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Chinua Achebe

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Chinua Achebe

Pen Names: Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe（Baptismal name / full legal name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1930-11-16 （Ogidi, Colonial Nigeria）
Died
2013-03-21 （Boston, Massachusetts, United States） age 82
Nationality
Nigerian
Languages
English, Igbo
Religion
Protestant (influence of Church Mission Society) Baptized in 1930 （Baptismal Name: Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe）
Residence History
Ogidi (birth and childhood) → Ibadan (university) → Lagos (work and literary activity) → Enugu → Biafra region (wartime relocations) → United States (UMass Amherst, Bard College, Brown University) → Nsukka, Nigeria (University of Nigeria)

Career

Occupations
novelist, poet, critic, professor, editor, broadcaster
Active Years
1950-2013
Affiliations
Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS), Involved in creation of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), General Editor, Heinemann African Writers Series, Professor at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst, Professor at Bard College (Charles P. Stevenson Professorship), Professor at Brown University (Africana Studies)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Letters (honorary)
Influenced By
Igbo oral tradition, Joyce Cary (Mister Johnson inspired Achebe to become a writer), Western literature (critical engagement with Joseph Conrad and others)
Influenced
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Flora Nwapa, Toni Morrison (has stated Achebe inspired her), Generations of modern African writers

Education

University College (now University of Ibadan)
English, History and Theology (initially admitted to study Medicine) / English
Degree: Second-class degree
Period: 1948–1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: Nigeria
Admitted to study medicine on a bursary but switched to English, history and theology

Awards

Commonwealth Poetry Prize
1972
Organization: Commonwealth Foundation
Result: winner
Nigerian National Trophy for Literature
1960
Organization: Government of Nigeria
Result: winner
Nigerian National Order of Merit
1979
Organization: Government of Nigeria
Result: winner
Order of the Federal Republic
1979
Organization: Government of Nigeria
Result: recipient
Honorary Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
1982
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: honorary fellow
St. Louis Literary Award
1999
Organization: St. Louis Literary Award (Saint Louis)
Result: winner
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
2002
Organization: German Book Trade (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels)
Result: winner
Man Booker International Prize
2007
Work: For his body of work / lifetime achievement
Organization: Man Booker Foundation
Result: winner
The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize
2010
Organization: The Gish Prize Foundation
Result: winner
UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador
1999
Organization: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Result: appointed

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Things Fall Apart

1958 Novel (historical / cultural)

Set in an Igbo village, the novel follows the rise and fall of yam-farmer Okonkwo amid the arrival of colonialism and Christian missionaries; a foundational work of modern African literature.

tradition vs colonialismcultural identitymasculinity and family
Adaptations
  • [Film] Things Fall Apart (film, 1970) (1970)

No Longer at Ease

1960 Novel

A novel about Obi, grandson of the protagonist of Things Fall Apart, depicting corruption and moral dilemmas in postcolonial Lagos.

urbanization and corruptionconflict between tradition and modernity

Arrow of God

1964 Novel

Set in the village of Umuaro, it tells the tragic story of Ezeulu, a chief priest, exploring tradition's collision with colonial authority.

religion and authoritycommunal vs individual tragedy

A Man of the People

1966 Satirical novel

A bleak satire set in an unnamed newly independent African state, targeting corruption and political decay.

political corruptionpost-independence turmoil

Anthills of the Savannah

1987 Novel

Set in the fictional nation of Kangan after a military coup, the novel examines power, speech and resistance; a late major work.

critique of powerlanguage and politics

Bibliography

  • Things Fall Apart
  • No Longer at Ease
  • Arrow of God
  • A Man of the People
  • Anthills of the Savannah
  • Chike and the River
  • Beware, Soul Brother
  • There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra

Adaptations

  • 1970 Nigerian film adaptation of Things Fall Apart (long thought lost; materials rediscovered and exhibited decades later)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Use of Igbo oral-tradition storytelling and proverbsdirect, economical narrationtechnique of extending English to express African thought patterns
Recurring Motifs
proverbsfolk tales / oral loreclash of tradition and modernitymasculinity vs femininity

Health

  • Paralysis from the waist down due to spinal injury (car accident)
    1990–2013
    After a 1990 car accident he sustained serious spinal injuries and used a wheelchair thereafter; he continued to write and teach.

Legacy

Chinua Achebe is regarded as a leading figure of modern African literature; Things Fall Apart is a canonical text. As a writer, editor and educator he influenced generations of writers and achieved international renown.

Museums

  • Chinua Achebe Center (Bard College) Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, United States (Bard College) Opened in 2005
  • Chinua Achebe memorial bust (University of Nigeria, Nsukka) Nsukka, Nigeria (University of Nigeria) Opened in 2019

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Letters (honorary)

Archives

  • Archives and materials held at the Chinua Achebe Center, Bard College
  • Manuscripts and correspondence held across university and public collections

In Popular Culture

  • Chinua Achebe Literary Festival (annual celebrations in Anambra and elsewhere)
  • Rediscovery and exhibition of materials related to the film adaptation of Things Fall Apart (1970)

Quotes

  • For an African writing in English there are serious setbacks, but those who can extend the frontiers of English to accommodate African thought patterns must do so by mastery of the language.
    Source: Essay: "English and the African Writer" (1965)
  • Heart of Darkness dehumanises Africans and, in my view, is racist in its depiction of Africa.
    Source: Lecture: "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" (1975)

Trivia

  • Baptismal name: Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe.
  • Things Fall Apart has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and has been translated into dozens of languages (sources often cite 57 languages).
  • He declined a high Nigerian national honour in 2004 for political reasons.