Ben Okri

Nigerian-born British poet and novelist (1959-)
Person human Q315362
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Ben Okri

Summary

Ben Okri is a human[1]. He was born in Minna[2]. He was born on March 15, 1959[3]. He worked as a writer[4], journalist[5], novelist[6], author[7], and poet[8]. He ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (463 views/month, #7,154 of 1,000,298).[9]

Key Facts

  • Born in Minna[2], Ben Okri…
  • Ben Okri was born on March 15, 1959[3].
  • Ben Okri held citizenship in Nigeria[10].
  • Ben Okri held citizenship in United Kingdom[11].
  • Ben Okri is identified as part of the Urhobo people ethnic group[12].
  • Ben Okri worked as a writer[4].
  • Ben Okri's professions included journalist[5].
  • Ben Okri's professions included novelist[6].
  • Ben Okri worked as an author[7].
  • Ben Okri's professions included poet[8].
  • Ben Okri's field of work was performing arts[13].
  • Ben Okri's education included a stint at University of Essex[14].
  • A notable work attributed to Ben Okri is The Famished Road[15].
  • A notable work attributed to Ben Okri is Starbook[16].
  • A notable work attributed to Ben Okri is Songs of Enchantment[17].
  • A notable work attributed to Ben Okri is Every Leaf a Hallelujah[18].
  • Ben Okri received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire[19].
  • Ben Okri received the Booker Prize[20].
  • Ben Okri received the Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature[21].
  • Ben Okri received the Knight Bachelor[22].
  • Ben Okri was a member of Royal Society of Literature[23].
  • Ben Okri was a member of Q206811[24].
  • Ben Okri was a member of Royal National Theatre[25].
  • Ben Okri was a member of Royal Central School of Speech and Drama[26].
  • Ben Okri was influenced by Francis Bacon[27].

Product Details

The following facts are restated verbatim from public-domain and CC0 open-data sources — every line is independently verifiable against the named source's catalog.

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

  • MusicBrainz ID: 885f1a93-051c-4773-b1fe-dd320040116d[28]

Body

Origins and Family

Ben Okri was born in Minna[2]. He was born on March 15, 1959[3]. He is identified as part of the Urhobo people ethnic group[12].

Education

Ben Okri was educated at University of Essex[14].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include writer[4], journalist[5], novelist[6], author[7], and poet[8]. Ben Okri's field of work was performing arts[13].

Works and Contributions

Notable works include The Famished Road[15], a written work[29]; Starbook[16], a literary work[30], in Nigeria[31]; Songs of Enchantment[17], a version, edition or translation[32]; and Every Leaf a Hallelujah[18], a literary work[33].

Recognition

Awards received include Officer of the Order of the British Empire[19], a grade of an order[34], in United Kingdom[35]; Booker Prize[20], a literary award[36], in United Kingdom[37], founded in 1969[38], headquartered in London[39]; Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature[21], a fellowship award[40], in United Kingdom[41]; and Knight Bachelor[22], a title of honor[42], in United Kingdom[43], founded in 1300[44].

Why It Matters

Ben Okri ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (463 views/month, #7,154 of 1,000,298).[9] He has Wikipedia articles in 22 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[45] He is known by 5 alternative names across languages and contexts.[46]

He has been cited as an influence by Nnedi Okorafor[47], a novelist[48], b. 1974[49], of United States[50], awarded the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel[51], specialised in creative writing[52].

Works attributed to him include The Famished Road[53], a written work[54].

FAQs

Where was Ben Okri born?

Ben Okri's place of birth was Minna[2].

What did Ben Okri do for work?

Ben Okri worked as writer[4], journalist[5], novelist[6], author[7], and poet[8].

Where did Ben Okri go to school?

Ben Okri was educated at University of Essex[14].

What awards did Ben Okri receive?

Honors received include Officer of the Order of the British Empire[19], Booker Prize[20], Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature[21], and Knight Bachelor[22].

Who did Ben Okri influence?

Ben Okri has been cited as an influence by Nnedi Okorafor[47].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . Freebase Data Dumps. wikidata.org.
  2. [10] . wikidata.org.
  3. [11] . wikidata.org.
  4. [14] . wikidata.org.
  5. [13] . wikidata.org.
  6. [4] . wikidata.org.
  7. [5] . wikidata.org.
  8. [6] . wikidata.org.
  9. [7] . NNDB. bbc.co.uk. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  10. [8] . books.google.fr. books.google.fr. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  11. [19] . wikidata.org.
  12. [20] . thebookerprizes.com. thebookerprizes.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  13. [21] . rsliterature.org. Retrieved . rsliterature.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  14. [22] . wikidata.org.
  15. [12] . wikidata.org.
  16. [23] . wikidata.org.
  17. [24] . wikidata.org.
  18. [25] . wikidata.org.
  19. [26] . wikidata.org.
  20. [3] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  21. [27] . wikidata.org.
  22. [15] . wikidata.org.
  23. [16] . wikidata.org.
  24. [17] . Encyclopædia Universalis. wikidata.org.
  25. [18] . wikidata.org.

Product details (FDA / USDA / NHTSA public-domain catalog data)

  1. [28] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [47] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [53] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [34] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [35] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [36] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [37] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [38] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [39] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [40] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [41] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [42] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [43] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [30] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  14. [31] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  15. [32] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  16. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  17. [48] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  18. [49] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  19. [50] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  20. [51] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  21. [52] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  22. [54] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [9] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [45] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [46] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Ben Okri. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/ben-okri
MLA “Ben Okri.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/ben-okri.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_ben-okri_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Ben Okri}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/ben-okri}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 8d ago · Sj1mor · 2026-05-24 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Plaque image Quote by Ben Okri on the Memorial Gates at the Hyde Park Corner end of Constitut
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ [[Property:P1801]]: Quote by Ben Okri on the Memorial Gates at the Hyde Park Corner end of Constitution Hill in London, UK.jpg"
  2. 12d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Educated at University of Essex
    Languages spoken, written or signed English, Nigerian Pidgin, German
    Genre Postmodernism
    Personal pronoun {'id': 'L485', 'numeric-id': 485, 'entity-type': 'lexeme'}
    + 32 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32084|batch #32084]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (26)"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.