Author of many award-winning plays, Osonye Tess Onwueme has established an outstanding international reputation as one of Africa's finest women writers. Her creative works include:

Tell it to Women (1997), The Missing Face (1997), Riot in Heaven (1996), Three Plays (1993), 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 (1994), and A Hen Too Soon (1983).

Among her forthcoming publications are:

Shakara: Dance-Hall Queen (a play about mothers and daughters), two allegorical novelsWhy the Elephant Has No Butt, and The President's Bag of Luck . Onwueme's significant contributions to the development of knowledge on the experiences of women and the poor working class in contemporary postcolonial African/World Literature and Culture remain the subjects of numerous theses and dissertations. Renonwned scholars, writers and teachers continually express these views about her works:

In her work, Onwueme has shown daring in her exploration of ideas even if they lead to subjects and themes which may seem taboo. Onwueme is eminently a political dramatist, for power affects every aspect of society. She explores these themes with a dazzling array of images and proverbs. Her drama and theater are a feast of music, mime, proverbs and story-telling...[Thus] Onwueme consolidates her position among the leading dramatists from Africa.
Professor Ngugi wa Thiong'o (1997).

Onwueme's literary soul-mates are Wole Soyinka, Ama Ata Aidoo, Albert Camus, Chinua Achebe, Toni Morrison, Antoin Chekov, Femi Osofisan, Athol Fugard, August Wilson, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, G.B. Shaw, Gloria Naylor, Buchi Emecheta, Mariama Ba and Sembene Ousmane
Professor Eugene Redmond (1993).

Onwueme's plays not only bring the range and beauty of Nigerian culture to an international audience, they create the artistic bridges crucial to the development of a multicultural educational environment. Her works speaks to studies of gender, race, class, and cultural difference.
Professor K. Kendall (1991).

Dr. Onwueme's greatest achievement is her body of plays. Her plays are rich in thought and meaning. Her themes and insights are numerous and profound. Her concerns span a wide spectrum of personal, social and global issues.
Professor Emmanuel Obiechina (1991).

In many ways, one might see Tess Onwueme as the Ibsen of her culture, the playwright who dares to raise new issues and write 'A Doll's House.
Daniella Gioseffi (1991).

Enriched by her international experiences of teaching and learning in several universities in Africa and the USA, Dr. Osonye Tess Onwueme is currently a Distinguished Professor of Cultural Diversity and Professor of English, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, USA. The international literary prizes and awards to Dr. Onwueme include:

the 1995 Association of Nigerian Authors' (ANA) Award for her play, Tell it to Women ,

the 1985 ANA Award for her play The Desert Encroaches,

the 1988 Distinguished Author's Award for her overall contributions to African literature, and

the 1989/90 Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Writer's Award.

Please contact her Literary Agent, Clara Isama, African Woman's World at 301-890-0836 to schedule Onwueme for dramatic readings, lectures, folktales and informative unique insights and hometruths about African women in society and culture. Or contact the Africana Legacy Press, The African Books Collective, Amoge Press and College Press and Wayne State University Press for Onwueme's published books.
 

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