Chinua Achebe: The Literary Luminary Who Shaped African Narratives

Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist and author of ‘Things Fall Apart,’ a work that in part led to his being called the ‘patriarch of the African novel.’

Chinua Achebe made a splash with the publication of his first novel, Things Fall Apart, in 1958. Regarded as a cornerstone of African literature, this work has surpassed 20 million copies in sales and has found translation in over 50 languages.

Achebe followed with novels such as No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987), and served as a faculty member at renowned universities in the U.S. and Nigeria. He died on March 21, 2013, at age 82, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Early Years and Career

Renowned writer Chinua Achebe was born on November 16, 1930, in Ogidi, Nigeria. Educated at University College and later teaching, he became director of external broadcasting at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in 1961.

Things Fall Apart

In 1958, Achebe published his first novel: Things Fall Apart. The novel focuses on the clash between African culture and white missionaries and the colonial government in Nigeria.

With unflinching scrutiny, it gained remarkable success and became essential reading worldwide.

‘No Longer at Ease’ and Teaching Positions

The 1960s proved to be a productive period for Achebe. In 1961, he married Christie Chinwe Okoli, with whom he would go on to have four children, and it was during this decade he wrote the follow-up novels to Things Fall Apart: No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964), as well as A Man of the People (1966).

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All address the issue of traditional ways of life coming into conflict with new, often colonial, points of view.

In 1967, Achebe and poet Christopher Okigbo co-founded the Citadel Press, intended to serve as an outlet for a new kind of African-oriented children’s books.

Okigbo was killed shortly afterward in the Nigerian civil war, and two years later, Achebe toured the United States with fellow writers Gabriel Okara and Cyprian Ekwensi to raise awareness of the conflict back home, giving lectures at various universities.

Through the 1970s, Achebe served in faculty positions at the University of Massachusetts, the University of Connecticut and the University of Nigeria.

During this time, he also served as director of two Nigerian publishing houses, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. and Nwankwo-Ifejika Ltd.

On the writing front, Achebe remained highly productive in the early part of the decade, publishing several collections of short stories and a children’s book: How the Leopard Got His Claws (1972).

Also released around this time were the poetry collection Beware, Soul Brother (1971) and Achebe’s first book of essays, Morning Yet on Creation Day (1975).

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In 1975, Achebe delivered a lecture at UMass titled “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,” in which he asserted that Joseph Conrad’s famous novel dehumanizes Africans.

When published in essay form, it went on to become a seminal postcolonial African work.

Later Work and Accolades

The year 1987 brought the release of Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah. His first novel in more than 20 years, it was shortlisted for the Booker McConnell Prize. The following year, he published Hopes and Impediments.

The 1990s began with tragedy: Achebe was in a car accident in Nigeria that left him paralyzed from the waist down and would confine him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Soon after, he moved to the United States and taught at Bard College, just north of New York City, where he remained for 15 years.

In 2009, Achebe left Bard to join the faculty of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, as the David and Marianna Fisher University professor and professor of Africana studies.

Achebe won several awards over the course of his writing career, including the Man Booker International Prize (2007) and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (2010). Additionally, he received honorary degrees from more than 30 universities around the world.

Death

Achebe died on March 21, 2013, at the age of 82, in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Quick Facts About Chinua Achebe

• Name: Chinua Achebe
• Birth Year: 1930
• Birth date: November 16, 1930
• Birth City: Ogidi, Anambra
• Birth Country: Nigeria
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist and author of ‘Things Fall Apart,’ a work that in part led to his being called the ‘patriarch of the African novel.’
• Industries
  • Education and Academia
  • Fiction and Poetry
• Astrological Sign: Scorpio
• Schools
  • University of Ibadan
• Nacionalities
  • Nigerian
• Death Year: 2013
• Death date: March 21, 2013
• Death State: Massachusetts
• Death City: Boston
• Death Country: United States