Bibliography

Anafulu, Joseph C. "Christopher Okigbo, 1932–1967: A Bio-Bibliography." Research in African Literatures 9, No. 1 (Spring 1978): 65-78.

Combines an extensive bibliography of Okigbo's work with a brief biography.

Biography

Lindfors, Bernth. "Okigbo as Jock." In When the Drumbeat Changes, edited by Carolyn A. Parker and Stephen H. Arnold, pp. 199-214. Washington, D.C.: African Literature Association and Three Continents Press, 1981.

An account of Okigbo's school years which focuses on his athletic achievements.

Thomas, Peter. "Ride Me Memories: A Memorial Tribute to Christopher Okigbo (1932–1967)." African Arts 1, No. 4 (1968): 68-70.

Thomas, a close friend of Okigbo, relates anecdotes characterizing the poet as a lively, generous man sometimes subject to the deep sadness he expressed in his poetry.

Criticism

Akporabaro, Fred. "Christopher Okigbo: Emotional Tension, Recurrent Motifs, and Architectonic Sense in Labyrinths." Nigeria Magazine 53, No. 2 (April-June 1985): 6-13.

Highly laudatory examination of the themes and techniques of Okigbo's poetry.

Anozie, Sunday O. "Christopher Okigbo: A Creative Itinerary, 1957–1961." Présence Africaine, No. 64 (1967): 158-66.

Examines the rhetorical and thematic structure in Okigbo's Poems: Four Canzones.

―――――――. Christopher Okigbo: Creative Rhetoric. Evans Brothers Limited, 1972, 203 p.

Critical survey of Okigbo's work, including Poems: Four Canzones, by the founder of the Okigbo Friendship Society.

Cooke, Michael G. "Christopher Okigbo and Robert Hayden: From Mould to Stars." World Literature Written in English 30, No. 2 (Autumn 1990): 131-44.

Traces "a particular affinity in imagery, outlook, and even experience" between poets Robert Hayden and Okigbo.

Dathorne, O. R. "African Literature IV: Ritual and Ceremony in Okigbo's Poetry." Journal of Commonwealth Literature, No. 5 (July 1968): 79-91.

Describes Heavensgate as a work that "shows man in the process of striving towards a god."

―――――――. "Okigbo Understood: A Study of Two Poems." African Literature Today, No. 1 (1968): 19-23.

Briefly examines two untitled poems from different periods in Okigbo's career.

Egudu, Romanus. "Defense of Culture in the Poetry of Christopher Okigbo." African Literature Today, No. 6 (1968): 14-25.

Explores the theme of "literary struggle" in Okigbo's poetry.

―――――――. "Ezra Pound in African Poetry: Christopher Okigbo." Comparative Literature Studies VIII, No. 2 (June 1971): 143-54.

Traces the influence of American poet Ezra Pound on Okigbo's poetry.

Jones, Le Roi. Review of Heavensgate, by Christopher Okigbo. Poetry 103, No. 6 (March 1964): 400.

Brief, mixed review of Okigbo's first collection of poetry.

Knipp, Thomas R. "Poetry as Autobiography: Society and Self in Three Modern West African Poets." In African Literature in Its Social and Political Dimensions, edited by Eileen Julien, Mildred Mortimer, and Curtis Schade, pp. 41-50. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, 1984.

Argues that Okigbo's poetry reflects the values and common experiences of African culture, thereby making his poetry a type of autobiography.

Leslie, Omolara. "The Poetry of Christopher Okigbo: Its Evolution and Significance." Studies in Black Literature 4, No. 2 (Summer 1973): 1-8.

Traces Okigbo's poetic development within the social and political milieu of Nigeria around 1960.

Moore, Gerald. "Vision and Fulfillment." In his The Chosen Tongue: English Writing in the Tropical World, pp. 163-76. New York: Harper & Row, 1969.

Briefly places Okigbo in the tradition of modern African literature.

Ngaté, Jonathan. "Senghor and Okigbo: The Way Out of Exile." In Explorations: Essays in Comparative Literature, edited by Makota Ueda, pp. 253-77. New York: University Press of America, 1986.

Maintains that Okigbo's frequent use of the theme of "the prodigal son returning to the goddess-mother Idoto" symbolizes the poet's desire to identify himself with African traditions and society and to reject the Christian aspects of his education.

Nwoga, Donatus Ibe, ed. Critical Perspectives on Christopher Okigbo. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, 1984, 367 p.

Collection of essays on Okigbo's life and works, including reprints of interviews with Okigbo and bibliographies of major secondary studies.

Okpaku, Joe Ohi. "The Writer in Politics—Christopher Okigbo, Wole Soyinka, and the Nigerian Crisis." Journal of the New African Literature and the Arts 4 (Fall 1967): 1-13.

Examines the role of the creative artist in African politics.

Theroux, Paul. "Christopher Okigbo." In Introduction to Nigerian Literature, edited by Bruce King, pp. 135-51. Reprint. Lagos, Nigeria: Africana Publishing Corporation, 1972.

Proposes two methods for studying Okigbo's poetry: "one is to look at his poems, the other is to listen to his music."