uTata weModern African Literature ufile.
Born in a south-eastern region of Igboland, Nigeria in 1930, he found his niche in the cockles of fiction at University College, Ibadan. His main drive was to annihilate the portrayal of African people as those which exist as alternative to humanity (the inhuman), within the literary trope.
Dubbed the father of modern African literature by Man Booker International judge Nadine Gordimer.
A man who helped evoke and inspire several generations of writers, has passed away. At age 82, Nigerian author Chinua Achebe was said to have died at a Boston hospital following a brief illness.He is world renowned for his novel “Things Fall Apart”. It was a piece that delved into the notions of Nationalism and African Identity, whilst critiquing the effects of Christian missionary movements and colonialism by the British. The focus was on the central protagonist, yam farmer “Okonkwo“, who lived in a fictional village in Nigeria.
This novel sold 12 million copies worldwide, unrivaled by any African author save for South African writer JRR Tolkein.
