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Wana Udobang

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Wana Udobang
Born
Lagos, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Other namesWana Wana
Occupation(s)Poet, broadcaster, journalist

Wana Udobang, also known as Wana Wana, is a Nigerian writer, poet, journalist, filmmaker, and television personality.[1] Her work has appeared on the BBC,[2] Al Jazeera, Huffington Post, BellaNaija, and The Guardian,[3] She has been described as "one of the biggest champions of our new spoken word renaissance is taking a leap into the void."[4]

Biography and career

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Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Udobang graduated with a first-class degree in journalism from the University for the Creative Arts. After graduation, she worked for the BBC World Service as a freelance features producer. She also worked as a researcher at Wise Buddah Productions, Above the Title Productions, and Somethin' Else. On return to Lagos, she worked at 92.3 Inspiration FM in Lagos, Nigeria, for six years as a radio presenter and producer.

Her fiction and poetry have been published in Brittle Paper and other places online and in print. She is an alumnus of the Farafina Creative Writers Workshop held annually by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

As a performance poet, she has performed around Nigeria. Her first spoken-word album, released in 2013, was titled Dirty Laundry.[5]

In 2017, she released a second album, titled In Memory of Forgetting. The album has been described as "incredibly brave",[6] a "feminist dog whistle"[7] that revolves "almost entirely around the resilience women, their triumphs and struggles, their trauma and epiphanies.[4] Udobang describes it as "a collection of memories navigating experiences that range from places of brokenness and questioning to self renewal."[8]

In 2020, Wana was selected to participate in the 54th International Writing Program Fall Residency at the University of Iowa, courtesy of the United States Department of State. To date, 35 Nigerian literary figures have participated in the IWP Fall Residency. Notable among them are Elechi Amadi (1973), Cyprian Ekwensi (1974), Ola Rotimi (1980), Femi Osofisan (1986), Niyi Osundare (1988), Festus Iyayi (1990), Lola Shoneyin (1999), Obari Gomba (2016) and Tade Ipadeola (2019).[9]

References

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  1. ^ Onyemaechi, Ijeoma (27 June 2017). "I may one day go back to being a radio presenter, says Wana Udobang". TheCable Lifestyle. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Writing a New Nigeria – Episode guide – BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  3. ^ Udobang, Wana (21 February 2017). "'The exorcism was over in 15 minutes but nothing changed' – LGBT life in Nigeria". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b Okolo, Edwin (5 September 2017). "Essentials: Wana Udobang's 'In Memory Of Forgetting' is not a feminist album, it is so much more". The Native. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Spoken Word With Wana Udobang In 'Not For Sale'". jaguda.com. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Keside Anosike: An Insight into Wana Udobang's Spoken Word Album – In Memory of Forgetting". bellanaija.com. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Wana Udobang's "In Memory of Forgetting" Spoken Word Album Tells Reality Grimly". FilterFree. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  8. ^ "It Starts From Writing Honestly | A Conversation with Wana Udobang | By Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún". Brittle Paper. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Nigerian, Udobang, selected for prestigious International Writing Programme". Vanguard. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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