Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor and critic, born on 16 November 1930 in Ogidi, in what was then colonial Nigeria. He grew up between Igbo tradition and a Christian, English-language education, and this double inheritance shaped his writing. He worked in broadcasting and later taught at universities in Nigeria and abroad.

Achebe wrote novels, short stories, poems, essays and books for children, all in English, yet he drew deeply on Igbo speech, proverbs and storytelling. His first novel, Things Fall Apart, became one of the most widely read books to come out of Africa. He answered European portrayals of Africa by showing African societies from within, with their complexity and their flaws. He also wrote sharply about power, corruption and the responsibilities of writers. He died on 21 March 2013, and is often called the father of modern African literature.