Born in 1974 in Ibadan (Oyo State, Nigeria), Titilola Atinuke Shoneyin is a Nigerian poet and author.
Titilola Atinuke Alexandrah Shoneyin was born in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, Southwestern Nigeria, in 1974. She is the youngest of six children and the only girl. Her parents, Chief Tinuoye Shoneyin and Mrs Yetunde Shoneyin (née Okupe), are Remo indigenes from Ogun State.
Shoneyin’s work is significantly influenced by her life, notably providing material on polygamy for her debut novel; her maternal grandfather, HRH Abraham Olayinka Okupe (1896-1976) was the traditional ruler of Iperu Remo and had five wives. He ascended the throne in 1938 and died in 1976.
When Shoneyin was six years old, her parents sent her to boarding school in the UK, where she attended Cargilfield School, Edinburgh; The Collegiate, Winterbourne, Bristol; Fettes Junior School, Edinburgh. She returned to Nigeria after her father was imprisoned by the then military government and completed her secondary education at Abadina College. She later got her BA (hons) degree from Ogun State University in 1994/95.
Shoneyin’s early writing consists mainly of poetry and short stories. Early examples of her work appeared in Post Express in 1995, which features a short story about a Nigerian woman who leaves her husband for an Austrian woman. This story initiated dialogue about homosexuality within a Nigerian context.
Her first volume of poetry, So All the Time I was Sitting on an Egg, was published by Ovalonion House, Nigeria, in 1998. She attended the renowned Iowa International Writers Programme, Iowa, USA, in August 1999 and was also in that year a Distinguished Scholar at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota).
Her second volume of poetry, Song of a Riverbird, was published in Nigeria (Ovalonion House) in 2002. While living in England, she obtained a teaching degree from London Metropolitan University in 2005.
Shoneyin completed her first novel in 2000. Her second novel, Harlot, received some interest, but the story of a young girl growing up in colonial Nigeria to make a fortune as a “Madame” remains unpublished. Shoneyin moved on to her third novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, which was published in 2010.
Cassava Republic Press, Nigeria, published Shoneyin’s third poetry collection, For the Love of Flight, in February 2010. Mayowa and the Masquerades, a children’s book, was also published by Cassava Republic, in July 2010.
She has also written for newspapers, including The Scotsman, The Guardian, and The Times on issues such as racism, Nigeria’s tradition of polygamous marriage, the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram and the elections of now President Muhammadu Buhari.
She is, however, best known for her 2009 book, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, which deals with the subject of polygamy. Set in modern-day Nigeria, the book is about four wives who share one husband. It explores the intricacies of family life and relationships through a wonderful cast of characters – all part of one extended family. It has been described as fiercely funny, endearing, and provocative
In April 2014 she was named on the Hay Festival’s Africa39 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under-40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria, where she runs the annual Aké Arts and Book Festival.
She is married to Olaokun Soyinka, a medical doctor and the son of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka.