Photo by Bob Wagner

Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He was raised in the large village of Ogidi, one of the first centers of Anglican missionary work in eastern Nigeria, and is a graduate of University College, Ibadan.

Cited in the London Sunday Times as one of the “1,000 Makers of the Twentieth Century” for defining “A modern African literature that was truly African” and thereby making “a major contribution to the world literature,” Chinua Achebe has published novels, short stories, essays and children’s books. He is often cited as a major influence by the upcoming generation of African writers including, Helon Habila, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. His canonical first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), provides a counter-narrative to colonial notions of Africa as a savage place devoid of culture before the arrival of the white man. While widening colonial definitions of culture and literarature, Mr. Achebe’s writing crackles with life through animated dialogue, laugh-out-loud humour and clever turns of phrase that bring together both Igbo and English words.

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