Chidi achebe biography books


Many critics and teachers view Chinua Achebe as the most significant African writer of his generation. His works, particularly the novel Things Fall Apart, have introduced readers all over the nature to creative language and build, as well as factual insider views of modern African being and history.

Achebe has helped to transform the perspective of African history, culture, and place in world events, not only via his literary contributions but also through his promotion of bold objectives for Nigeria and Africa. 

Things Fall Apart, Achebe's first work is considered a literary classic and is taught and read throughout the English-speaking globe.

The novel is translated into at least 45 languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide. The Margaret Wong Memorial Prize, a significant literary honour, was given to the publication a year after it was published. The novels of Achebe focus on Igbo society's traditions, the impact of Christian influences, and the clash of ideals during and after colonialism.

His storytelling combines plain narrative with portrayals of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory and is greatly influenced by the Igbo oral society.

His first novel and magnum opusThings Fall Apartoccupies a central place in African literature and remains the most widely studied, translated, and read African novel. In the West, Achebe is often referred or recognized as to as the "father of African literature", although he vigorously rejected the characterization. Born in OgidiColonial NigeriaAchebe's childhood was influenced by both Igbo traditional tradition and colonial Christianity. He excelled in school and attended what is now the University of Ibadanwhere he became fiercely critical of how Western literature depicted Africa.

Achebe is widely regarded as the founder of latest African literature, an essayist, and a professor of English literature at New York's Bard College. But it is Achebe's superiority in Nigeria's intellectual culture, as well as its literary and political institutions, that best reflects his achievements.

In this article, let’s discussChinua Achebe life and works, Chinua Achebe background and Achebe Biography.

(Image Will Be Updated Soon)

An image of Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe Early Life

Chinua was born in the Igbo village of Ogidi in Anambra, Nigeria.

He was the 5th child of six children for Isaiah and Janet Achebe. They were preliminary Protestant converts in the region. Before returning to his village, Isaiah worked as a missionary teacher in various locations of Nigeria.

In Igbo, Achebe's label means "May God Fight on My Behalf." He later famously discarded his first name, noting in an essay that he and Queen Victoria shared a thing in common, which is, they had both "lost Albert."

Achebe was raised by parents who were devout Christians.

He was educated in English from an early age but grew up in an environment that was a complicated combination of Igbo traditions and colonial history.

Chinua Achebe made a splash with the publication of his first novel, Things Fall Apartin Well-known as one of the seminal works of African literature, it has since sold more than 20 million copies and been translated into more than 50 languages. Achebe followed with novels such as No Longer at EaseArrow of God and Anthills of the Savannahand served as a faculty member at well-known universities in the U. He died on March 21,at age 82, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Achebe attended University College, a British-style university, where he initially planned to study medicine before toggling to English, history, and theology.

Chinua Achebe Educational Background

Although Achebe was raised as a Christian, many of his relatives continued to follow their ancestral polytheistic convictions.

His early schooling took place at a local school where youngsters were taught to renounce their parents' faith and were banned from speaking Igbo. At the age of 14, Achebe was enrolled into the Government College at Umuahia, a prestigious boarding school. Christopher Okigbo, a poet who became Achebe's longtime friend, was one of his classmates.

In , Achebe received a scholarship to study medicine at the University of Ibadan, but after a year, he changed his major to writing. At university, he majored in English literature and language, history, and theology.

Achebe worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos after graduation and went on to study at the British Broadcasting Corporation's staff school in London.

Chinua died on 21 March Read: Wole Soyinka Biography. He abandoned the study of medicine and changed to English, history, and theology. Because he switched his field, however, he lost his scholarship and had to pay tuition fees.

During this time, Achebe was operational on his writing career. He aspired to create African literature that would reflect African characters and society in all of their depth and complexity, having been taught that Igbo principles and culture were inferior to those of Europeans and conclusion only caricatured stereotypes of Africans in Western literature.

In the s, he was a key figure in the development of a Nigerian literary movement that drew on the oral traditions of Nigeria's indigenous tribes. Despite the fact that Achebe wrote in English, he tried to include Igbo vocabulary and stories. Many of his novels dealt with the country's social and political issues, especially the challenges of its postcolonial legacy.

Personal Being And Works 

In , Achebe graduated from the University of Ibadan and went on to operate for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service as a scriptwriter, eventually rising to the position of top programmer for the discussion series.

Chinua Achebe is the founding father of modern African literature. His novels, from Things Descent Apart () to Anthills of the Savannah (), set the standard for all writers who aspire to portray the continent's complex colonial and tribal legacy.

In , he travelled to London for the first period to attend a BBC workout course. After returning to Enugu, he worked for the NBS as an editor and producer of stories. He wrote "Things Fall Apart" in his free time. In , the novel was published.

His second novel, "No Longer at Ease," was released in and is set in the decade leading up to Nigeria's independence.

Chinua Achebe, a prominent Nigerian writer, is renowned for his novel Things Plunge Apart, which highlights the challenges of African culture amid colonial influences. Chinua Achebe was a revered Nigerian writer and educator, best known for his groundbreaking debut novel, "Things Fall Apart," published in This seminal perform is often regarded as one of the foundational texts of African literature, selling over 20 million copies and translated into more than 50 languages. Achebe illuminated the complexities of Nigerian society, particularly the clash between indigenous cultures and colonial influences.

Okonkwo’s grandson is the protagonist, as he learns to fit into British colonial culture.

Chinua Achebe married Christiana Chinwe Okoli in , and the couple had four children: Chinelo and Nwando, twin sons Ikechukwu and Chidi, and twin daughters Chinelo and Nwando.

"Arrow of God," the third book in the African trilogy, was published in It tells the storey of Ezeulu, an Igbo priest who sends his son to Christian missionaries to be educated, where the youngster is converted to colonialism and attacks Nigerian religion and culture.

Career and Publications

After the civil war in , Achebe and his family returned to Nigeria.

Achebe joined the University of Nigeria in Nsukka as a research fellow, where he launched "Okike," an important journal for African creative writing.  At the University of Massachusetts, Achebe was a guest professor of African literature from to He returned to lecture at the University of Nigeria after that.

He became the chair of the Association of Nigerian Writers and was the editor of "Uwa ndi Igbo," a journal about Igbo culture and life. He was a relatively active member of the opposition. In , he was elected as the People's Redemption Party's deputy national president and produced a political pamphlet.

Despite writing many essays and remaining active in the writing community, Achebe did not compose another book until 's "Anthills in the Savannah," about three old school friends who turn into a military dictator, an editor of the leading newspaper, and the minister of information.

Achebe was paralysed from the waist down due to severe spinal injuries in a car accident in Nigeria in From to , he taught at Bard College in New York, which provided him with both a career and the necessary resources. Achebe was appointed as a professor of African studies at Brown University in Achebe continued to lecture and travel all over the world.

He had written the essay "There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra" in

'Things Descend Apart'

Things Fall Apart was Achebe's first novel, and it was published in The novel explores the conflict in Nigeria between traditional African culture and the impact of white Christian missionaries as well as the colonial government.

The book was a remarkable success and became required reading in many schools throughout the world because it gave a genuine look at the conflict.

Awards and Accolades

Achebe has received scores of honorary doctorates and other international literary awards over the years.

Here is a comprehensive list of Chinua Achebe‘s body of works, including his notable novels, short stories, poems, essays, and children’s books: Novels “Things Fall Apart” () – His most famous work, depicting pre-colonial life in Nigeria and the arrival of European missionaries.

He is an honorary member of the American Academy and the Institute of Arts and Letters, and his work has been translated into over 40 languages. He moved to Europe in to avoid being imprisoned by the harsh Nigerian regime. He eventually went to Nigeria to serve as president of the town union of his ancestral hamlet of Ogidi, where he was honoured for his dedication to the myths and tales of his ancestors.

Death and Legacy

On March 21, , Achebe died in Boston, Massachusetts, suffering a brief illness.

By displaying the effects of European colonisation from the perspective of Africans, he is credited with switching the face of world literature. He chose to write in English, which drew some criticism, but his goal was to inform the entire world about the genuine challenges that Western missionaries and colonialists had created in Africa.

Achebe was awarded the Man Booker International Prize for his lifetime's work in , as well as more than 30 honorary doctorates. He remained critical of Nigerian politicians' corruption, criticising those who stole or squandered the country's oil reserves.

In addition to his own creative success, he was a dedicated and active supporter of African writers.

Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic, is often considered to be the most influential writer in modern African literature.

Who was Chinua Achebe? Age, Bio, Net Worth, Books, Wife ...: His father is regarded as the "father of modern African literature" and best known for the trilogy of classic African novels Things Fall Apart (); "No Longer at Ease" (); and "Arrow of God" ().

Chinua Achebe’s backgroundwith the release of his first novel, Things Drop Apart, in made a large impact. Now it has sold more than 20 million copies and been translated into more than 50 languages, making it one of the major works of African literature. Achebe went on to publish books prefer No Longer at Ease (), Arrow of God (), and Anthills of the Savannah (), as well as teaching at prestigious colleges in the Merged States and Nigeria.

He died on March 21, , in Boston, Massachusetts. His age was 82 at the time of his death. Many books and essays have been written about Achebe's work over the past fifty years, and he is called "the father of up-to-date African writing" and "Africa's finest storyteller." In , he became the first living writer to be included in Alfred A.

Knopf's Everyman's Library collection. "An international Who's Who in African Literature" convened at the University of Nigeria to celebrate his 60th birthday.