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Achebe Chinua 1930 - 2013 (83)

Charity... is the opium of the privileged.


QUOTES

Refugee Mother

And Child



Things Fall

Apart





Chinua Achebe (1930 - 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet and critic who is considered a dominant figure in contemporary African literature. Born on November 16, 1930 in the village of Ogidi in eastern Nigeria, his father worked for the Missionary Church and his early education was through the Church School. At the age of eight he began learning English and at the age of 14 due to his outstanding performance he was chosen to attend the government college in Umuahia, which was one of the best schools in West Africa. In 1948, he began studying medicine at University College of Ibadan, but soon turned to English literature. From the years of his studies he wrote stories and essays which were published in the university newspaper. After graduating in 1953, he worked as a teacher for a year and then began a career as a producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Company. He remained there for twelve years and became the director of "Voice of Nigeria".

In 1957, he went to London to attend the school for the BBC staff. One of his teachers was the novelist and literary critic Gilbert Phelps who read his texts and helped him publish his work. A year later, his first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), appeared, which presented an account of colonial history from the point of view of the colonists. The book was a huge success, and holds a central place in African literature, it remains the most widely studied and translated African novel.

In 1967 a civil war broke out in Nigeria; the eastern region declared its independence, Acebe traveled throughout Europe and North America to defend Biafra's independence. During this period he wrote poems and short stories, one of the poems that caused a sensation was "Refugee Mother And Child". In his next two novels continued the story that began with the first, brilliantly covering the history from pre-colonial Africa to the days before Nigeria's independence from Britain. Achebe has also published collections of essays on literary and political issues, exploring the life of 20th century Nigeria, his poetry collections include: Christmas in Biafra and Other Poems (1973), Another Africa (1997), Collectible Poems ( 2002).

In 1994, he fled to Europe to escape from the Nigerian goverment, which threatened him with imprisonment for his writings. He moved to the United States, where he became a professor at Bard College in New York. Achebe won many Prizes, as the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the German Booksellers' Peace Prize, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and honorary degrees from more than 20 American universities.

He was married in 1961 and had 4 children; he died in Boston on March 21, 2013.