African Literature has come a long way to be as unique as it is now. This has been promoted since the 1960 and even further years back. Chinua Achebe, a renowned novelist was one of the pioneers of African Literature. In this essay, I will elaborate on the life and times of this great writer. Achebe was born on 16th November, 1930 in an Ibo village called Nneobi but he was raised by his parents in Ogidi in South-Eastern Nigeria. Achebe's bright future all began since childhood and throughout his school years. His tradition and passion influenced his choices which led him to be one of the greatest writers we know of in Africa now. (www.biography.com), (www.gradesaver.com) , (www.britannica.com)
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With disappointment he applied for an English teaching position at the Merchants of Light School, Oba. Fortunately in 1954, he got a chance to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) where he prepared written works for oral presentations. (www.famousauthors.org) There he wrote his first draft of Things Fall Apart and finalized it on his return to Nigeria. The novel was published by Heinemann on 17th June 1958. Things Fall Apart portrays a conflict between the European and Ibo culture. Promoting this kind of novel with this theme in Nigeria faced a lot of criticism but with time it was translated into about 50 different languages. In 1960, Ache published No Longer at Ease which also deals with corruption in Nigeria and the effect of colonization on Nigeria. Later on in 1964 and 1966, Achebe published Arrow of God and A Man of The People respectively. A Man of The People was the last novel Achebe …show more content…
He served the Biafran Government from 1967 to 1970. Later on, he and his family relocated temporarily to United States of America where he worked at the University of Massachusetts as a professor in Afro-American Studies. During his time in Massachusetts he was awarded an honorary doctor of Letters degree by Dartmouth College and was jointed the 1972 commonwealth for the Best Book of Poetry with his Beware, Sound Brother and Other Poems. (www.theguardian.com), (www.enotes.com) Unfortunately in 1990, Achebe had an accident which paralyzed him. During this time of his life, he won several awards including Man Booker International (2007) and Dorothy and Lilian Gish Prize (2010). Not only did Achebe receive prizes, he was also awarded several honorary degrees by more than 30 universities worldwide which also contributed to his fame. (www.britannica.com), (thefamouspeople.com), On 21st March 2013, Achebe died at the age of 82 in Boston, Massachusetts. Chinua Achebe has not only paved way for not only Nigerian writers but African writers at large. Most of his works displays effective combination of English and local language which makes his style of writing unique. This encourages and inspires creatively and uniqueness in African Literature. Owing to this impact Chinua Achebe has created, he is indeed a great model to look at as far as African Literature is
With disappointment he applied for an English teaching position at the Merchants of Light School, Oba. Fortunately in 1954, he got a chance to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) where he prepared written works for oral presentations. (www.famousauthors.org) There he wrote his first draft of Things Fall Apart and finalized it on his return to Nigeria. The novel was published by Heinemann on 17th June 1958. Things Fall Apart portrays a conflict between the European and Ibo culture. Promoting this kind of novel with this theme in Nigeria faced a lot of criticism but with time it was translated into about 50 different languages. In 1960, Ache published No Longer at Ease which also deals with corruption in Nigeria and the effect of colonization on Nigeria. Later on in 1964 and 1966, Achebe published Arrow of God and A Man of The People respectively. A Man of The People was the last novel Achebe …show more content…
He served the Biafran Government from 1967 to 1970. Later on, he and his family relocated temporarily to United States of America where he worked at the University of Massachusetts as a professor in Afro-American Studies. During his time in Massachusetts he was awarded an honorary doctor of Letters degree by Dartmouth College and was jointed the 1972 commonwealth for the Best Book of Poetry with his Beware, Sound Brother and Other Poems. (www.theguardian.com), (www.enotes.com) Unfortunately in 1990, Achebe had an accident which paralyzed him. During this time of his life, he won several awards including Man Booker International (2007) and Dorothy and Lilian Gish Prize (2010). Not only did Achebe receive prizes, he was also awarded several honorary degrees by more than 30 universities worldwide which also contributed to his fame. (www.britannica.com), (thefamouspeople.com), On 21st March 2013, Achebe died at the age of 82 in Boston, Massachusetts. Chinua Achebe has not only paved way for not only Nigerian writers but African writers at large. Most of his works displays effective combination of English and local language which makes his style of writing unique. This encourages and inspires creatively and uniqueness in African Literature. Owing to this impact Chinua Achebe has created, he is indeed a great model to look at as far as African Literature is