xBorn on December 6, 1933 into two illustrious Izon families, Bekederemo and Adomi, of Kiagbodo in present day Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, J. P. Clark, who enjoyed longevity, perceptible health of mind and body as his elder brothers Ambassador B. In the subsequent years as an academic, Clark taught in universities in America, occupying Visiting Professorship positions in Wesleyan University, Lincoln University, Yale University and the University of Ibadan. xIn furtherance of scholarship in the letters, the trio of Chinua Achebe, J. P. Clark and Wole Soyinka in concert with Professors Emeriti Ayo Bamgbose, J. S. Ade-Ajayi, Adiele Afigbo, and Adeboye Babalola founded the Nigeria Academy of Letters (NAL). J. P. Clark, whose remains have been interred in his Kiagbodo home-town, had requested in his poem ‘My Last Testament’ that he be hastily laid to rest without much ado. The J. P. Clark phenomenon orientates the present generation of academics, researchers and writers to further problematise the relationship between literature and our national integrity.

Source: The Guardian October 28, 2020 04:07 UTC