Elechi Amadi

Elechi Amadi (born May 12, 1934, Aluu, near Port Harcourt, Nigeria—died June 29, 2016, Port Harcourt) was a Nigerian novelist and playwright best known for works that explore traditional life and the role of the supernatural in rural Nigeria.

Amadi, an Ikwere (Ikwerre, Ikwerri) who wrote in English, studied physics and mathematics at Government College, Umuahia, and the University of Ibadan. He later served in the Nigerian army, taught, and worked for the Ministry of Information. Sunset in Biafra (1973), his only work of nonfiction, recounts his experiences as a soldier and civilian during the Biafran conflict.

Amadi was best known, however, for his historical trilogy about traditional life in Nigerian villages: The Concubine (1966), The Great Ponds (1969), and The Slave (1978). These novels concern human destiny and the extent to which it can be changed; the relationship between people and their gods is the central issue explored. Amadi was a keen observer of details of daily life and religious rituals, which he unobtrusively described in his dramatic stories. Similar emphases are found in his verse play, Isiburu (1973), about a champion wrestler who is ultimately defeated by the supernatural power of his enemy. Among his other works are Pepper Soup and the Road to Ibadan (1977), Estrangement (1986), the play The Woman of Calabar (2001), and the science-fiction book When God Came (2013).