Emmanuel Iduma (born 1 February 1989) is a Nigerian writer and art critic. He is the author of ''A Stranger's Pose'' (2018) and ''Farad'' (2012). In 2016, ''Farad'' was republished in North America as ''The Sound of Things to Come''. He was awarded the inaugural

Irving Sandler Irving Sandler (July 22, 1925 – June 2, 2018) was an American art critic, art historian, and educator. He provided numerous first hand accounts of American art, beginning with abstract expressionism in the 1950s. He also managed the Tanager Gal ...

Award for New Voices in Art Criticism by the Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art, USA. He teaches in the MFA Art Writing Program at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

, New York City.

Personal life

Iduma was born in

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as of the 2006 population census. Its current population is estimated at 774,000. He is married to Ayobami Adebayo, the Author of Stay With Me

Career

Emmanuel Iduma studied law at

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

in Ile-Ife. He also has an MFA in Art Criticism and Writing from the

, New York City. In 2012, Parrésia Publishers published Iduma's first novel, ''Farad.'' It was described by

Tolu Ogunlesi Tolu Ogunlesi (born 3 March 1982) is a Nigerian journalist, poet, photographer, fiction writer, and blogger. Ogunlesi was appointed to the role of special assistant on digital/new media by President Muhammadu Buhari on 18 February 2016. Early ...

as "an impressive house of words – dream-like, haunting, elusive – standing confidently at a frontier, signalling the immense promise of an emerging generation of Nigerian novelists." In 2017, he received an arts writing grant from the Creative Capital/Andy Warhol Foundation for a series of essays about contemporary Nigerian artists. During the same year, Iduma co-curated the first ever Nigerian Pavilion at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

with Adenrele Sonariwo Iduma's 2018 book, ''A Stranger's Pose'', was described in ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' as "part travelogue, part memoir, part poetry collection, part photo essay", with the article going on to say: "The book hums with a kind of gorgeous melancholy. ...serene compositions—both written and photographic—transport the reader with a warmth that feels rare for a travel title. In its attention to visual detail and to the ebbs and flows of human connection, ''A Stranger’s Pose'' shifts conventions in travel writing about Africa." ''A Stranger’s Pose'' was longlisted for the

Ondaatje Prize The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that evokes the "spirit of a place", and is written by someo ...

in 2019. Iduma's third book, ''I Am Still With You'', a memoir about the Nigerian civil war, has been acquired by

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

in the US and William Collins, an imprint of Harper Collins, in the UK. It is scheduled for publication in 2022. The book is a recipient of a Silvers Grant for Work in Progress. Iduma currently teaches in the MFA Art Writing Program at

, New York City.

List of publications

* * ''Farad'' (2012) * ''Gambit: Newer African Writing'' (co-edited, with Shaun Randol) *''A Stranger's Pose'' (2018) *I am still with you: A Reckoning with silence, inheritance and History (2023)

Awards and recognition

* In 2017, Iduma was awarded an arts writing grant by the Creative Capital/Andy Warhol Foundation. * In 2018, his book, ''A Stranger's Pose,'' was longlisted for the Ondaatje Prize. * In 2019, he was awarded the

Award for New Voices in Art Criticism. * In 2020, Iduma was included in ''

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

'' magazine's 40 Under 40 list. * Windham–Campbell Prize (2022) category of nonfiction

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iduma, Emmanuel 1989 births Living people Nigerian male novelists Obafemi Awolowo University alumni 21st-century Nigerian novelists Nigerian editors