his aesthetic views about poetry and drama and his journalistic essays in the Daily Express, Daily Times, and other newspapers. He is also the author of the controversial America, Their America (Deutsch, 1964; Heinemann African Writers Series No. 50, 1969), a travelogue in which he criticizes American society and its values. While the furore generated by this book arguably catapulted him into the international literary limelight, the damage it and Casualties did to his reputation seems permanent; in both works he infuriated and alienated a large audience and some influential critics. In his defence, Clark maintained that he merely portrayed events as he saw them. Honours and recognition As one of Africa's pre-eminent and distinguished authors, he continued to play an active role in literary affairs, a role for which he increasingly gained international recognition. In 1991, for example, he received the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award for literary excellence and saw publication, by Howard University, of his two definitive volumes, The Ozidi Saga and Collected Plays and Poems 1958–1988. On 6 December 2011, to honour the life and career of Professor John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo, a celebration was held at Lagos Motor Boat Club, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, for the publication of J. P. Clark: A Voyage, The definitive biography of the main animating force of African poetry, written by playwright Femi Osofisan. The launch was attended by "what could be described as the who is who in the literary community", including Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. In 2015 the Society of Young Nigerian Writers under the leadership of Wole Adedoyin founded the JP Clark Literary Society, aimed at promoting and reading Clark's works. Death Clark's death was announced on 13 October 2020. References External links "Nigerian writer J.P. Clark dies at the age of 85", Focuson Africa, BBC, 14 October 2020. Tanure Ojaide, Professor of Africana Studies at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, talks with Audrey Brown about his reaction to the death of J. P. Clark. 1935 births Nigerian male poets Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States 2020 deaths Yale University faculty Wesleyan University faculty Academic staff of the University of Lagos 20th-century Nigerian poets People from Delta State Ijaw people Nigerian editors Recipients of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award 20th-century male writers Nigerian dramatists and playwrights Occasional poets