Legendary Nigerian Poet J.P. Clark Is Dead

Renowned Nigerian poet and playwright, Professor John Pepper Clark, popularly known as J.P. Clark died on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, at the age of 85. He is a younger brother to former South South Leader Edwin Clark who was a former Federal Commissioner of Information in 1975.

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A statement signed by Prof. C. C. Clark and Mr Ilaye Clark on behalf of the family reads “The Clark-Fuludu Bekederemo family of Kiagbodo Town, Delta State, wishes to announce that Emeritus Professor of Literature and Renowned Writer, Prof. John Pepper Clark, has finally dropped his pen in the early hours of today, Tuesday, 13 October 2020. Prof. J. P. Clark has paddled on to the great beyond in comfort of his wife, children and siblings, around him. The family appreciates your prayers at this time.”

Who Is JP Clark?

JP Clark was born on the 6th of April, 1935, to an Ijaw father and Urhobo mother, Delta State. He is the younger brother to Edwin Clark. JP Clark had his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the prestigious University of Ibadan. While at the University of Ibadan he edited various magazines that include the Beacon and The Horn. JP Clark graduated at the University of Ibadan in 1960 and worked after as an information officer in the Ministry of Information, in the old Western Region of Nigeria. He was also a Features Editor of the Daily Express, and a research fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan.

He was a Professor of English at the University of Lagos where he retired in 1980. At the University of Lagos, he was the co-editor of the literary magazine Black Orpheus. JP Clark founded the PEC Repertory Theatre in Lagos with his wife Prof Ebun Odutola in 1982. John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo is a widely travelled man. He held visiting professorial appointments at several institutions of higher learning, including Yale University and Wesleyan University in the United States after his retirement.

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JP Clark Works

He is notable for his poetry, which includes:

• A Reed in the Tide (Longmans, 1965), occasional poems that focus on his indigenous African background and his travel experience in America and other places.
• Poems (Mbari, 1961), a group of 40 lyrics that treat heterogeneous themes.
• Casualties: Poems 1966–68 (USA: Africana Publishing Corporation, 1970), which illustrate the horrendous events of the Nigeria-Biafra war and A Decade of Tongues (Longmans, Drumbeat series, 1981), a collection of 74 poems, all of which apart from “Epilogue to Casualties” (dedicated to Michael Echeruo) were previously published in earlier volumes.

Others are State of the Union (1981), that highlights his apprehension concerning the socio-political events in Nigeria as a developing nation and Mandela and Other Poems (1988), that dealt with the perennial problem of ageing and death. JP Clark’s dramatic work included Song of a Goat which premiered at the Mbari Club in 1961.

JP Clark is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and other family members. May his soul rest in perfect peace. He was a journalist, playwright, and scholar-critic who conducted research into traditional Ijo myths and legends and wrote essays on African poetry during his lactive days on earth.