Bate Besong

Besong: The Man, His Ideas, His Vision And His Life

By Babila Mutia Bate

Prof. Babila Mutia fluting in tears to the tune of "lead kindly light"at BB's funeral

Besong was born on May 8, 1954 in Manyu Division, at that time called Mamfe, in the then Southern Cameroons. He attended Hope Waddell Training Institute in Calabar and later came to study at St. Bede's Secondary School in Ashing, Kom, where he obtained his GCE A Levels. He left Cameroon after his A Levels and went to Nigeria where he was admitted into the University of Calabar in the Department of English and Literary Studies.

Décès de Bate Besong: Bate Besong a trouvé la mort dans un accident de la route

Né au Nigeria de parents camerounais, auteur d'une dizaine de pièces de théâtre et d'une demi-dizaine de recueils de poésies, Bate Besong était incontestablement l'une des plumes les plus constantes et les plus représentatives de ce qu'on pourrait appeler la deuxième génération de l'émergente littérature camerounaise d'expression anglaise.

Enseignant au département d'anglais de l'université de Buea depuis le milieu des années 90, Bate Besong était également connu pour ses prises de position sans concession et ses déclarations à l'emporte-pièce. Très populaire parmi la jeunesse anglophone scolarisée, il était aussi la bête noire d'une frange importante de l'intelligentsia anglophone.

Polémiste redouté que certains observateurs n'hésitaient pas à comparer à Mongo Beti, l'auteur de Obasinjom Warriors whith Poems after Detention était la figure emblématique d'une littérature camerounaise d'expression anglaise à la recherche de ses marques, tour à tour cassante et tendre, incisive et controversée.

(c) Africultures

After Academic Honours: Bate Besong Buried In Ndekwai

By Walter Wilson Nana & Elvis Tah (The Post Newspaper)

The Faculty of Arts has lost its pride, its pearl. I doubt if Cameroon would be able to produce another BB in the next four or five decades - Prof. Albert Azeyeh, Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Buea.

Dr. Jacobs Bate Besong, Lecturer, Department of English, University of Buea, UB, who died in a ghastly car crash, March 8, alongside two other Cameroonian literary juggernauts, Dr. Hilarious Ngwa Ambe, Thomas Kwasen Gwangwa'a and a driver, Samson Tabe Awoh, was Thursday, March 22, laid in his final resting place in his native Ndekwai in Mamfe, Manyu Division.

University of Buea - Academic Honours for Late Bate Besong

By Regina Liengu Etaka [Cameroon Tribune]

Last Thursday was a day of grief at the University of Buea as academic honours were paid to late Dr. Bate Besong, fondly called BB. The ceremony, which took place in the Amphitheater 750, brought together over 4,000 people who did not only come to mourn BB but also to celebrate the works of the great poet. For the Vice Chancellor of UB, Professor Vincent Titanji, the death of BB has inflicted a deep wound in the University community. He said BB was a man of an independent spirit.

Bate Besong: The Final Journey (III)

BB Lying In State at the Amphi 750 of the University of Buea

Bate Besong: The Final Journey (II)

BB's Children Lead the Funeral Procession

Bate Besong: The Final Journey (I)

March 21, 2007 - Posthumous Academic Honors for Bate Besong at the University of Buea (Pictures Courtesy of The Entrepreneur Newspaper)

Bate Besong in the Encyclopedia of African Literature

Simon Gikandi (ed). Encyclopedia of African Literature. New York, Routledge, 2003. Page 61.

Bate Besong b 1954,
Cameroon
Poet

A PhD in English and literary studies from the University of Calabar (Nigeria), the Cameroonian writer Bate Besong is primarily known as a poet. He has published several collections of poetry, including Polyphemus Detainee and Other Skulls (1980), The Banquet (1994), The Grain of Bobe Ngom Jua (1985), and Just Above Cameroon (1988).

He has also published important plays including The Most Cruel Death of the Talkative Zombie (1987), and Beats of No Nation (1990).

Bate Besong's Last Outing

About a thousand people gathered at the University of Buea yesterday, March 7th, 2007, to celebrate Bate Besong's new book, "Digrace". It was a joyous and regal occasion as speaker after speaker poured encomiums on the revered scholar, poet and playright. Little did participants know that this was in fact the final farewell for BB, and that he would be gone forever by dawn. Here are some pictures from BB's last outing. Pictures by Harry McYemti in Buea.

Hours before the Final Goodbye

Bate Besong, The "Obasinjom Warrior" Is Dead!

Bate Besong, the award-winning poet, playright, firebrand social critic and lecturer at the University of Buea (UB) died this morning (March 8th) in a ghastly car accident on the infamous Douala - Yaounde highway, less than 24 hours after the launching of his latest book  Disgrace.

Also dead in the accident are Dr. Hilarious Ambe (Lecturer and Director, UB Theatre) and Kwasen Gwangwa’a (Actor, Film Director, TV Producer).

Click here for a CRTV report of the accident (mp3)

Details will Follow as they become available.