Adaora Lily Ulasi (1932 – 21 February 2016) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

journalist and novelist. She is said to have been the first West African woman to earn a degree in journalism. As a journalist, she has worked for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

. As a novelist she wrote

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...

in English, "adapting the genre of the crime thriller to an

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

or Yoruba context".

Biography

Born in

Aba ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

, Eastern

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, daughter of an

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

, she attended the local missionary school, but at the age of 15 was sent to the U.S. to study. After graduating from high school she then studied at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

and at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, earning a BA in journalism in 1954. She supplemented her income by writing the occasional newspaper column, working as a

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

, and as a film extra appearing, for example, in the 1953 film '' White Witch Doctor'' that starred

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrener; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American actress best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Clarence Thornton, Walt ...

and

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

. In the 1960s she was

women's page The women's page (sometimes called home page or women's section) of a newspaper was a section devoted to covering news assumed to be of interest to women. Women's pages started out in the 19th century as Society reporting, society pages and event ...

editor of the ''

Daily Times of Nigeria ''The Daily Times'' was a Nigerian newspaper with headquarters in Lagos. At its peak, in the 1970s, it was one of the most successful locally-owned businesses in Africa. The paper went into decline after it was purchased by the government in 1975 ...

''. She subsequently married Deryk James and had three children Heather, Angela and Martin. After her divorce in 1972 she went to Nigeria as editor of ''

Woman's World ''Woman's World'' is an American supermarket weekly magazine with a circulation of 1.6 million readers. Printed on paper generally associated with tabloid publications and priced accordingly, it concentrates on short articles about subjects suc ...

'' magazine, and in 1976 returned to England. Her first novel, ''Many Thing You No Understand'' (1970), "controversially (for the first time) used

pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...

to dramatise the interaction between colonial officers and local people in the pre-independence era, as did her subsequent works, ''Many Thing Begin For Change'' (1971), ''Who Is Jonah?'' (1978) and ''The Man from Sagamu'' (1978). By contrast, ''The Night Harry Died'' (1974) is set in southern USA." Ulasi worked at the Times Complex in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Nigeria. Ulasi died on 21 February 2016.

Bibliography

*''Many Thing You No Understand'' – London: Michael Joseph, 1970; Fontana, 1973 *''Many Thing Begin For Change'' – London: Michael Joseph, 1971; Fontana, 1975 *''The Night Harry Died'' – Lagos: Research Institute Nigeria, 1974 *''Who Is Jonah?'' – Ibadan: Onibonoje Press, 1978 *''The Man From Sagamu'' – London: Collins/Fontana, 1978; New York: Collier Macmillan, 1978

References

External links

"56 Years of Nigerian Literature: Adaora Lily Ulasi"
''Bookshy'', October 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ulasi, Adaora L 1932 births Nigerian women novelists Pepperdine University alumni USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism alumni 20th-century Nigerian novelists 20th-century Nigerian women writers Nigerian newspaper editors Nigerian women newspaper editors People from Aba, Nigeria BBC people Voice of America people Women's page journalists Igbo writers 2016 deaths Nigerian columnists Nigerian women columnists