Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) was born in
Nigeria. Widely considered to be the father of modern African
literature, he is best known for his masterful African Trilogy,
consisting of Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, and No
Longer at Ease. The trilogy tells the story of a single Nigerian
community over three generations from first colonial contact to
urban migration and the breakdown of traditional cultures. He is
also the author of Anthills of the Savannah, A Man of the
People, Girls at War and Other Stories, Home and
Exile, Hopes and Impediments, Collected Poems, The
Education of a British-Protected Child, Chike and the River,
and There Was a Country. He was the David and Marianna Fisher
University Professor and Professor of Africana Studies at Brown
University and, for more than fifteen years, was the Charles P.
Stevenson Jr. Professor of Languages and Literature at Bard
College. Achebe was the recipient of the Nigerian National Merit
Award, Nigeria’s highest award for intellectual achievement. In
2007, Achebe was awarded the Man Booker International Prize for
lifetime achievement.
Praise for Chinua Achebe
“A magical writer—one of the greatest of the twentieth century.”
—Margaret Atwood
“African literature is incomplete and unthinkable without the works
of Chinua Achebe.” —Toni
Morrison
“Chinua Achebe is gloriously gifted with the magic of an ebullient,
generous, great talent.” —Nadine Gordimer
“Achebe’s influence should go on and on . . . teaching and
reminding that all humankind is one.” —The Nation
“The father of African literature in the English language and
undoubtedly one of the most important writers of the second half of
the twentieth century.” —Caryl Phillips, The Observer
“We are indebted to Achebe for reminding us that art has social and
moral dimension—a truth often obscured.” —Chicago Tribune
“He is one of the few writers of our time who has touched us with a
code of values that will never be ironic.” —Michael Ondaatje
“For so many readers around the world, it is Chinua Achebe who
opened up the magic casements of African fiction.” —Kwame Anthony
Appiah
“[Achebe] is one of world literature’s great humane voices.” —Times
Literary Supplement
“Achebe is one of the most distinguished artists to emerge from the
West African cultural renaissance of the post-war world.” —The
Sunday Times (London)
“[Achebe is] a powerful voice for cultural decolonization.” —The
Village Voice
“Chinua Achebe has shown that a mind that observes clearly but
feels deeply enough to afford laughter may be more wise than all
the politicians and journalists.” —Time
“The power and majesty of Chinua Achebe’s work has, literally,
opened the world to generations of readers. He is an ambassador of
art, and a profound recorder of the human condition.” —Michael
Dorris
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