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May 28, 2008
“Young as I was, I knew that I wanted the story to be true, true in the way fiction can be true.” - Chinua Achebe
In this video interview, Chinua Achebe looks back through the 50 years since his novel was published and reflects on African literature today.  For many years, the story of Africa was told almost exclusively through the words of European writers. That began to change in the 1950s, as African countries achieved independence and African writers began to tell their own stories. In 1958 Chinua Achebe, an English educated Igbo (Ibo) tribesman from Eastern Nigeria published his first novel, “Things Fall Apart.” It describes the intricate complexity of Igbo culture and traditional village life in the late 19th century, and the inevitable clash with British colonization and arrival of European missionaries. The novel was an immediate critical success, soon becoming a classic of world literature, translated into some 50 languages, selling 11 million copies. Achebe has since written numerous other works of fiction, mostly set in post-colonial Africa, as well as nonfiction and poetry. He has been awarded 30 honorary degrees from universities and colleges and last year he won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for Fiction. Since 1990 he has lived and taught at Bard College in New York. Questions to discuss with your class include: Do you think it’s fair that Achebe has been criticized by some younger authors for using English, the language of their “colonial imperialist oppressors”? What do you suppose might be Achebe’s response? A major theme in “Things Fall Apart” is confrontation between traditional indigenous society and modern “western” society. What, if anything, could have helped resolve this type of conflict more fairly and peacefully? Did the interview with Achebe give you insight into the novel and its meaning? How does seeing and hearing the author change your perception of their book?
Below are web links related to this story
NewsHour Links
Conversation: Achebe Discusses Africa 50 Years After ‘Things Fall Apart’
In-Depth Coverage: Oil and Politics in Nigeria
Background Report: Ethnicity in Nigeria
Other Links
EDSITEment Lesson: Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: Teaching Through the Novel
Wikipedia: Chinua Achebe
Guardian International: Achebe Interview: A long way from home
Internet Book List: Chinua Achebe
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