Amos Tutuola

["Novelist", "Folklorist", "Pioneer of Anglophone African Fiction"]

Born Jun 20, 1920

Wasinmi (Abeokuta), Nigeria

Passed Away Jun 08, 1997 Ibadan, Nigeria

Lifespan 76 years old

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"I was a palm-wine drinkard since I was a boy of ten years of age. I had no other work more than to drink palm-wine in my life."

Archival Overview

Nigerian writer whose bizarre, intoxicating 1952 mythological novel The Palm-Wine Drinkard became the first African novel in English to achieve worldwide international fame.

Biographical Record

Working as a blacksmith and government messenger in Lagos, Amos Tutuola (1920–1997) had only six years of formal primary education. In 1952, Faber and Faber published 'The Palm-Wine Drinkard', a mythic quest narrative written in vibrant, unconventional Nigerian-English vernacular through Yoruba spirit worlds.

Praised enthusiastically by Dylan Thomas in 'The Observer' as a work of genius, Tutuola's novel broke European novelistic realism, blending ancient oral folklore with uncanny surrealism in books like 'My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'.

Key Life Milestones

1952

The Palm-Wine Drinkard

Published the groundbreaking oral-narrative fantasy novel that opened global acclaim for African English writing.

1954

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

Published his celebrated second mythological adventure exploring spirit realms and Yoruba folklore.

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Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Wasinmi Ancestral Memorial Grounds
Abeokuta (Ogun State), Nigeria

                         GPS: 7.1558, 3.3489                    

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