Taban Lo Liyong

Biography

Taban Lo Liyong was born in 1939 in Acholiland, South Sudan. A prolific and critically acclaimed writer, he attended the National Teachers College in Kampala. He earned his undergraduate degree at Knoxville College in Tennessee, and postgraduate degree at Howard University. He is the author of poetry collections such as Frantz Fanon's Uneven Ribs (1971), Another Nigger Dead (London, Heinemann, 1972), Ballads of Underdevelopment (Kampala, East African Literature, Bureau, 1976), The Cows of Shambat (Zimbabwe Publishing House, Harare, 1992), Words that Melt a Mountain (Nairobi, East African Educational Publishers, 1996), Carrying Knowledge Up a Palm Tree (1997), Corpse Lovers and Corpse Haters (2005), After Troy (2021), Meditations in Limbo (Nairobi, Equatorial, 1970), The Uniformed Man (Nairobi, East African Educational Publishers, 1971), The Meditations of Taban lo Liyong (1978), and others. He was the first African graduate from the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop.

Birth Date

1939-01-01

Country of Nationality

South Sudan

Bobi Full Primary School, Gulu High School, Sir Samuel Baker Secondary School, National Teacher's College, Knoxville College, Howard University , University of Iowa

Poetry Collections

Frantz Fanon's Uneven Ribs (1971), Another Nigger Dead (London, Heinemann, 1972), Ballads of Underdevelopment (Kampala, East African Literature, Bureau, 1976), The Cows of Shambat (Zimbabwe Publishing House, Harare, 1992), Words that Melt a Mountain (Nairobi, East African Educational Publishers, 1996), Carrying Knowledge Up a Palm Tree (1997), Corpse Lovers and Corpse Haters (2005), After Troy (2021), Meditations in Limbo (Nairobi, Equatorial, 1970), The Uniformed Man (Nairobi, East African Educational Publishers, 1971), The Meditations of Taban lo Liyong (1978), and Another Last Word (1990), among other collections; bold literary criticism (The Last Word [1969]); and half-serious quasi-political commentary (Thirteen Offensives Against Our Enemies [1973]), Eating Chiefs: Lwo Culture from Lolwe to Malkal, London, Heinemann, 1970; New York, Humanities Press, 1971.

Sources

"Liyong Lo, Taban." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taban_Lo_Liyong. Accessed 28 November 2022. Luebering, J.E. "Liyong Lo, Taban." https://www.britannica.com/art/literary-criticism. Accessed 28 November 2022. Pagnoulle, Christine. "Taban Lo Liyong." https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/taban-lo-liyong. Accessed 28 November 2022.