16 Facts About Buchi Emecheta

Buchi Emecheta first received notable critical attention for her 1974 novel, Second Class Citizen.

Buchi Emecheta was born on 21 July 1944, in Lagos, Colonial Nigeria, to Igbo parents of Anioma extraction, Alice Okwuekwuhe and Jeremy Nwabudinke Buchi Emecheta from Umuezeokolo Odeanta village in Ibusa, Delta State.

Buchi Emecheta's mother, Alice Ogbanje Ojebeta Emecheta, was a former slave girl sold into slavery by her brother to a relative to buy silk head ties for his coming-of-age dance.

When her mistress died, Ogbanje Buchi Emecheta returned home to freedom.

Buchi Emecheta completed her early childhood education at an all-girls' missionary school.

Onwordi moved to London for his studies, and Buchi Emecheta joined him there with their first two children in 1962.

At the age of 22, pregnant with her fifth child, Buchi Emecheta left her husband.

From 1965 to 1969, Buchi Emecheta worked as a library officer for the British Museum in London.

Buchi Emecheta visited several American universities, including Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Buchi Emecheta became a Fellow at the University of London in 1986.

Over her career, Buchi Emecheta worked with many cultural and literary organizations, including the Africa Centre, London, and with the Caine Prize for African Writing as a member of the Advisory Council.

Buchi Emecheta suffered a stroke in 2010, and her last years were marked by increasing disability and illness.

Buchi Emecheta died in London on 25 January 2017, aged 72.

Buchi Emecheta was a member of the British Home Secretary's Advisory Council on Race in 1979.

Buchi Emecheta received an Honorary doctorate of literature from Farleigh Dickinson University in 1992.

In October 2019, a new exhibition space in the library for students at Goldsmiths, University of London, was dedicated to Buchi Emecheta, marked by a reception with short talks by Goldsmiths warden Frances Corner and the Head of Library Services, Leo Appleton, preceding an address by Margaret Busby.