Author Profile

Joe Ushie

Joseph Akawu Ushie, known in Nigerian literary circles simply as Joe Ushie, was born at Akorshi, Bendi, in what is now the Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Ushie trained at St. Peter's Primary School, Bendi; Government Secondary School, Obudu, and University of Calabar where he was student union secretary-general, 1980-1981. He also read at the University of Ibadan for the Masters and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in English. Currently, he lectures at the Department of English, University of Uyo, Nigeria.

Dr. Ushie’s published poetry collections include Popular Stand and Other Poems (1992), Lambs at the Shrine (1995), Eclipse in Rwanda (1998), Hill Songs (2000) and A Reign of Locusts (2004). Two of the volumes, Eclipse in Rwanda and Hill Songs, have earned him some honourable mention at the 1996 and 2004 annual competitions of the Association of Nigerian Authors. His poetry is being studied in colleges and universities in Nigeria and is in the syllabus of some universities outside Nigeria. In addition to his creative writing, Dr Ushie has also contributed book chapters and articles to scholarly publications both within and outside Nigeria. He is a fellow of the 2002 Fulbright programme in New York. He has also been the secretary of his university’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, and a co-editor of the New Nigerian Poetry journal of IRCALC.

On October 1, 2000, as part of the nation's Independence Day celebrations, Joe Ushie was honoured by the government of his state in Nigeria on for his outstanding contributions to African literature and culture.

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