Nigerian author Chinua Achebe dies(Nov 16, 1930 – March 21, 2013)

Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian Novelist,Poet,Professor(from 2009 until his death, he served as a professor at Brown University,Rhode Island,USA) and Critic

Chinua Achebe was best known for his first novel ''Things Fall Apart''(1958)which is the most widely read book in modern African Literature and gained worldwide attention

Chinua Achebe's later novels include -
No longer At Ease(1960)
Arrow of God(1964)
A Man of the People(1966)
Anthills of the Savannah(1987)

Chinua Achebe wrote his novels in English and defended the use of English, a "language of colonisers", in African literature

Chinua Achebe's novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of Western and traditional African values during and after the colonial era.

Nelson Mandela called Chinua Achebe "the writer in whose company the prison walls came down"

South African writer and Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer called Chinua Achebe the "father of modern African literature"

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan said Chinua Achebe's admirers had all learnt "indelible lessons of human existence" from his works.

Honours and Awards

• recipient of over 30 honorary degrees from universities in England, Scotland, Canada, South Africa, Nigeria and USA

• Honorary Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts & Letters(1982)

• Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences(2002)

• Nigerian National Order of Merit (Nigeria's highest honour for academic work)

• Man Booker International Prize 2007

• Dorothy & Lillian Gish Prize 2010

Death
Chinua Achebe died after a short illness in Boston,USA on March 21,2013

Chinua Achebe Funeral in Nigeria -Thursday May 23,2013

 

Thousands of mourners have paid their last respects to renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe in his home town in Anambra state.

A host of dignitaries attended the funeral including Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
Crowds of mourners surrounded the church, some wearing traditional shirts emblazoned with Chinua Achebe's image.
President Jonathan and Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama flew in by helicopter to attend the service at the packed Anglican church
Chinua Achebe's body had arrived back in Nigeria on Wednesday May 22,2013 from the US, where he died