Gabriel Okara, "one of Nigeria's foremost and famous writers, poets and novelists," died March 25, Vanguard reported. He was 97. In a statement, Bina Ilagha, chairperson of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Bayelsa State Chapter, said the organization "is ruffled by the news because it came at a time when preparations are in top gear to celebrate his masterpiece, The Voice, at 55. We are saddened by the news but are consoled that he left behind lofty legacies. Pa Okara, through his literary exploits put Bayelsa in the map of literary excellence."
"The first Modernist poet of Anglophone Africa," Okara is best known for his early experimental novel, The Voice (1964), and his award-winning poetry, including The Fisherman's Invocation (1978) and The Dreamer, His Vision (2005), Vanguard wrote.
Brenda Marie Osbey, editor of Gabriel Okara: Collected Poems, observed: "It is with publication of Gabriel Okara's first poem that Nigerian literature in English and modern African poetry in this language can be said truly to have begun."
Michael Afenfia, former ANA chairman, said: "It is with great sadness that I received the news of the passing of the renowned poet and novelist, Gabriel Okara. Even in passing, I am sure your poem, 'Piano and Drums,' will 'minister' to me in many ways. Your words are an inspiration! Your concerns about the African culture in the face of Western 'threat' as expressed in 'Once Upon a Time' are ever before me. Thank you for leaving us with so much to remember of your time here with us. Thank you for setting the pace for several generations of writers."
From his poem "You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed":
So a meek wonder held
your shadow and you whispered;
"Why so?"
And I answered:
"Because my fathers and I
are owned by the living
warmth of the earth
through our naked feet."