'Father of African literature' Chinua Achebe dies at 82

Renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe has died, according to a report by the BBC. BBC stated that the news was confirmed by the spokesman for the Anambra state government, which was the home state of the late author. According to an Associated Press report, the author’s death has also been confirmed by his publisher. The author who was born in Nigeria in 1930 was 82 years old. The report states, quotes, the spokesman for Anambra state governor Peter Obi, Mike Udah as saying, “His home state of Anambra, in south-eastern Nigeria, was in mourning for its “illustrious son”. Achebe’s most famous work was the 1958 novel Things Fall Apart, which was hugely influential and has been translated into over fifty languages across the world. The book has sold over 8 million copies. The book deals with the impact of colonialism in Africa and focused on how British imperialism and Christian missionaries impacted the traditional Igbo society (in the novel it is Ibo). [caption id=“attachment_671952” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chinua Achebe, Nigerian-born novelist and poet poses his life at his home on the campus of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York in this file photo. AP[/caption] Achebe was also a leading critic of how Westerners had portrayed Africa, especially in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.He was nominated for the Man Booker Prize for his 1987 novel, the A_nthills of the Savannah_, which is about a military coup in the fictional West African nation of Kangan. Achebe had been living in the US since 1990 following injuries from a car crash and was the Professor of Africana Studies and was the David and Marianna University Professor at Brown University. Some other works by Achebe are No Longer at Ease (sequel to Things Fall Apart), Arrow of God, and A Man of the People. He also wrote short stories, poems and children’s stories. Here is his winners speech while accepting the Man Booker international prize 2007: