An international anthology of critical studies of the creative works of Dr. Tess Onwueme, University Professor of Global Letters in English at UW-Eau Claire, is set to be released in May by Africa World Press.
The publication, titled “Emerging Perspectives on Tess Onwueme,” is edited by Maureen Eke and belongs to an academic series on black writers of note around the world. Other anthologies in the series include “Emerging Perspectives on Chinua Achebe” and “Emerging Perspectives on Wole Soyinka.” Soyinka, from Nigeria, is Onwueme’s former professor and was the first black person in the world to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.
“Emerging Perspectives on Tess Onwueme,” including contributions from scholars around the world, was commissioned as a sequel to a 2009 international conference, titled "Staging Women, Youth, Globalization and Eco-Literature, " that centered solely on Onwueme’s works. The conference followed Onwueme’s selection to receive the African Literature Association’s Fonlon-Nichols Award for her contributions to contemporary world literature and drama. The award is given annually to a black writer whose works have demonstrated a commitment to democratic ideals, humanistic values and literary excellence in writing.
A 2016 nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Onwueme holds the endowed chair University Professor of Global Letters at UW-Eau Claire, following her years of service as Distinguished Professor of Cultural Diversity and professor of English. She has served on the UW-Eau Claire faculty, in the community and beyond since 1994.
