ACHEBE, CHINUA

chĭnˈwä ächāˈbā, 1930–, Nigerian writer, b. Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. A graduate of University College at Ibadan (1953), Achebe, who writes in English, is one of Africa's most acclaimed authors and considered by some to be the father of modern African literature. His early novels, including the groundbreaking Things Fall Apart (1958)—probably the most widely read book by a black African writer—and No Longer at Ease (1960), describe poignantly the effects of European colonialism on Igbo society, Nigeria, and newly independent African nations. He served as a diplomat (1966–68) for Biafra during the Nigerian civil war and later wrote two volumes of poetry, Beware, Soul Brother (1971) and Christmas in Biafra (1973), and one of literary essays, Morning Yet on Creation Day (1975), about the war. He taught at the Univ. of Nigeria, Nsukka (1976–81), and was founding editor (1971) of the influential journal Okike. Achebe returned to the novel form with Anthills of the Savannah (1987). He has also written numerous short stories, children's books, and a book of essays, Home and Exile (2000), reflecting on his and his nation's coming of age. A paraplegic as a result of a 1990 automobile accident, Achebe has lived in the United States since, teaching at Bard College.

See biography by Ezenwa-Obaeto (1997); studies by R. Wren (1980) and B. C. Njoku (1984).

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

-321-