Bayo Ojikutu

Bayo Ojikutu (born Bayo Olayinka Ojikutu; 1971) is a Nigerian-American creative writer, novelist, essayist, and university lecturer. He is the author of 47th Street Black and Free Burning, and has taught creative writing at the University of Chicago, DePaul University, and Roosevelt University. Quotes "There is this easiness to disavow our community. Forty-seventh Street was so beautiful. It's so easy to let these things fall." Discussing the inspiration behind 47th Street Black and the importance of preserving the stories of Chicago's South Side. Contemporary Black Biography, Encyclopedia.com. "The most influential writer of direct African descent over the course of my aesthetic life has been John Edgar Wideman." Reflecting on the writers who shaped his literary voice. Contemporary Black Biography, Encyclopedia.com. "There exists a unifying spirit force crafting a conjoining line through a many-volume tale: a One Plot told by a transcendent narrator that conveys every bit of all our stories for all time." Explaining his understanding of the African diaspora and narrative tradition. Contemporary Black Biography, Encyclopedia.com. "My hope is that I approach those students' work in as honest, thoughtful and critical a fashion as I would the work of any established author of published fiction." On his philosophy of teaching creative writing. Shoptalk: Bayo Ojikutu, Newcity Lit, 18 July 2011. "Stay on these trains in this city, end-to-end, north-to-west, south-to-east, ride with eyes open, there and back again, and you will see things for what they are." Describing how Chicago continues to inspire his fiction. Shoptalk: Bayo Ojikutu, Newcity Lit, 18 July 2011. "If you push me, I'll say that I wish I'd written the Book of Job from the Old Testament. In Aramaic." Responding to a question about a book he wishes he had written. Shoptalk: Bayo Ojikutu, Newcity Lit, 18 July 2011. External links Category:Living people Category:Nigerian writers Category:American novelists Category:American academics