Juliane Okot Bitek
Juliane Okot Bitek is a Kenyan-born Ugandan diasporian writer and academic, who lives, studies and works in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[1] In December 2017, she was named the winner of the 2017 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry for her poetry book 100 Days, a reflection on the 100-day 1994 Rwanda genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred.[2]
Juliane Okot Bitek | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality | Ugandan |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Alma mater | University of British Columbia (Bachelor of Fine Arts) (Master of Arts) (Doctor of Philosophy) |
| Occupation | Writer, poet, scholar and university instructor |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Known for | Poetry |
| Home town | Gulu, Uganda |
| Title | PhD candidate, University of British Columbia |
| Website | julianeokotbitek |
Background and education
Okot Bitek was born in Kenya in the 1970s, to Ugandan exiles. Her father was the late Okot p'Bitek (1931–1982), an internationally recognized poet and scholar.[2] She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in creative writing and a Master of Arts degree in English. As of February 2018, she was a Doctor of Philosophy candidate at the University of British Columbia's Liu Institute for Global Issues.[2]
Career
Okot Bitek migrated from her native Uganda and settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1990. She writes, attends university and teaches to support herself. She admits that creative writing does not pay all the bills unless one is a top-notch author.[2]
Recognition
In 2004, Okot Bitek's short story "Going Home" won a special mention in the 2004 Commonwealth Short Story Contest. It was featured on the British Broadcasting Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Her story "War No More" won first prize in a StopWar post-secondary essay competition in 2005. Another essay on Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking also won a special mention in 2006 and is included in an anthology of winning essays from that year. In 2007, Okot Bitek received a grant from the Canada Council, which has facilitated her to write non-fiction.[2] Her work has been published widely online, in print and in literary magazines, including in Arc Poetry Magazine, Whetstone, Fugue, and Room of One's Own.[2] She is a contributor to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.[4]
See also
References
- Black Canadian Poetry (2014). "The Great Black North: Contemporary African Canadian Poetry 2013". Blackcanadianpoetry.com. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- Musinguzi, Bamutaraki (10 February 2018). "Juliane Okot Bitek: In her father's footsteps". The EastAfrican. Nairobi. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- Nailah King. "20 Black Writers to Read All Year Round". Room. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- Odhiambo, Tom (18 January 2020). "'New Daughters of Africa' is a must read for aspiring young women writers". Daily Nation. Kenya. Retrieved 26 March 2020.