In conjunction with the Department of English, University of Lagos, the Clark family presented a new book chronicling the life and times of Nigeria’s foremost literary icon, Professor Emeritus, John Pepper Clark, at the Rahaman Adisa Bello Lecture Theatre, last Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

The book titled, “Connecting the Local and the Global Across Literary Genres: Emerging Perspectives on J.P. Clark and His Works”, is edited by Professors Hope Eghagha and Solomon Azumutana, both of the University of Lagos, UNILAG.

Published by Mosuro Publishers (2022), Connecting the Local and the Global Across Literary Genres: Emerging Perspectives on J.P. Clark and His Works features erudite scholars such as Hope Eghagha (UNILAG), Lilly Chimuanya (Covenant University), Olufemi Adeosun (Ekiti State University), Destiny Idegbekwe (University of Africa, Bayelsa), Promise Adiele (Mountain Top University), Omolara Owoeye (Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti), Peter Omoko (University of Africa, Toru-Orua, Bayelsa), Rosetta Nnsi (Nigerian Film Institute, Jos) and Solomon Azumurana (UNILAG) as contributors.

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The seminal material encapsulates fifteen chapters of critical essays on phenomenal works of the legend which include the following: “The Wives’ Revolt”, “Ozidi”, “All for Oil”, “Song of a Goat”, “Casualties”, “Masquerade”, “Streamside Exchange”, “Night Rain” and “Home from Hiroshima”. The 339-page book also features exploratory essays on other prolific writers like Ahmed Yerima and Femi Osofisan whose works are interrogated by Rosetta Nnsi under the subtitle, “Folklore in J. P. Clark’s Masquerade, Femi Osofisan’s Many Colours Make the Thunder King and Ahmed Yerima’s Hard Ground”.

The auspicious occasion chaired by Architect Charles Majoroh was well attended by members of the academia, communication executives, reps of Government College, Ugheli- Clark’s Alma mater and a host of others, including a representative of the Chief Host, Vice Chancellor Prof. Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), Prof. Victoria Atsenuwa Ayodele, Dean, Department of English, Prof Funke Adeboye, Prof. Yemi Akinyele, Arts curator and consultant, Moses Ohiomokhare, widow of the late sage, Prof. Ebun Clark, their son, Elaye and daughter, Ema Clark.

The book reviewer, Prof. Patrick Oloko, recalled his last encounter with the late sage, saying: “A year or so before he died, I was with Prof. Clark in his office at the JP Clark Centre. I informed him that Prof Eghagha and I were thinking of introducing courses-in his works, at the post graduate and graduate levels. He gave me that his trademark quisical look and then replied, ‘So, you are still thinking? Well, whatever you want to do, please, do it quickly because I don’t have much time.’ I was expecting a congratulatory pat on the back. You know that typical, but very very meaningful Clarkian arrogance that I have heard so much about. Later on, I reflected on his words again. I told myself that a writer who donated an entire library holding that he had spent his entire life time building to an institution where he and his wife spent their most productive years of a human life circle actually deserves more than mere ‘thinking about’. He deserves action. I’m happy to announce that the undergraduate level course is going the process approval for literature for the English Department. The book being presented today is part of the action being taken.”

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Speaking further on the book project and the persona, Prof. Oloko said: “In my reckoning, it should be an important material for the course. 11 of the 15 chapters of the volume bring new conversations that are centered around specific works of the famous author. Unlike others, I refuse to believe that he wasn’t given much attention. He was very popular and controversial. Any writer who is not controversial is going to be simply shut behind the room and never listened to. J.P. Clark was not the kind of person you could ignore.”

The reviewer explained that the other four chapters point to new directions that follow up the volume’s chart. “The first direction is to give more content to the understanding of Clark through his extra-literary engagements, ” he noted, revealing that Chapter 1 started it admirably, focusing on “the biography of Clark- the controversial one and the authorized one as well as his very definitive memoir, “America, Their America.” The second direction puts Clark’s works in dialogue with his contemporaries and others after his generation. Chapters 7 and 13 have started the conversation, resituating Clark within the universal continuum of theatre practice without sacrificing his humanity and national consciousness. The chart continues brilliantly through the entry to Chapter 4. So, the authors of this volume are collectively kick-starting a project of bringing Clark in a broader view after he joined the ancestral realm.

They remind us that writers attain an enduring immortality when they are no longer alive. Part of the enduring value of this book lies in that very pragmatic word, ’emerging’ which is somewhere in the book’s rather long title.”

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While speaking on behalf of the editors, Prof. Hope Eghagha also went down memory lane, saying: “In 2018, we hosted a conference, the ‘JP Clark Conference’. At the opening ceremony was the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka who gave the keynote. At the end of it, Prof. Clark said to me: ‘Hope, we’ve broken the jinx. That was a very good good attempt to host a JP Clark Conference.’ I didn’t know what to do. He was excited. I didn’t know that that was a “good bye conference. The first two flopped for some reasons. So, he was excited. Of course, there was no way we could have known that that was a ‘Good bye conference’ because shortly after he joined his ancestors. Why did we decide to host the conference? We thought that not enough attention had been given to his work. Most of us in my generation were exposed to his works in secondary schools. “Night Rain”, for instance, long before became fashionable for environmentalists to make an issue out of the degradation in the Niger Delta, Clark captured it in his book.

He was one of the first generation of Nigerian, indeed, African writers recognized as literary giants of our time. But, why was it that his works were not given enough attention? Was it that people focused more on his personality than his written works? Last year, with the support of his family, I’ll like to pay tributes to Prof. (Mrs) Ebun Clark who has gone out of her way to keep her husband’s legacy, standing for what he stood for and supported this our first book. We hope that we have documented the first phase of our research.” Moreover, Eghagha pointed out that Prof. Clark had an attitude towards his work as “He used to say: Let the work speak for itself’ and didn’t believe in propaganda. He didn’t believe in courting or being nice to the press.”