Tope Folarin

Tope Folarin
Born Oluwabusayo Temitope Folarin
1981 (age 36–37)
Ogden, Utah
Language English
Nationality American
Alma mater Morehouse College;
University of Oxford
Notable awards Caine Prize

Tope Folarin (born 1981) is a Nigerian-American writer. He won the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story "Miracle".[1] In April 2014 he was named in the Hay Festival's Africa39 project as one of the 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with the potential and the talent to define the trends of the region.[2] His story "Genesis" was shortlisted for the 2016 Caine Prize.[3]

Early life

He was born as Oluwabusayo Temitope Folarin in Ogden, Utah, to Nigerian migrants, and has four younger siblings — three brothers and a sister.[4] He grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas, where he moved with his family at the age of 14.[5]

Speaking of his upbringing in a 2016 interview, Folarin said that he and his siblings were raised with "a deep respect" for Nigeria and Africa. The children were eager to visit Nigeria, but financial constraints prevented the family from doing so. "I think my writing reflects both of these aspects of my life—a sense of closeness to Nigeria, and a distance as well," he said.[6]

After high school he enrolled at Morehouse College, spending a year and a half as an exchange student, first at Bates College in Maine, then the University of Cape Town in South Africa,[5] before he graduated from Morehouse in 2004, with a B.A. He was named a 2004 Rhodes Scholar,[7] and during the summer of 2004 was a Galbraith Scholar at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, after which he went on to study at the University of Oxford, graduating in 2006 with an M.Sc. in African Studies and an M.Sc. in Comparative Social Policy.[4]

Career

In 2013 he became the first writer based outside Africa to win the Caine Prize, which he won for his story "Miracle." The story is set in Texas in an evangelical Nigerian church.[8] The award of the prize — which is open to anyone who was born in Africa, is an African national, or whose parents are African — sparked some discussion about whether the author's connection to Africa was strong enough.[9][10][11] Tope himself said in an interview to The Guardian: "I'm a writer situated in the Nigerian disapora, and the Caine Prize means a lot – it feels like I'm connected to a long tradition of African writers. The Caine Prize is broadening its definition and scope. I consider myself Nigerian and American, both identities are integral to who I am. To win … feels like a seal of approval."[8]

In April 2014 he was named on the Hay Festival's Africa39 list of writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature.[12]

He has served on the board of the Hurston/Wright Foundation.[8]

Personal life

Folarin lives in Washington, D.C.[13]

Publications

  • "Miracle," Transition, No. 109, Persona (2012), pp. 73–83[14]
  • "The Summer of Ice Cream", Virginia Quarterly Review, Fall 2014, Vol. 90, No. 4, pp. 54+[15]
  • "New Mom, from a novel in progress," Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara, Bloomsbury Publishing, October 2014.
  • "Genesis," in "Callaloo," Vol 37, No. 5, Fall 2014.<https://muse.jhu.edu/article/565044</ref>

References

  • "Tope Folarin". How Rhodes Scholars Think.
  • Webcast at the Library of Congress, 20 March 2014
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