George Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor-Williams traced his patrilineal descent to Sierra Leone, Creole.
He was born on March 13, 1935, in Wheta, a town in the Volta Region of Ghana, the eldest among the 10 children of Mama Atsu and Mr. Awoonor-Williams.
The late Kofi Awoonor was educated at Achimota School, after which he had his tertiary education at the University of Ghana, Legion, and graduated in the year 1960; he, then, became an editor of literary journals at Ghana Film Corporation , same year, associated with Transition Magazine, in Uganda, which was established in 1961.
Among the prolific uncertainties surrounding Awoonor, there was candid ones that stood out, especially what he wrote about.
Most of his works were influenced by the oral tradition of his Ewe community, as he was able to translate Ewe dirges and songs into the English Language, for his audience to clearly understand.
Awoonor’s first anthology titled, ‘Rediscovery’ was published in 1964, four years after he graduated from Legon.
In 1972, Kofi Awoonor attained two Ph.Ds from United Kingdom and United States; during that period, ‘This Earth, My Brother’s and ‘Night Of My Blood’ were released into the limelight for publishing.
Apart from being a prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction, he had an ardent desire for politics as well; he served as Ghana’s ambassador to Brazil and Cuba, Council of State, and an advisory body to late President Rawlings, during his tenure from 1990-1994.
Even when Kofi Awoonor was thrown into prison for a ‘shady political involvement’, he never stopped writing his poems, many of which sparked flames of revolution and distaste for colonialism and racism.
Unfortunately, he passed on September 21, 2013, during a literary programme, dubbed the Storymoja Hay Festival, a four-day celebration of diverse writing, thinking and story-telling; it was believes that he was due to perform in the evening, same day he was shot.
One of his male children, Afetsi Awoonor, was with him at the Westgate Shopping Mall, in Nairobi, Kenya, when the Al-Shabab terrorists trooped in and began shooting at unsuspecting citizens.
Although, they were apprehended, with some losing their lives in the process, we lost a great hero; Kofi Awoonor was married with five children, 4 sons and a daughter, and he died at the age of 78.
Kofi Awoonor’s death is considered to be untimely, due to the circumstances surrounding it, but nevertheless, he has left an indelible mark on the face of the Ghanaian creative industry, one that can never be replaced.
