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The judges describe Chielozona Eze's winning short story, "Lessons in German," as "a swan song to, and of, all that was, and is, beautiful and enduring but utterly corrupted by humanity. It is an awakening of consciousness to the binding contract of sublimation, the pristine glory of nature that is bound for decay, an ennobling song in our hearts that is the beginning of manic depression." In the words of Obiwu, the chairman of the judges, "'Lessons in German' is a narration about music and language, sex and sexuality, love and hate, art and artifice, knowledge and ignorance, light and darkness, genocide and communality, affirmation and denegation. Eze pours his body and soul, not unlike the enmeshed wine and flesh of his interracial protagonists, into a narrative that is one of the most consuming commentaries on contemporary dialectics of migration, globalization, and the return of beauty." Chielozona Eze grew up in Enugu, Nigeria. He completed his graduate studies from Purdue University in December 2003. From 2004 to 2005, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, at Los Angeles. The second prize goes to Anietie Isong for his story, "How Great Thou Art." The $300 2nd prize is endowed by Dr. Chuma Osakwe in the memory of his late father, Chief S. B. C Osakwe. The 3rd prize of $100 goes to Chika Unigwe for her story, "Confetti, Glitter, and Ash." All stories submitted for this year's competition will be considered for publication in an anthology of short fiction devoted to new voices of Africans abroad. The judges for this year's competition were Okey Ndibe, Wale Adebanwi, and Obiwu. According to Rudolf Okonkwo, the CEO of Iroko Productions, "entries for next year's edition will open on July 1, 2006, and the winner will be announced on Christmas Eve.' The Olaudah Equiano Prize is supported by United African Artists, www.UnitedAfricanArtists.com, producers of the movie, THIS AMERICA, Ehimen Edokpa of IBG Tax & Accounting LLC, www.ibgtax.com, Ik Anunike of Lord's Wish Transportation, and Angel Amukadi of Teamprophoto.net.
Contact Information: Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo © 2005 nigeriaworld |
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roko Productions today announces Chielozona Eze as the winner of the 1st Oladuah Equiano Prize for Fiction. He won the $1000 Prize with his short story, "Lessons in German."
