arts department. He also won the Faculty of Arts prize as well as the Prize.

Arrest

On November 7, 1997 while returning to Nigeria from a fellowship in Austria, Adesokan was arrested by security agents of the Sani Abacha administration and held incommunicado at one of the country's notorious detention centers, along with his friend and fellow writer, Ogaga Ifowodo.

Writing and publications

His first novel is titled ', which won the Association of Nigerian Authors' Prize for Fiction in manuscript form back in 1996. He has won the , and the .
Of his work, he says “My writing is an attempt to bear an honest witness to my time, to the experience I have as a human being, as a Nigerian, as an African. The African experience – slavery, wars, colonialism, diseases, neo-colonialism. There are other dimensions of experiences that are perennial, that aren’t easy to grasp historically or as past events, and one tries to respond to these.”
In 2001, he published '.
Other works include ', co-edited with Adeleke Adeeko and ', a fictional piece.
He has also written columns on politics and culture for Premium Times, Chimurenga, and many others.

Professional associations

Adesokan belongs to the;
https://africasacountry.com/author/akin-adesokan
https://pen.org/penbarbey-freedom-to-write-award/
https://www.hrw.org/legacy/worldreport/Ps-01.htm
https://www.ncac.gov.ng/