Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe (born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who stands as a key figure in modern African literature. His first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), is his most famous work and holds a central position in African writing; it is the most widely studied, translated, and read African novel. Alongside Things Fall Apart, his novels No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964) form the "African Trilogy." Later novels include A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). People often call Achebe the "father of modern African literature," but he strongly disagreed with that label.

Achebe grew up in Ogidi, in colonial Nigeria, shaped by both Igbo traditional culture and the Christianity brought by colonizers. He did well in school and later attended what is now the University of Ibadan, where he grew sharply critical of how Western literature portrayed Africa. After graduating, he moved to Lagos and worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS). His 1958 novel Things Fall Apart brought him international notice.

In less than 10 years, he would publish four further novels through the publisher Heinemann, with whom he began the Heinemann African Writers Series and galvanized the careers of African writers, such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and Flora Nwapa. Achebe aimed to break away from the colonial viewpoint that had dominated African literature. He drew on Igbo traditions, Christian influences, and the tension between Western and African values to craft a distinctly African voice.

Postwar academia (1971–1975)

He wrote in English and defended that choice, saying it allowed him to reach a wide audience, especially readers in colonial countries. In 1975, he delivered a controversial lecture, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," which became a milestone in postcolonial studies. Published in The Massachusetts Review, the lecture criticized Albert Schweitzer and Joseph Conrad, whom Achebe called "a thoroughgoing racist." When the region of Biafra seceded from Nigeria in 1967, Achebe supported Biafran independence and served as an ambassador for the movement. The resulting Nigerian Civil War caused widespread suffering, and Achebe appealed to Europe and the Americas for help.