Ifeanyi Anthony Menkiti (24 August 1940 – 17 June 2019) 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 ...

poet, philosopher, and professor, as well as the owner of the

Grolier Poetry Book Shop The Grolier Poetry Book Shop ("the Grolier") is an independent bookstore on Plympton Street near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Although founded as a "first edition" bookstore, its focus today is solely poetry. A small ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

Life and career

Menkiti was born in

Onitsha Onitsha ( or simply ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. Onitsha along with various cities and towns in southern Anambra State, northern Imo State and neighboring Delta State on the we ...

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, ...

in 1940. In 1961, he arrived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to study at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

, where he graduated in 1964. Following postgraduate study at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, Menkiti earned a PhD in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 1974. His dissertation was "a study of collective responsibility". From 1974 he taught philosophy at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

in the US with a particular focus on personhood and African philosophy. Menkiti sought to emphasise the social nature of personhood, expressed in the notion "I am, because we are". In doing so he attempted to build on traditional African ideas of personhood. According to Menkiti, "societies found in traditional Africa routinely accept this fact that personhood is the sort of thing which has to be attained". According to this view of personhood, the status of being a person has ethical connotations and is not something that one possesses automatically but must work towards through morally right action. In addition to his academic work, Menkiti was a poet. Commenting on the relationship between philosophy and poetry, he said "poetry deals with the meaning of life, the meaning of meaning, just like philosophy".

Bibliography

Menkiti published some highly-cited philosophical works: "Person and Community in African Traditional Thought," in ''African Philosophy: An Introduction'' 3 (1984): 171-182. "On the Normative Conception of a Person," in Kwasi Wiredu, ed. ''A Companion to African Philosophy'' (2005): 324-331. Menkiti published three collections of poetry: *''Affirmations'' *''The Jubilation of Falling Bodies'' *''Of Altair: The Bright Light''

References

1940 births 2019 deaths Nigerian poets Wellesley College faculty Pomona College alumni Harvard University alumni {{Nigeria-poet-stub