Celebrating 50 years of JP Clark’s penmanship
Generations of Nigerians have had course to read some of John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo’s writing in the course of their studies: Songs of a Goat, Wives Revolt, Ozidi and Night Rain, to name but a few. From Junior secondary to tertiary institutions, Clark-Bekederemo’s writings feature prominently. That, the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), felt was enough […]
Generations of Nigerians have had course to read some of John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo’s writing in the course of their studies: Songs of a Goat, Wives Revolt, Ozidi and Night Rain, to name but a few. From Junior secondary to tertiary institutions, Clark-Bekederemo’s writings feature prominently.
That, the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), felt was enough reason to celebrate the sage, 50 years after his first published work.
The venue was the Afe Babalola Hall, University of Lagos, where the 75 year-old writer had spent years as a professor of English. He retired in 1980. The event was to have taken the pattern the Chinua Achebe colloquium of the last two years took. Guests from all walks of live were invited to come celebrate one of the most prominent names from Nigeria’s delta region.
They came from all parts of Nigeria and beyond. One of them was Captain Elechi Amadi, famous author of The Concubine. He, as the chairman, set the ball rolling with a moving tribute to J.P Clark, who he first met at the University of Ibadan, he said.
At UI, Clark had been the editor of two different magazines, The Horn and the Beacon and Amadi fondly recalls him hurrying about campus with scripts for the magazines. He admits to having a soft spot for Clark’s writings because of the subject and thrust of his poetry.
To demonstrate this, he rendered a poem in honour of Clark. It is modelled after William Blake’s The Tiger (Tiger, tiger burning bright) only this one was titled JP, JP. It was a moving rendition, and coming from a contemporary of Clark-Bekederemo made it special.
Clark, sitting with his wife, Professor Ebun Clark on the high table, must have felt touched and so would have been, Ema, one of his three daughters, who was in the audience.
That set the tone for the events and the keynote speaker, Secretary General of the Pan Afrcian Writers Association; Professor Atukwei Okai described Clark as having a good sense of humour and his writings are both sensitive and sensible. Professor Okai came with his wife to celebrate Nigeria’s literary giant and delivered the keynote address titled: “Historical Chameleonization and Anti-palanquinity: Human Beings as Causalities of the Womb and Writers as gods of the Creational Marathon of J.P Clark-Bekederemo”. That was quite a mouthful.
Sampling the pudding
Anthony Ebika, ANA’s PRO, South, treated the audience to a sample of Clark’s writing – it was just for the ceremony really, but practically everyone in the Afe Babalola Hall at UniLag had read JP Clark. He read from Ozidi. It was a commanding reading that reminded the audience just why the man who penned those words needed to be celebrated.
In the appreciative audience were the likes of prolific playwright Professor Femi Osofisan, G. G Darah, Sam Ukala, Odia Ofeimun, and Dr. Idris Okpanachi from the farthest reaches of Maidugri as well as former ANA president, Dr. Wale Okediran. There were also other writers and a handful of professors and other academicians.
Governor of Delta State, where Clark hails from, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who was represented by Professor G. G Darah, said he was particularly proud of one of the state’s foremost sons and the fact that he was being celebrated while still alive.
The state government had played a major role in ensuring the colloquium held by providing a substantial part of the finances needed to organize the programme when ANA appealed to it for help. This, Mr. Darah said, was an indication of the high esteem in which J. P Clark is held in his state.
From the creeks to global acclaim
Dr. Sunny Ododo was called to give a citation on Clark-Bekederemo. Ododo also happens to be the Vice President of ANA. He took the podium to dramati-cally recount how the notable author was born April 6, 1935 in Kiagbodo in the creeks of what would later become Delta State.
He recounted how Clark got the best of colonial education because of his father, an Ijaw chief’s, influence, how he schooled in Okrika and Jeremi and graduated from Government College, Ughelli in 1954.
He then gained admission to the University College, Ibadan, where his literary prowess took wings and the world was awakened to the birth of new literary genius. It was while at UI that Clark penned some of his earliest and finest works including the famed poem Ibadan, Night Rain and his play, Song of the Goat.
When he later visited the United States, Clark-Bekederemo felt out of sorts and refused to comply with the dictates of his hosts. Their ways of life confounded him and the subsequent fallout resulted in another masterful literary work, America, Their America. This work set him at odds with the western world and he was only too glad to return home and continue his life and pursuits. But he had made his mark globally and there was no denying his literary prowess.
Sunny Ododo’s graphic rendition of Clark’s life was a feast for the guests who applauded not only the life of the icon but the manner in which it was recounted.
ANA had, some weeks before, kicked off the celebrations in the author’s country home in Kiagbodo, where he lives with his family and has a rich library.
Clark, who at 75, looked trim and vibrant, stood up besides his smiling wife to acknowledge the honour done him. He applauded those who turned up for the event. He however lamented the poor turn-out, occasioned by poor publicity. It was however, a relief the event held at all as the organizers faced several constrains.
Academic business
The first plenary session commenced immediately with intellectual titans coming to share their informed musings into the subtleties of J.P Clarks works. The session was chaired by Prof. Sam Ukala and had presentations from Prof. J.O.J Nwachukwu On “J.P Clark’s Prose: American Blues and Unheroic hero”, Dr. Joseph Ushie on “Managing Taboos in Clark-Bekederemo’s Song of a Goat and Dr. Sunny Awhefeada on “Rethinking J.P Clark’s Ozidi in the light of contemporary Nigerian Experience.”
It continued the next day with the Mrs. Maria Ajimah presenting “Recurring Motif on the Poetry of J.P Clark, “Rythm of Pain in J.P Clark’s Prose Genre” by Dr. Luke Eyo and “Situating humanity in the Poetry of J.P Clark” by Dr. Idris Okpanachi.
The brainstorming paved way for a dinner, which was graced by the Clark-Bekederemo’s. It had Ofenime Inyang, a member of the organizing committee, singing eulogies for J.P Clark and a dramatization of one of Clark’s unpublished plays, The Smile and the Hiss, to rapturous applause.
President of ANA, Dr. Jerry Agada lamented the shoddy organization of the colloquium, which had twice been rescheduled for financial reasons. Clark-Bekederemo deserved better but Dr. Agada apologised on behalf of his organization and promised to make amends in future events.
That notwithstanding, the fact that an icon like JP Clark is being celebrated at all in his lifetime is, as they say, something worth writing home about.