Overview of the Collection
Repository:
Special Collections & Archives
McIntyre Library
University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire
P.O. Box 4004
105 Garfield Ave.
Eau Claire, WI 54702 – 4004
(715) 836-2739
https://library.uwec.edu/archives/
Reference Code: USGZE AS598
Accession Number: 14-034; 15-015; 15-020
Collection Number: Archives Series 598
Creators: University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire
Title: Tess Osonye Onwueme Papers
Dates: 1975 – 2014
Quantity: 25.2 linear feet (21 record cartons, 3.5 oversize boxes); plus additions of 10.5 linear feet [15-015, 15-020] (9 record cartons, 1 oversize box)
Location of Collection: D7/1b-D7/2e, A3/3e, A4/3g
Languages: Collection materials are primarily in English.
Biographical / Historical Note
Dr. Tess Osonye Onwueme was born on September 8, 1955 in Ogwashi-Uku (now Delta State, Nigeria). She received her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1979, Master’s degree in Literature from the University of Nigeria in 1982, and PhD in English from the University of Benin Nigeria in 1987. She is the endowed chair University Professor of Global Letters at the University of Wisconsin, following her years of service as Distinguished Professor of Cultural Diversity and Professor of English.
Dr. Onwume is winner of several international awards, including the prestigious. Folon-Nichols Award (2009), the Phyllis Wheatley Distinguished Award (2007), The Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Writers Award (1989/1990), the African Distinguished Authors Award (1988), a four-time winner of the Association of Nigerian Authors Award (ANA) in 2003, 2001, 1995, and 1985. She was appointed to the US Department of State Public Diplomacy Speaker and Specialist Program for Northeast, and West India in 2007.
Dr. Onwueme has published over twenty creative dramas, including such provocative plays as No Vacancy (2005), What Mama Said (2004), Then She Said it (2003), Shakara: Dance-Hall Queen (2001), Tell it to Women (1997; 1995), The Missing Face (2006; 2002), Riot in Heaven (1996; 2002), Legacies (1989), The Reign of Wazobia (1988), Mirror for Campus (1987), Ban Empty Barn and Other Plays (1986), The Desert Encroaches (1985), The Broken Calabash (1984), and Why the Elephant Has No Butt (2000). Her plays have been performed internationally, including performances in the USA, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, India, Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Dr. Onwueme’s plays have been performed at Off-Broadway venues and translated into the medium of film. In 2004 and 2005, as part of their World Drama Serivce, the BBC broadcast Onwueme’s Shakara. It is said that Dr. Onwueme’s literary soul-mates are Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, and Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Her literary works focus on conflict between rich and poor, modern and traditional, and the conflict of inner-self. The plays highlight basic human rights of nationality, age, sex, race, and sheds light on African life.
In addition to her successes as a scholar and playwright, Dr. Onwueme is also the mother of five children. Some of her work reflects the influence of her family life.
Scope and Content Note
The materials in the collection, consisting of correspondence, manuscripts, print materials, media, ephemera, subject files, associated materials and photographs span from 1975 to 2014, with the bulk of the content from the mid-1980s to early 2000s. The collection is organized into three series: (1) Professional and Scholarly Materials, (2) Administrative Materials from UW-Eau Claire and (3) Scholarship focused on Onwueme’s works. The first series, Professional and Scholarly Materials, is the largest series and is further separated into seven sub-series: Manuscripts and Presentations, Correspondence, Subject Files, Biographical Files, Photographs, Ephemera and Media. The second major series, Administrative Materials from UW-Eau Claire, is further subdivided into two sub-series: Correspondence and Subject Files.
Accession 15-015, received in September 2014, contains an unprocessed addition of 6.5 linear feet of materials. This accession contains, primarily, unsorted correspondence, publications, photographs and media.
Accession 15-020, received September 2014, contains an unprocessed addition of 4.0 linear feet of materials. This accession includes unsorted correspondence, manuscripts and photographs.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information: Acquired by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation in 2014. Transferred to the University Archives by the UW-Eau Claire Foundation in 2014.
Access Restrictions: Collection is open to the public.
Use Restrictions: Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. Copyright not owned by the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.
Preferred Citation: Tess Osonye Onwueme Papers, 1975-2014. AS598. Special Collections & Archives. McIntyre Library. University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. Eau Claire, WI.
Processing Note: Processed by Melissa Schultz and Greg Kocken in summer and fall 2014.
Arrangement: By series and subseries,
OCLC #: 893687385
Subjects
Personal Names:
Onwueme, Tess Osonye
Onwueme, Tess Akaeke Akaeke, T. O.
Corporate Names: University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire
Subject Terms:
Women -- Africa – Drama
Nigerian drama (English) -- Women authors
Americans -- Africa -- Drama
African Americans -- Drama
Mothers and sons -- Drama
Africa – Drama
Nigeria – Drama
Petroleum industry and trade -- Drama
Government, Resistance to -- Drama
Political corruption – Drama
Mothers and daughters – Drama
African drama
Igbo (African people) – Folklore
Animals – Folklore
Tales – Nigeria
Satire
African drama -- 20th century
Nigerian drama -- 20th century
Nigerian drama -- Women authors
Black drama (African)
African Americans -- Travel -- Africa -- Drama;
Mothers and sons -- Africa – Drama
Universities and colleges—Teachers
Cultural diversity – Correspondence
Autobiography
History—Biography
Interviews
Coral art objects
Newspaper clippings
Theater—Posters
Manuscript
Study and teaching--Particular subjects, A-Z--Women. Women's rights
Women's studies--Libraries--Special collections
Plays and stage productions
Conferences
Speeches
Books
Documentary
Photo albums
Photographs—Albums
Detailed List of Contents (excludes unprocessed additions)
Series 1: Professional Materials
Materials which document Tess Osonye Onwueme’s career as a playwright and scholar.
Sub-series 1: Manuscripts and Presentations
Dates: 1975-2014
Extent: 13.0 linear feet (13 record center cartons)
Container (Box/Folder) | Contents | Dates |
1/1 | The History of Ogwashi-Uku; Homework from Onwueme’s education | 1975-1981 |
1/2 | The Governor (incomplete) | 1983 |
1/3 | A Hen Too Soon (copy) | 1983 |
1/4 | The Children’s Way: A Collection of Plays for Senior Primary Schools | 1983 |
1/5 | Typed Poems | May 17, 1984 |
1/6 | The Broken Calabash | 1984 |
1/7 | The Broken Calabash | 1988 |
1/8 | Osofisan’s Idiom of Confrontation: An Alternative Mode of Value and Valuation in Modern Nigerian Literary Aesthetics | 1985 |
1/9 | Daughters of Eve as Guardian Angels: Feminist Creed According to Femi Osofisan | Circa 1987 (PhD) |
1/10 | The Function of Metaphor in Osofisan’s The Chattering and the Song | Circa 1987 (PhD) |
1/11 | The Writter as the Pathfinder: The Dimension of Epic Theatre in Osofisan’s Once Upon Four Robbers | Circa 1987 (PhD) |
1/12 | Osofisan’s New Hero: Women As Agents of Social Reconstruction | Circa 1987 (PhD) |
1/13 | The “Shero” Present to Future | N.D. |
1/14 | Reason and Argument: Technique of Epic Theatre in Osofisan’s Drama | Circa 1987 (PhD) |
1/15 | The Desert Encroaches | 1988 |
1/16 | Heroism Among the West Niger Igbo: A Perspective from Orature | 1986 |
1/17 | Ban Empty Barn and other plays | 1986 |
1/18 | Ban Empty Barn and other plays (hardcover) | 1986 |
1/19 | Ban Empty Barn and other plays; The Artist’s Homecoming; Cattle Egret Versus Nama (Crime Patrol Unit) (copy) | 1986 |
1/20 | Ban Empty Barn (typed copy with edits) | N.D. |
1/21 | A Scent of Onions (copy) | 1986 |
1/22 | A Scent of Onions (copy with postits and notes, missing some pages) | 1986 |
1/23 | Some Day Soon | 1986 |
1/24 | Some Day Soon (with notes) | 1986 |
1/25 | The Artist’s Homecoming | 1986 |
1/26 | In Search of a Theme (manuscript) | 1986 |
1/27 | In Search of a Theme-A play (copy) | 1986 |
1/28 | Drama for the Dead: The Dead as Heroes of the Living in Aniocha | C. 1986-1989 |
1/29 | Acada Boys or Mirror for Campus | 1987 |
1/30 | Mirror for Campus | 1987 |
1/31 | Acada Boys – typed manuscript with edits | 1987 |
1/32 | Sfem A poem | 1987 |
1/33 | For A Season | 1987 |
1/34 | Parables For A Season | Circa 1985 |
1/35 | Parables For A Season (typed draft) | Circa 1985 |
1/36 | Parables For A Season in African American Plays for Today Anthology | 1991 |
1/37 | Parables For A Season production, Sudan | 2007 |
1/38 | “Osofian’s New Hero: Women as Social Reconstructions” In SAGE | 1988 |
1/39 | The Reign of Wazobia (copy) | 1988 |
1/40 | The Reign of Wazobia (edited for Three Plays) | N.D. |
1/41 | Reign of Wazobia Movie project | 1996 |
1/42 | Greetings, Names, and Praises in Aniocha | February 14, 1989 |
1/43 | Greetings, Names, and Praises in Aniocha | February 14, 1989 |
1/44 | Divorce in Aniocha | N.D. |
1/45 | Legacies | 1989 |
1/46 | Legacies reprint | 1991 |
1/47 | Legacies (script with notes) | N.D. |
1/48 | Fall production of Legacies | 1995 |
1/49 | Cobweb In A Stateman’s Eye | 1989 |
1/50 | Go Tell It To Women (alternative name Drums for Women) manuscript notes | 1988-1989 |
1/51 | The Broken Calabash | 2014 |
1/52 | The Reign of Wazobia | 2014 |
1/51 | Go Tell It To Women (an epic drama for women) second edition; original typeset 1 of 2 | 1993 |
2/1 | Go Tell It To Women (an epic drama for women) second edition; original typeset 2 of 2 | 1993 |
2/2 | Tell It To Women (an epic drama for women) revised edition 1 of 2 | 1994 |
2/3 | Tell It To Women (an epic drama for women) revised edition 2 of 2 | 1994 |
2/4 | Tell It To Women (an epic drama for women) | 1997 |
2/5 | Tell It To Women (an epic drama for women) Revisions for revised edition 1 of 3 | N.D. |
2/6 | Tell It To Women (an epic drama for women) Revisions for revised edition 2 of 3 | N.D. |
2/7 | Tell It To Women (an epic drama for women) Revisions for revised edition 3 of 3 | N.D. |
2/8 | Going to Be… | May 28, 1990 |
2/9 | “Speaking Without Tongue: Silence and Self-Search in Armah’s” in UFAHAMM | 1990 |
2/10 | Child of Color Sings A New Song (poem) | 1990 |
2/11 | Visions of Myth in Nigerian Drama: Femi Osofisan Versus Wole Soyinka | 1991 |
2/12 | Visions of Myth in Nigerian Drama: Femi Osofisan Versus Wole Soyinka (book) | 1991 |
2/13 | “Femi Osofisan and the Techniques of Epic Theater” in The Literary Griot | 1991 |
2/14 | “The Community as Shadow of the Individual in Achebe’s Novels” in Geneve-Africa | 1991 |
2/15 | The Riot of Colors poem (manuscript) | August 19, 1991 |
2/16 | The Riot of Colors poem | 1993 |
2/17 | Riot In Heaven & Legacies | 1991-1994 |
2/18 | Riot In Heaven & Legacies (with notes) | 1994 |
2/19 | The Squirrel’s Daughter – manuscript | 1992 |
2/20 | You Don’t Need a Mother (manuscript) | |
2/21 | Three Plays (The Broken Calabash; Parables for a Season; The Reign of Wazobia) (copy) | 1993 |
2/22 | Bodies in Silence: The Missing Diaspora in African Literature | 1993 |
2/23 | Bodies in Silence: The Missing Diaspora in African Literature (with notes) | 1993 |
2/24 | (An)other Artist’s Wayward Thought on Eugene Redmont Poetry | May 10, 1994 |
2/25 | “Another African’s Wayward Thoughts on Eugene Redmond’s Poetry” in Dreams Deferred, Dead or Alive | 1996 |
2/26 | Poem, untitled | 1994 |
2/27 | Poem, untitled | 1994-1995 |
2/28 | What Are You in America? | 1995 |
2/29 | The Moon Is My Witness, a poem | 1995 |
2/30 | Reviews on “Fighting the Good Fight” and “Unbroken Thread” written by Onwueme | 1995 |
2/31 | Miscellaneous poems | 1995 |
2/32 | Manuscript – no title | May 13, 1996 |
3/1 | If I could Vote | 1996 |
3/2 | Riot In Heaven | 1996 |
3/3 | Riot In Heaven (with notes) | 1996 |
3/4 | Riot In Heaven second edition | 2006 |
3/5 | Riot In Heaven - draft | September 28, 2006 |
3/6 | Riot In Heaven – draft | November 9, 2006 |
3/7 | Riot In Heaven – final edit | November 10, 2006 |
3/8 | Riot In Heaven - draft | N.D. |
3/9 | Riot In Heaven - draft | N.D. |
3/10 | Riot In Heaven - draft | N.D. |
3/11 | Riot In Heaven – notes | N.D. |
3/12 | Riot In Heaven & Acada Boys | 2003 |
3/13 | To The Would-be African Female Writer: Husband Yourself First | 1997 |
3/14 | To The Would-be African Female Writer: Husband Yourself First | 1999 |
3/15 | Shifting Paradigms of Profit and Loss: Men in Flora Nwapo’s Fiction | 1997 |
3/16 | Shifting Paradigms of Profit and Loss: Men in Flora Nwapo’s Fiction | 1998 |
3/17 | The President’s Bag of Luck/His Majesty’s Bag of Luck (Manuscript) | 1997 |
3/18 | The President’s Bay of Luck (typed, incomplete) | N.D. |
3/19 | Igbo Proverb, Onwueme’s thoughts | March 25, 1997 |
3/20 | Thinking of the Distance I Have Covered | August 29, 1997 |
3/21 | Thinking About Me Nowadays, a poem | 1997 |
3/22 | The Missing Face | 1997 |
3/23 | The Missing Face (new edition) | 2002 |
3/24 | The Missing Face (new edition) | 2005 |
3/25 | The Missing Face – draft | 1996 |
3/26 | Notes- The Missing Face | N.D. |
3/27 | The Missing Face: An Intercultural and Educational Video-Drama, Production notes, Ford Foundation | 1998 |
3/28 | The Missing Face Performance | 2001 |
3/29 | The Missing Face | 2012 |
3/29 | Why the Elephant Has No Butt (manuscript notes) | 1997-1998 |
3/30 | Why the Elephant Has No Butt (Handwritten Notes) | N.D. |
4/1 | Why the Elephant Has No Butt (incomplete with notes) | N.D. |
4/2 | Why the Elephant Has No Butt (ch.1) | 1997 |
4/3 | Why the Elephant Has No Butt (submitted manuscript, Heinemann) | 1997 |
4/4 | Why The Elephant Has No Butt (submitted copy, Author’s Clearing House) | 1997 |
4/5 | Why The Elephant Has No Butt | 2000 |
4/6 | Why the Elephant Has No Butt (Final proof) Pine Hill Press | 2000 |
4/7 | Why the Elephant Has No Butt (Final proof copy with notes) Pine Hill Press | 2000 |
4/8 | Why the Elephant Has No Butt (typed with notes) | N.D. |
4/9 | Miscellaneous poems | 1998 |
4/10 | “Who Can Silence the Drums? Black Writers Speak!” in Black Academy Press | 1998 |
4/11 | When the Girls Play: What Drumbeats Will They Play About Life in the Flaming (Nigerian) Niger-Delta, a proposal | 1999? |
4/12 | Running From My Body | 1999 |
4/13 | Shakara: Dance-Hall Queen (draft?) | 1999 |
4/14 | Shakara printed from floppy disk for Amoge Press | N.D. |
4/15 | Shakara: Dance-Hall Queen | 2000 |
4/16 | Shakara: Dance-Hall Queen (mock up with notes) | 2000 |
4/17 | Shakara: Dance-Hall Queen – second edition | 2006 |
4/18 | Shakara: Dance-Hall Queen – first draft | N.D. |
4/19 | Shakara: Dance-Hall Queen – draft | N.D. |
4/20 | Who Can Silence the Drums? Delta Women Speak! Ford Foundation Grant | 1999 |
4/21 | Miscellaneous Notebits | 2001-2003 |
4/22 | Poem – untitled | 2001 |
4/23 | Delta Women Speak manuscript (1 of 2) | November 2000? |
5/1 | Delta Women Speak manuscript (2 of 2) | November 2000? |
5/2 | Then She Said It (final copy) | 2001 |
5/3 | Then She Said It | 2002 |
5/4 | Then She Said It (copy with notes) | 2002 |
5/5 | Then She Said It (copy with edits) | 2002 |
5/6 | Then She Said It (bound copy with edits) | 2002 |
5/7 | Then She Said It (bound copy with edits) | N.D. |
5/8 | Then She Said It (typed with edits) | N.D. |
5/9 | Then She Said It – production | N.D. |
5/10 | Then She Said It – Ford Foundation Grant | 2001 |
5/11 | Buried in the Rubble | 2002 |
5/12 | A Season of Drought, a poem | 2002 |
5/13 | What Mama Said (typed with edits) | 2002 |
5/14 | What Mama Said (typed with edits) | 2002 |
5/15 | What Mama Said (typed) | 2003 |
5/16 | What Mama Said cover | N.D. |
5/17 | Dis Picking Na My 401K, a poem | June 16, 2003 |
5/18 | What Will Mama Say to the Oga (Fulbright Fellowship Program) | 2003 |
5/19 | Rumbles in the Desert (drama)- draft | 2005 |
5/20 | Rumbles in the Desert (from digital copy) | August 9, 2003 |
5/21 | Rumbles in the Desert | August 26, 2003 |
5/22 | For Men a poem for Meri Nana-Ama | February 28, 2004 |
5/23 | Guggenheim Fellowship Application | 2004 |
5/24 | No Vacancy! | 1986 |
5/25 | No Vacancy (typed) | 2004 |
6/1 | No Vacancy | 2005 |
6/2 | No Vacancy – originals & cover edits | N.D. |
6/3 | No Vacancy – partial with edits | N.D. |
6/4 | If Pillow Could (a poem) | 2006 |
6/5 | A Time of Reclamation/A Season of Reclamation | May 20, 2008 |
6/6 | Collection of Plays Vol. 2 (Rumbles in the Desert, Omoge: Break Dancer, Ban Empty Barn) | 2009 |
6/7 | A Collection of Plays no Volume associated (Cattle Egret Versus Nama/”Crime Patrol Unit,” The Artist’s Homecoming) | N.D. |
6/8 | A Collection of Plays Vol. 2 (Rumbles In the Destert, Omoge Shakara, Ban Empty Barn) | 2009 |
6/9 | A Collection of Plays Vol. 1 (Broken Calabash, Lost in Paradise, She Reigns) | 2009 |
6/10 | A Collection of Plays Vol. 3 (Out of Bounds, Ban Empty Barn) | 2009 |
6/11 | A Collection of Plays Vol. 2 (Break Dancer & Acada Boys) | 2009 |
6/12 | A Collection of Plays Vol. 1 (Rumbles in the Desert, Lost in Paradise) | 2009 |
6/13 | They’re Back! (Un)timely Visitors! Sabbatical Proposal 1 of 2 | 2011 |
6/14 | They’re Back! (Un)timely Visitors! Sabbatical Proposal 2 of 2 | 2011 |
6/15 | What the Woman of Color Said (a play) | N.D |
6/16 | What the Woman of Color Said (a play) | N.D |
6/17 | The Break Dancer (109 pgs) | N.D. |
6/18 | The Break Dancer (111 pgs) | N.D. |
6/19 | The Break Dancer (version 1) (a play) | N.D. |
6/20 | The Break Dancer (version 2) | N.D. |
6/21 | The Break Dancer (manuscript) | N.D. |
6/22 | I am Married to My Children (manuscript notes) | November 25, 1990 Montclair, NJ |
7/1 | I am Married to My Children (draft & manuscript notes) | November 25, 1990 Montclair, NJ |
7/2 | Look What I’ve Got! My Sunny Day! (short story submitted to Becky Clarke | N.D. |
7/3 | Gender and Race Metaphors of Love in Eugene Redmond Poetry | N.D. |
7/4 | The Other Side of Desire | N.D. |
7/5 | Poems on Nature | N.D. |
7/6 | Yari, Yari, What Will I tell My Children? | N.D. |
7/7 | Meeting My Mathers, In the Circle of My Fathers | N.D. |
7/8 | God Writes to Africa | N.D. |
7/9 | Bilary’s Clone | N.D. |
7/10 | The ‘X’ I Live With (part of manuscript) | N.D. |
7/11 | The X I live with (discarded or duplicated pages | N.D. |
7/12 | Emerging theme notes | N.D. |
7/13 | Memories Hijacked/ Hijacked Memories | N.D. |
7/14 | Lost in Paradise | N.D. |
7/15 | In the Circle of My Mothers | N.D. |
7/16 | Poetry- post it notes | N.D. |
7/17 | Post it notes, no provenance | N.D. |
7/18 | Miscellaneous notes | N.D. |
7/19 | Miscellaneous notes | N.D. |
7/20 | Things Left Unsaid (1 of 3) | N.D. |
7/21 | Things Left Unsaid (2 of 3) | N.D. |
7/22 | Things Left Unsaid (3 of 3) | N.D. |
7/23 | Things Left Unsaid (1 of 2) (p. 1235) | N.D. |
8/1 | Things Left Unsaid (2 of 2) (p. 236-489) | N.D. |
8/2 | Things Left Unsaid (partial) | N.D. |
8/3 | Things Left Unsaid (1 of 3) | N.D. |
8/4 | Things Left Unsaid (2 of 3) | N.D. |
8/5 | Things Left Unsaid (3 of 3) | N.D. |
8/6 | What I Cannot Tell My Father – notes | N.D. |
8/7 | What I Cannot Tell My Father – notes | N.D. |
8/8 | What I Cannot Tell My Father – notes | N.D. |
8/9 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 1-155) | February 8, 1998 |
8/10 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 1-88) | March 17, 1998 |
8/11 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 2-150) (1 of 2) | N.D. |
8/12 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 151-176) (2 of 2) | N.D. |
9/1 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 1-154) | 2005 |
9/2 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 2-426) | N.D. |
9/3 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (edits) (1 of 5) | N.D. |
9/4 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (edits) (2 of 5) | N.D. |
9/5 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (edits) (3 of 5) | N.D. |
9/6 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (edits) (4 of 5) | N.D. |
9/7 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (edits) (5 of 5) | N.D. |
9/8 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (synopsis) | N.D. |
9/9 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 284-532) bound | N.D. |
9/10 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 1-271) bound | 2004 |
10/1 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 1-370) bound | 2005 |
10/2 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 1-271) bound (1 of 2) | 2004 |
10/3 | What I Cannot Tell My Father (p. 272-532) bound (2 of 2) | 2004 |
10/4 (binder 1) | Mali’s Story: What I Cannot Tell My Father - manuscript | N.D. |
10/5 (binder 2) | Mali’s Story: What I Cannot Tell My Father - manuscript | N.D. |
Conferences | ||
11/1 | Heroism Among the West Niger Igbo | 1986 |
11/2 | The Unanswered Question | May 6-8, 1987 |
11/3 | Beyond the Nobel: Adolescence, Development and African Literature | May 2-7, 1988 |
11/4 | Coming of Age by Ana: NationBuilding and the Tribe of Writers in Search of Homestead | November 10-13, 1988 Benue Makurdi |
11/5 | Lecture: Shifting Concepts of Heroism | October 31, 1991 Toronto, Canada |
11/6 | Examining the Issue of SelfGovernment Ace | May 12, 1992 Montclair State |
11/7 | Sheroism: Bridges Across Land and Sea | May 30, 1992 John Jay College |
11/8 | The Essence of Diversity | January 13, 1995 McPhee Theatre |
11/9 | Black Theatre festival/conference | 1993-1995 |
11/10 | Who Can Silence the Drums: Black Creativity and the State of Race | April 10-12, 1997 Morgan State University |
11/11 | Drumbeats in Black Women’s Drama | April 12 1997 |
11/12 | This Time Tomorrow: Where Will You Be Anioma (Woman)? | May 24, 1997 Anioma National Conferences |
11/13 | Lost Abroad: What Will I Tell My Mother? | August 23, 1997 Anioma Association LA, California |
11/14 | Lost Generation: Nigerians Abroad Posterity | September 27, 1997 Nigerian Association Houston, TX |
11/15 | Disconnections: Post Colonial States of Exile and Alienation in Caribbean Women’s Drama | April 12, 1999 University of Houston |
11/16 | Drumbeats in Black Women’s Drama | August 3-6, 1999 Winston Salem State University |
11/17 | Recalling Mother-Tongues: Dialogues with My People | January 11-17, 2000 Against All Odds |
11/18 | Writing in a Post-Colonial State | April 4-5, 2001 Augustana College |
11/19 | Hear Us Too! Niger Delta Rural Women and the Multi National Oil Companies | February 19, 2002 Salem College, Winston Salem, North Carolina |
11/20 | Buried in the Rubble: The Missing Face in African Literature | April 5, 2002 University of San Diego |
11/21 | Buried in the Rubble (Version 3 & 4) | April 5, 2002 |
11/22 | Buried in the Rubble | April 5, 2002 28th Annual African Literature Association |
11/23 | Sojourner Speaks to the Global Village | April 13, 2002 SIRAS Conference |
11/24 | This Business of Mothering | June 22, 2002 Award Ceremony for the Women of Valor Atlanta, GA |
11/25 | (Trans)forming Women Through Performance | April 5, 2003 Indiana University |
11/26 | Where I Enter the Discourse on African Literature | May 2004 |
11/27 | Global (In)Justice?: Look Who’s Talking: Dramatic Interventions | October 14, 2004 November 16, 2005 November 24, 2005 |
11/28 | Lecture: When Life Attacks | October 20-22, 2004 Saint Lawrence University |
11/29 | A Gift of the Heart: My Friend, Thelma | December 28, 2004 Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas |
11/30 | The Color of My Writing | February 21, 2005 Lake Forest University |
11/31 | Dissing Acts? Staging Exile/Alienation in Black Women’s Drama | October 13, 2005 University of Houston |
11/32 | Miami Book Fair | 2005 |
12/1 | Check Me Out: I’m A Dropout, I’m Hip/Cool, and What About It? Youths Poling Faces of American and the World | April 25, 2006 Pace University |
12/2 | Acada Blues: Strategies for Academic Women Who Do Too Much | October 27-28, 2006 University of Houston |
12/3 | New Riot | October 2006 |
12/4 | Riot | October 28, 2006 Santa Clara University |
12/5 | Lecture Notes | 2007 Pace University |
12/6 | India Trip | 2007 |
12/7 | UW:EC Black History Month | February 4, 2008 University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire |
12/8 | Award Speech | July 18, 2008 10th Anniversary of the Harlem Book Fair |
12/9 | Folon Nichols Award: Acceptance Speech | April 17, 2009 ALA Conference University of Vermont |
12/10 | I Write To Kill Silence | November 12, 2009 2009 Tess International Conference Edmonton, Canada |
12/11 | If You Want Justice, You Must Work For Truth: Folon Nichols Award Address in Journal of African Literature Association (JALA) | 2009 |
12/12 | Staging the Invisible | April 29, 2010 Englishfest Presentation Eau Claire, WI |
12/13 | Writing Human Rights: A Playwrights Perception | November 11, 2011 Central Michigan University |
12/14 | Erupting Silences | November 14, 2011 Villanova University |
12/15 | If You Want Justice, You Must Work First for Truth: Folon Nichols Award in Literature, The Visual Arts and Globalization in Africa and Its Diaspora | 2011 |
12/16 | Readings-Riot | N.D. |
12/17 | Readings-Rumble In the Desert | N.D. |
12/18 | Readings-Shakara | N.D. |
12/19 | Readings-The Desert Encroaches | N.D. |
12/20 | Readings-The Moon is My Witness | N.D. |
12/21 | Readings-Then She Said It | N.D. |
12/22 | Speaking Notes | N.D. |
12/23 | Old Wines Are Tasty | N.D. Houston University |
12/24 | Misc conference/presentation materials | N.D. |
12/25 | Presentations, bound copy | N.D. |
Video Productions | ||
13/1 | The Neighbors We Know Not Yet | 1991-1992 |
13/2 | WAZOBIA! | 1996 Eau Claire |
13/3 | Breaking Silences: Niger Delta (Rural Women Speak to the Global Village) | 1998 |
13/4 | Nigeria’s Image Abroad; Nigerian youths and the Question of National Identity proposal | 1999 |
13/5 | African Drama Film Classic/Studios | 1999 |
13/6 | A Proposal: For Action to Eliminate Violence Against Women | 1999 |
13/7 | President Ibrahim Babangida’s Legacy to Niger for Yesterday and Tomorrow | 2004 |
13/8 | For Today and Tomorrow: President Ibrahim Babangida’s Legacy to Nigeria | 2004-2005 |
13/9 | A Documentary Biography Film/Video/DVD featuring Governor James Ibori: A Frontline New Breed of African/Nigerian Leadership | 2005 |
13/10 | His Legacy, His Legend: An International Documentary Film featuring President ObasanjoBello | 2006-2007 |
13/11 | Footprints of a Leader: The Life and Legacy of Dim Ojukwu | 2007 |
13/12 | Amerioma: (Re_claiming American Cairo City for Anioma | August 4, 2009 |
13/13 | Lest We Forget: The Unsung Icon/Leader Dr. (Chief) Edwin Clark (1925-) | 2010-2011 |
13/14 | Miscellaneous Production Info | N.D. |
13/15 | Proposal- Neighborhood Teens: Telling & Writing Together | 2000 |
Sub-series 2: Correspondence
Dates: 1986-2013
Extent: 1.0 linear foot (1 record center carton)
Container (Box/Folder) | Contents | Dates |
14/1 | Correspondence | 1986-1989 |
14/2 | Correspondence | 1990 |
14/3 | Correspondence | 1991 |
14/4 | Correspondence | 1992 |
14/5 | Correspondence | 1993 |
14/6 | Correspondence | 1994 |
14/7 | Correspondence | 1995 |
14/8 | Correspondence | 1996 |
14/9 | Correspondence | 1997 |
14/10 | Correspondence | 1998 |
14/11 | Correspondence | 1999 |
14/12 | Correspondence - Ford Foundation | 1999 |
14/13 | Correspondence | 2000 |
14/14 | Correspondence - Ford Foundation | 2000 |
14/15 | African Heritage Press Correspondence | 2000 |
14/16 | Correspondence | 2001 |
14/17 | Correspondence – Ford Foundation Then She Said It | 2001 |
14/18 | Correspondence - Ford Foundation Who Can Silence the Drums | 2001 |
14/19 | The Missing Face play correspondence | 2001 |
14/20 | Correspondence | 2002 January-March |
14/21 | Correspondence | 2002 April-December |
14/22 | Correspondence – Ford Foundation Then She Said It | 2002 |
14/23 | Correspondence | 2003 |
14/24 | Correspondence | 2004 |
14/25 | Correspondence | 2005 |
14/26 | Correspondence | 2006 |
14/27 | Correspondence | 2007 |
14/28 | India Correspondence | 2007 |
14/29 | Correspondence | 2008 |
14/30 | Correspondence | 2009 |
14/31 | Correspondence | 2010 |
14/32 | Correspondence | 2012 |
14/33 | Correspondence | 2013 |
14/34 | Correspondence | N.D. |
Sub-series 3: Subject Files
Dates: 1980-2014
Extent: 1.5 linear feet (1 flat box, 1 poster box)
Container (Box/Folder) | Contents | Dates |
15/1 | Subject Files | 1980-1984 |
15/2 | Subject Files | 1985-1989 |
15/3 | Subject Files | 1990-1994 |
15/4 | Subject Files | 1995-1999 |
15/5 | Subject Files | 2000-2004 |
15/6 | Subject Files | 2005-2009 |
15/7 | Subject Files | 2010-2014 |
15/8 | Subject Files | N.D. |
15/9 | Bound Newspapers | 1984-1988 |
16/1 | “Events at the University of Buffalo” poster | October 1988 |
16/2 | “Detroit Museum of African American History” poster | April 1997 |
Sub-series 4: Biographical Materials
Dates: 1988-2010
Extent: 2.0 linear feet (2 record center cartons)
Container (Box/Folder) | Contents | Dates |
17/1 | Biography info | Varies |
17/2 | Autobiographical content bound by Onwueme | Circa 1988 |
17/3 | Autobiographical content bound by Onwueme | Varies |
17/4 | Autobiographical content bound by Onwueme | Varies |
17/5 | Autobiographical content bound by Onwueme | Varies |
17/6 | Autobiographical content bound by Onwueme | Varies |
17/7 | Autobiographical content bound by Onwueme | Varies |
17/8 | Autobiographical content bound by Onwueme | Varies |
17/9 | Autobiographical content bound by Onwueme | Varies |
17/10 | UWEC application | June 28, 1993 |
17/11 | Letters of Recommendation | Varies |
17/12 | Nigeria: A Handy Guide to the Federal Republic | 1991 |
17/13 | Vita/Resume | 1997 |
17/14 | Vita/Resume | 2000 |
17/15 | Vita/Resume | 2002 |
17/16 | Vita/Resume | 2004 |
17/17 | Vita/Resume | 2006 |
17/18 | Vita/Resume | 2010 |
17/19 | Family information | Varies |
18/1 | Interview with Gbemisola Adeoti | April 2001 |
18/2 | Interview with Laura Andrews | May 2001 |
18/3 | Interview with Juluette Bartlett | 2002 |
18/4 | Interview with Becky Becker | Spring 2001 |
18/5 | Interview with Fashamisha Patricia Brown | November 14, 2001 |
18/6 | Interview with Sonja Darlington and Henry Hane | December 2001 |
18/7 | Interview with Maureen Eke | March 10, 2002 |
18/8 | Interview with Henry Hane | July 13, 2005 |
18/9 | Interview with Oluwafunminiyi Mabawonku | June 15, 2008 |
18/10 | Interview with Joseph McLaren | November 9, 2006 |
18/11 | Interview with Thérèse Migraine-George | July 2005 |
18/12 | Interview with Inibong Uko | June 6-8, 2003 |
18/13 | Interview: “Myth, Legend and Ritual” in International Women Playwrights | 1993 |
18/14 | Interview: “The Woman Playwright: Identity and Transformation” in International Women Playwrights | 1993 |
18/15 | Miscellaneous biographical information | N.D. |
Sub-series 5: Photographs
Dates: 1992-2010
Extent: 1.0 linear foot (1 record center carton)
Container (Box/Folder) | Contents | Dates |
18/16 | Photos of Onwueme | N.D. |
18/17 | Individual negatives | N.D. |
18/18 | African Literature Association | 2002 |
18/19 | Wazobia! A Play, Eau Claire | N.D. |
18/20 | Wazobia! Film | 2000 |
18/21 | Folon Nichols Award | April 17, 2009 |
18/22 | The Missing Face | 2006 |
18/23 | International Conference-Osonye Tess Onwueme | November 2009 |
18/24 | Unknown book signing | 1992? |
18/25 | International Conference on Black Women | 1992 |
18/26 | Wazobia! Photo Album | 2000 |
19/1 | Photo Album: Athens, Greece 1998; NWACT (Women of Valor Award) 2002; NWAG; Ford Foundation 2000; London | Varies |
19/2 | Photo Album | N.D. |
19/3 | Photo Album - Headshots | N.D. |
19/4 | Photo Album - Early Onwueme & an unidentified play | N.D. |
Sub-series 6: Ephemera
Dates: 1980-2010
Extent: 1.0 linear foot (1 record center carton) **box 22 not calculated**
Container (Box/Folder) | Contents | Dates |
20/1 | Posters/Programs | 1980s |
20/2 | Posters/Programs | 1990 |
20/3 | Posters/Programs | 1991 |
20/4 | Posters/Programs | 1992 |
20/5 | Posters/Programs | 1993 |
20/6 | Posters/Programs | 1994 |
20/7 | Posters/Programs | 1995 |
20/8 | Posters/Programs | 1997 |
20/9 | Posters/Programs | 1998 |
20/10 | Five Hundred Leaders of Influence Bookmark | 1999 |
20/11 | Posters/Programs | 2001 |
20/12 | Posters/Programs | 2002 |
20/13 | Posters/Programs | 2003 |
20/14 | Posters/Programs | 2005 |
20/15 | Posters/Programs | 2006 |
20/16 | Posters/Programs | 2008 |
20/17 | Posters/Programs | 2009 |
20/18 | Posters/Programs | 2010 |
20/19 | Posters/Programs | N.D. |
20/20 | Oversize Posters | Varies |
Objects
Box | Id number | Description | Dates |
20 | AS598.020.001 | Crown (orange coral beads) | N.D. |
21 | AS598.021.001 | Shoulder piece (orange coral beads) | N.D. |
21 | AS598.021.002 | 15 Year Anniversary pin | 2009 |
21 | AS598.021.003 | Sash: World Theatre Day observation (India) | March 27, 2014 |
21 | AS598.021.004 | Award of outstanding contributions to the UW System (University of Wisconsin) in particular to Women of Color | 1995 |
21 | AS598.021.005 | The Ife Book Fair: distinguished Author’s Award | February 2, 1988 |
22 | AS598.022.001 | Coral bead crown from Wazobia | N.D. |
22 | AS598.022.002 | Coral bead crown from Wazobia | N.D. |
22 | AS598.022.003 | Coral bead crown from Wazobia | N.D. |
22 | AS598.022.004 | Coral bead blouse from Wazobia | N.D. |
Sub-series 7: Media
Dates: 1989-2009
Extent: 1.0 linear foot (1 record center carton)
Container (Box/Folder) | Title | Duration | Producer | Date |
23 | Wazobia! | 89:08 | Drama Village Productions | 2002 |
23 | Wazobia! | 75:39 | Drama Village Productions | 2006 |
23 | Wazobia! | 87:51 | Drama Village Productions | 2002 |
23 | The Reign of Wazobia | 108:38 | UWEC | 1994 |
23 | The Reign of Wazobia | 96:00 | Vassar College | 1993 |
23 | The Broken Calabash | 90:00 | Wayne State University | February 1998 |
23 | Then She Said It | 85:58 | Nigerian Actors’ Guild | 2001 |
23 | Legacy | 103:30 | Unknown | Unknown |
23 | Legacy | 131:11 | Imo State University | 1989 |
23 | Mosaic: From the Life and Works of Tess Onwueme | 21:22 | Laura Ude/UWEC | 2009 |
23 | Connecting with the World: The Tess Onwueme Conference | 6:34 | UWEC | 2009 |
23 | International Conference: Tess Onwueme (in 12 parts) | 774:55 | Abuja State University | November 1114, 2009 |
23 | Fonlon Nichols Prize Ceremony | 66:17 | African Literature Association | April 17, 2009 |
23 | Shakara: Dance Hall Queen | 57:15 | BBC | 2004 |
23 | Shakara: Dance Hall Queen | 86:36 | Abu Studio Theatre | Unknown |
23 | Interview with Tess Onwueme | 15:58 | BBC | Unknown |
23 | Interview with Tess Onwueme | 1:39 | WEAU 13 News | October 23, 1993 |
23 | African Experience Worldwide (including interview with Tess Onwueme) | 93:19 | WRFG-FM Atlanta | June 22, 2002 |
23 | Riot in Heaven (portion read by Dr. Onwueme) | 27:29 | Tess Onwueme | February 16, 1993 |
Series 2: Administrative Materials
Materials that document Tess Osonye Onwueme’s career as a professor of global letters at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Sub-series 1: Correspondence
Dates: 1993-1999
Extent: .5 linear foot (1/2 record center carton)
Container (Box/Folder) | Contents | Dates |
24/1 | Correspondence | 1993 |
24/2 | Correspondence | 1994 |
24/3 | Correspondence | 1995 |
24/4 | Correspondence | 1996 |
24/5 | Correspondence | 1997 |
24/6 | Correspondence | 1998 |
24/7 | Correspondence | 1999 |
24/8 | Correspondence | N.D. |
Sub-series 2: Subject Files
Dates: 1994-1996
Extent: .5 linear foot (1/2 record center carton)
Container (Box/Folder) | Contents | Dates |
15/10 | Cultural Diversity Subject Files (oversize) | 1995-1996 |
24/9 | Personal Statement | N.D. |
24/10 | Budgets & Misc. Notes | Varies |
24/11 | Course Syllabi | Varies |
24/12 | Cultural Diversity Misc. | Varies |
24/13 | Cultural Diversity Workshop – Dr. Vivieng NG | 1994 |
24/14 | Cultural Diversity Workshop – Dr. William Cook | 1995 |
25/15 | Cultural video production proposal | N.D. |
24/16 | Minorities in Wisconsin: a report from Psychology 491 | May 19, 1995 |
24/17 | Femi Ojo-ade | 1995 |
24/18 | Newspapers | 1994-1995 |
24/19 | Notes | Varies |
24/20 | Wisconsin Ideas | 1994 |
24/21 | Binder: Service, plays, cultural diversity | Varies |
24/22 | Binder: UWEC Diversity Initiatives | Varies |
Series 3: Works by other authors about Tess Osonye Onwueme’s work
Dates: 1989-2010
Extent: 1.0 linear foot (1 record center carton)
Container (Box/Folder) | Author | Title of Work | Dates |
25/1 | Nina Adams | BBC On Air | N.D. |
25/2 | Omofolabo Ajaji | “Who Can Silence Her Drums? An analysis of the plays of Tess Onwueme” in African Theatre Women | 2002 |
25/3 | Awam Amkpa | Theatre and Postcolonial Desires | 2004 |
25/4 | Dr. Chidi Amuta | “The Nigerian Woman as a Dramatist: The Instance of Tess Onwueme” in Nigerian Female Writers | 1989 |
25/5 | Juluette F. Bartlett | Dissertation: Promoting Empowerment For Women: Women Between Modernity and Tradition in the Works of Tess Onwueme | 2002 |
25/6 | Kanika Batra | “‘Daughters who Know the Language of Power’ Community, Sexuality, and Postcolonial Development in Tess Onwueme’s Tell It To Women” in Interventions: Journal of Postcolonial Studies | 2007 |
25/7 | Sonja Darlington | Women as Power Brokers of the Earth’s Resources: “Tess Onwueme’s Caustic Response to the Environmental Debate” | 2008 |
25/8 | Chris Dunton | Make Man Talk True: Nigerian Drama in English since 1970 | 1990 |
25/9 | Chris Dunton | “Nigeria and the Diaspora, Solidarities and Discords: The Drama of Osonye Tess Onwueme” in Nigeria in Twentieth Century | 2002 |
25/10 | Afan Ebeogu | “Feminism and the Mediation of the Mythic in Three Plays by Tess Onwueme” in The Literary Griot | 1991 |
25/11 | Maureen N. Eke | Book Proposal: Emerging Perspectives on Tess Onwueme | N.D. |
25/12 | Maureen N. Eke | Casting Gender and Sexuality in African Women's Writing: Tess Onwueme’s Shakara | N.D. |
25/13 | Maureen N. Eke | Who Shall Silence the Drums? Another Woman’s War | N.D. |
25/14 | Mabel Evwierhoma | Female Empowerment and Dramatic Creativity in Nigeria | 2002 |
25/15 | Mabel Evwierhoma | Female Empowerment and Dramatic Creativity in Nigeria (copy-signed) | 2002 |
25/16 | Patrick E. Idoye | “African Feminism Under Siege” – review essay in Black Scholar | 1995 |
25/17 | Jane E. Martin | Thesis- African Womanhood’s in the Works of Four West African Women Playwrights | 2000 |
25/18 | DeLinda Marzette | Who Measures the Power of Woman in Spoons and Scales? Women’s Worth in Tess Onwueme’s Tell It To Women | 2007 |
25/19 | Thérèse Migraine-George | African Women and Representation: From Performance to Politics | 2008 |
25/20 | J.O.J. Agbada-Nwachukwu | “Tess Onwueme: Dramatist in Quest of Change” in World Literature Today | 1992 |
25/21 | Olu Obafemi | “Towards Feminist Aesthetics Drama: The Plays of Tess Onwueme” in African Literature Today | 1994 |
25/22 | Regina Ode | “Women, Their Own Worst Enemies: A Comparative Study of Tess Onwueme’s Go Tell It To Women and The Reign of Wazobia” in Creative Artist: A Journal of Theatre and Media Studies | 2010 |
25/23 | Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi | Tess Akaeke Onwueme: Tell It To Women | N.D. |
25/24 | Nilgun A. Okur | “Ritual, Tradition and Reconstruction in Contemporary Nigerian Drama: Femi Osofisan and Tess Akaeke Onwueme a Dramatic Analysis in Afrocentricity” | 1998 |
25/25 | Mabel Itohanosa Erioyunvwen Tobrise | Thesis: Ideology, Power and Powerlessness in Female Creativity: A Case Study of Tess Onwueme’s Plays | 1995 |
25/26 | Mabel Itohanosa Erioyunvwen Tobrise | Feminist Theatre as an Agent of Sustainable Development: Tess Onwueme’s The Reign of Wazobia and Go Tell It To Women Investigated | 1995 |
25/27 | Mabel Itohanosa Erioyunvwen Tobrise | The Female Thrust In The Plays of Tess Onwueme: A Reader Response Analysis | 1992 |
25/28 | Mabel Itohanosa Erioyunvwen Tobrise | Female Visibility and Dominance in Ola Rotimis Drama: Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again and Hopes of the Living Dead as Textual Evidences | N.D. |
25/29 | Mabel Itohanosa Erioyunvwen Tobrise | The Image of the Modern Woman in Tess Onwueme’s Go Tell It To Women | N.D. |
25/30 | Mabel Itohanosa Erioyunvwen Tobrise | Power, Powerless and Ideology in Female Creativity: Anowa and The Reign of Wazobia as Paradigms | 1990 |
25/31 | Iniobong I. Uko | Gender and Identity in the Works of Tess Onwueme | 2004 |
25/32 | Iniobong I. Uko | Modern African Literature In the TwentyFirst Century: Challenges for the Critics | N.D. |
25/33 | Marie Umeh | Black Orientalism vs. Negritude: Teaching Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s Wonders of the African World and Osonye Tess Onwueme’s The Missing Face | 2002 |
25/34 | Chris Waters | Critique on Onwueme’s Works | 2003 |
25/35 | Varies | Bound compilation on Onwueme’s Writing | N.D. |
25/36 | Varies | Correspondence relating to works written on Onwueme | Varies |
25/37 | Varies | Misc. Reviews | Varies |