Ben Okri
Biography
Ben Okri was born in 1959 in Minna, Nigeria. His father worked for Nigerian Posts and Telecommunications but the family moved to London when Okri was three, so that his father could complete a law degree. When they returned to Lagos three years later, his father worked as a lawyer, helping the poor. Okri finished secondary school while still fourteen but could not get into university so supported himself as a painter. He wrote short stories and articles and earned a diploma in journalism before going to study at Essex University in England. He has lived in England since then. He wrote his first novel while still at university. Many of his works deal with the violence that he saw in Nigeria. He is best-known for the Book Prize winning The Famished Road.
Other links
Ben Okri
Ben Okri
Ben Okri
Ben Okri
Ben Okri Bibliography
Ben Okri: A writer honoured
Ben Okri (1959-)
The Nigerian Literary Giant, Ben Okri
A man in two minds (profile)
Free Spirit (profile)
Prince of the planet (profile)
Okri has harsh words for Britain
Interview
Interview
Interview
Interview
Bibliography
1980 Flowers and Shadows (novel)
1981 The Landscapes Within (novel)
1986 Incidents at the Shrine (stories)
1988 Stars of the New Curfew (stories)
1991 The Famished Road (novel)
1992 An African Elegy (poetry)
1993 Songs of Enchantment (novel)
1995 Astonishing the Gods (novel)
1996 Birds of Heaven (essays)
1996 Dangerous Love (novel)
1997 A Way of Being Free (essays)
1998 Infinite Riches (novel)
1999 Mental Fight (poetry)
2002 In Arcadia (novel)
2007 Starbook (novel)
2009 Tales of Freedom (stories)
2011 A Time for New Dreams (essays)
2012 Wild (poetry)
2014 The Age of Magic (novel)
2017 The Magic Lamp: Dreams of Our Age (stories)
2019 The Freedom Artist (novel)
2019 Prayer for the Living (stories)
2021 Every Leaf a Hallelujah (illustrated by Diana Ejaita – children’s)
2022 The Last Gift of the Master Artists (novel)
2023 Dangerous Love (novel)
2023 Tiger Work (Poems, Stories and Essays About Climate Change)
2024 An African Elegy (poetry)
2024 The Age of Magic (novel)
2025 Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted (novel)