Editing Kofi Awoonor (section)

{{Short description|Ghanaian poet and author (1935–2013)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix   = 
|name               = Kofi Awoonor
|honorific-suffix   = 
|image              = KofiAwoonor.jpg
|imagesize          = 150px
|smallimage         = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.-->
|alt                = 
|caption            = 
|order              = 8th [[Ghana]]
|office             = Permanent Representative to the United Nations
|term_start         = 1990
|term_end           = 1994
|president          = [[Jerry Rawlings]]
|predecessor        = [[James Victor Gbeho]]
|successor          = George Lamptey 
|birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1935|03|13}}
|birth_place        = [[Wheta]], [[Gold Coast (British Colony)|Gold Coast]], [[Ghana]]
|death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2013|09|21|1935|03|13}}
|death_place        = [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]]
|restingplace       = 
|restingplacecoordinates = 
|birthname          = George Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor-Williams
|nationality        = Ghanaian
|party              = 
|otherparty         =  <!--For additional political affiliations-->
|spouse             = 
|partner            =  <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
|relations          = [[Nii Parkes]] (nephew)
|children           = 
|residence          = 
|alma_mater         = {{Plainlist|
*[[University of Ghana]]
*[[University of London]]
*[[State University of New York]]
}}
|occupation         = Poet, author, academic and diplomat
|profession         = 
|cabinet            = 
|committees         = 
|portfolio          = 
|religion           = 
|signature          = 
|signature_alt      = 
|website            = 
|footnotes          = 
}}

'''Kofi Awoonor''' (born '''George Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor-Williams'''; 13 March 1935 – 21 September 2013) was a [[Ghana]]ian poet, [[author]] and [[diplomat]]. His  work combined the poetic traditions of his native [[Ewe (people)|Ewe]] people with contemporary and religious symbolism to depict [[Africa]] during [[Decolonisation of Africa|decolonization]]. He started writing under the name '''George Awoonor-Williams''',<ref>Hans M. Zell, Carol Bundy & Virginia Coulon (eds), ''A New Reader's Guide to African Literature'', Heinemann Educational Books, 1983, p. 355.</ref> and was also published as '''Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor'''. He taught African literature at the [[University of Ghana]]. Professor Awoonor was among those who were killed in the [[Westgate shopping mall shooting|September 2013 attack]] at [[Westgate (Kenyan shopping mall)|Westgate shopping mall]] in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]], where he was a participant at the [[Hay Festival|Storymoja Hay Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Prof. Awoonor dies in Al-Shabab attack in Kenyan Mall|url=http://www.citifmonline.com/index.php?id=1.1540045|publisher=citifmonline.com|date=22 September 2013}}</ref><ref name="telegraph">{{cite news|title=Nairobi shopping mall attacks: Kofi Awoonor, Ghanaian poet, killed in Westgate Attack|author=Alice Vincent|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/10326144/Nairobi-shopping-mall-attacks-Kofi-Awoonor-Ghanaian-poet-killed-in-Westgate-Attack.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923130321/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/10326144/Nairobi-shopping-mall-attacks-Kofi-Awoonor-Ghanaian-poet-killed-in-Westgate-Attack.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 September 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|date=22 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Somalia's al-Shabab claims Nairobi Westgate Kenya attack|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24191606|publisher=BBC News|date=22 September 2013|access-date=22 September 2013}}</ref>