Chris Abani was born on 27 December 1966 in Afikpo, Nigeria, the fourth of five children to an English mother, Daphne, and a Nigerian Igbo father, Michael. In 1968, after the family had spent a year in refugee camps, young Chris, his mother and siblings fled Nigeria to escape the Biafran War (1967-1970). They lived in England for three years, and subsequently returned to their home country, where Michael had stayed behind to work as a Red Cross official. Chris Abani would later record this important episode of his family history in

Daphne’s Lot

(2003), an epic poem retracing his mother’s life and also evoking, among other things, his troubled relationship with his violent father.

Abani started writing short stories when he was six, and authored his first novel, a thriller entitled

3142 words

Citation: Tunca, Daria. "Christopher Abani". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 November 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12276, accessed 19 March 2024.]

12276 Christopher Abani 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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