Linus Tongwo Asong was a novelist from the British

Southern Cameroons The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Region and Southw ...

. Born in 1947 in Lewoh (Fotabong) in the former British

at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he became known as an intellectual, novelist, painter, literary critic, publisher and comedian. He died at Mbingo Hospital on Monday, July 16, 2012 at about 1:00 p.m. WAT. He had just retired from the

University of Bamenda The University of Bamenda (UBa) is an Anglophone university in Bamenda, Northwest Region (Cameroon), NorthWestern Cameroon. History The university opened in 2011 as the second English language university in Cameroon, the University of Buea havin ...

in June 2012 and was about to take up a position as a Dean at the Catholic University of Cameroon,

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region (Cameroon), Northwest Region. The city has a population of about six hundred thousand people and is located north-west of the C ...

. He also worked with his nephew,

Januarius Jingwa Asongu Januarius Jingwa (JJ) Asongu (born 17 August 1970) is a Cameroonian nationality law, Cameroonian-United States nationality law, American academic journalist, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, and Human Rights Activists in Iran, human rights activi ...

to get

Saint Monica University Saint Monica University or Saint Monica University: The American International University (SMU) is an accredited private independent Catholic university with operations in Cameroon. It is an American-style university offering career-focused progra ...

off the ground, a project that his daughter, Laura Asong, helped bring to reality. He was married to Teresa Ajab Asong and had three children - Laura, Stephen, and Edward.

Education

After primary education, he was admitted into the St. Joseph's College, Sasse (Buea), where he earned the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level before proceeding to the Cameroon College of Arts, Science and Technology (CCAST) Bambili, where he earned the GCE Advanced Level. After high school, he was admitted into the

University of Cape Coast The University of Cape Coast (UCC) is a public collegiate university located in the historic town of Cape Coast in the central region of Ghana. The campus has a rare seafront and sits on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It operates on two ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, where he did a degree in Education, specializing in the teaching of English. Upon his return to the Cameroons, he taught in French-speaking Cameroun for a few years before earning a scholarship to study creative arts in Canada following an exhibition of his paintings in Yaounde. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, he studied at the

University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...

, where he earned a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

(MFA) in Creative Writing. He then enrolled at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, where he earned an MA and a PhD in Comparative Literature. He returned to Cameroon in 1984 and began teaching English Literature at E.N.S Annexe, Bambili, a branch of the University of Yaounde I, which later became part of the

Works

L.T. Asong wrote several books, mostly novels, including: * The Akroma File * Chopchair * The Crabs of Bangui * The Crown of Thorns * Detective Fiction and The African Scene * Doctor Frederick Ngenito * Laughing Store * A Legend of the Dead * Ndeh Ntumazah * No Way to Die * Osagyefo. The Great Betrayal * Psychological Constructs and the Craft of African Fiction of Yesteryears * Salvation Colony * A Stranger in his Homeland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asong, Linus 1947 births 2012 deaths Cameroonian novelists Cameroonian educators Southern Cameroons Male novelists 20th-century novelists 21st-century novelists 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers