Thank you everyone who came last evening to honor Nigerian poet, dramatist, critic, essayist, and media columnist NIYI OSUNDARE, 2014 recipient of Nigerian National Order of Merit Award, Nigerias highest honor. I can not express my gratitude enough to the audience that filled the room at Gold Mine Saloon, and also to the musicians, poets & writers who also took the stage during the Open Mic hosted by Jimmy Ross. Thanks yall. That was awesome! Niyi Osundare is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of New Orleans, and also teaches at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Take a moment to read the letter written by UNO English Department Chair Peter A. Schock (see below) in honor of Niyi Osundares most recent achievement. * * * * * * * * Colleagues, For years, it has been our privilege to work with Distinguished Professor Niyi Osundare, to share our professional lives with this extraordinary person, as his achievements as a poet, scholar, critic, and defender of human rights have earned him the many awards that recognize his growing international reputation. And now I am delighted to announce that next month, in an investiture ceremony held in Abuja, Nigeria, our colleague will receive his nation’s highest honor for intellectual and academic achievement, the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award. We know that higher forms of recognition yet will succeed this award, which was conferred on the late Chinua Achebe in 1979. This is inevitable, in that our colleague’s career embodies Wordsworth’s evocation of “something evermore about to be.” Our congratulations on receiving this latest honor, Niyi!
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 15:56:23 +0000
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