Contents
Chinua Achebe
Writing Things Fall Apart, a landmark novel of Igbo life and colonial disruption.
African literature · Nigerian fiction
- Born
- 16 November 1930
- Birthplace
- Ogidi, colonial Nigeria
- Died
- 21 March 2013
More people
Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, essayist and teacher. He made African perspectives central to fiction written in English and helped bring other African writers into print as an influential series editor.
Early life
Two traditions
He grew up in an Igbo community with Christian parents and a strong surrounding tradition of oral storytelling.
University studies
At University College, Ibadan, he changed from medicine to the humanities and began publishing stories.
Career
- 1954
Broadcasting
He joined the Nigerian Broadcasting Service, working alongside his developing fiction.
- 1958
First novel
Things Fall Apart established his international reputation.
- 1962
African Writers Series
He became the founding editorial adviser to Heinemann’s influential series.
- 1970s onward
Teaching and essays
He taught in Nigeria and the United States and wrote influential criticism of colonial representations.
Selected work
Things Fall Apart
Okonkwo’s life reveals tensions within an Igbo community and the impact of colonial rule.
Arrow of God
A priest confronts competing pressures in a changing colonial society.
Anthills of the Savannah
A postcolonial political novel examines power and resistance.
Beyond work
Biafra
He supported Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War and later reflected on the conflict in There Was a Country.
Later life
A 1990 car accident left him paralysed; he continued writing and teaching in the United States.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: Carlo Bavagnoli. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
