Scholars Mobilise To Honour Hope Eghagha With Festschrift On His Literary Legacy
Scholars Invited to Celebrate a Literary Legacy
SCHOLARS, researchers, creative writers and cultural critics have been invited to contribute papers to a forthcoming Festschrift honouring Professor Hope Eghagha, a prominent Nigerian scholar, playwright, columnist and public intellectual.
The commemorative volume, titled From the Margins to the Imaginations: Reimagining Contemporaneity in the Creativity of Hope Eghagha, is being organised to examine the breadth of Eghagha’s intellectual and creative contributions.
The proposed collection will focus on his work across African drama, poetry, prose, literary criticism, public intellectualism and higher education administration.
Eghagha is a professor at the University of Lagos whose scholarship has engaged questions of language, identity and Nigerian drama. His published academic work includes research examining language, identity and characterisation in Nigerian plays.
A Career Across Literature & Public Discourse
According to the five-member Editorial Committee, led by Dr. Promise Adiele, the Festschrift will provide a platform for scholars to reflect on, interrogate and extend critical conversations around the themes that have shaped Eghagha’s career.
The committee described the honouree as a scholar whose work cuts across creative writing, literary criticism, public commentary and intellectual engagement.
His career has also extended beyond conventional academic scholarship. As a columnist and public intellectual, Eghagha has participated in wider conversations on society, culture and public affairs.
His creative works include The Oily Marriage, Two Mothers and a Son, Pepper in My Throat and Rhythms of the Last Testament, among others.
The planned volume therefore seeks to examine not only individual works but also the intellectual ideas, cultural questions and literary techniques that run through his body of work.
From the Margins to the Imaginations
The title of the proposed Festschrift points to the editors’ interest in the relationship between marginal spaces, public discourse and creative imagination.
Several themes have consequently been identified for scholarly engagement.
They include the aesthetics of the non-literary, foreshadowing performance traditions, the movement from margins to imaginations in public discourse, orality, memory and language ecology.
Other areas include the public intellectual, pedagogy and theory, stylistics and rhetoric in public discourse, sociolinguistics, identity and language ecology.
Together, the themes are designed to encourage interdisciplinary readings of Eghagha’s contribution to literature, culture, language and intellectual life.
Invitation for Original Scholarship
The Editorial Committee said it was seeking well-researched and unpublished papers that critically engage with the intellectual, literary and cultural dimensions of Eghagha’s work.
Contributors are also expected to connect their discussions to broader theoretical frameworks arising from his creative and scholarly contributions.
The call is open to scholars, researchers, creative writers and cultural critics interested in exploring the different dimensions of his work.
The language of submission is English, while contributors are required to use either MLA or APA formatting.
Submission Requirements & Deadlines
Prospective contributors are expected to submit a 200-word abstract alongside a brief biographical note of no more than 100 words.
Completed papers are expected to be between 6,000 and 8,000 words.
Abstracts should be submitted to the editorial team through poadiele@mtu.edu.ng.
The deadline for abstract submissions is 30 October 2026, while full papers are expected by 30 May 2027.
According to the call, notification of acceptance is scheduled for December 2027.
Further inquiries may also be directed to the coordinating editors through the same email address.
The listed members of the editorial team are Dr. Promise Adiele, Dr. James Onyeashi, Dr. John Uwa, Dr. Sola Ogunbayo and Dr. Adepoju.
Preserving an Intellectual Contribution
The proposed Festschrift is expected to bring together diverse scholarly perspectives on Eghagha’s career and influence.
Its focus will extend from literature and performance to public discourse, intellectual life, language and higher education.
For the organisers, the project will offer an opportunity not only to celebrate an individual scholar and creative writer but also to stimulate fresh academic engagement with the questions raised by his work.
The resulting collection is therefore expected to serve as both a tribute and a platform for continued discussion of contemporary African literary and cultural production.
