Despite having published their first novel as recently as 2018, Nigerian author Akwaeke Emezi has already made a splash on the international literary scene. Emezi, who identifies as agender and uses they/them pronouns, has published 8 works of fiction, poetry and memoir to date, with another work forthcoming in 2025. Their writing spans a number of genres, but the unifying thread is their insistence on centring African and diasporic ontologies as the foundation for explorations of gender, embodiment, and the porous interface between physical and spiritual worlds. By positing Igbo and other African and Afro-diasporic metaphysics as frameworks for contemporary life, Emezi’s writing resists the assumption that Eurocentric post-Enlightenment perspectives are the only legitimate modes for…

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Citation: Fourqurean, Megan E.. "Akwaeke Emezi". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 May 2025 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15292, accessed 14 June 2025.]

15292 Akwaeke Emezi 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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