Remembering Chinua Achebe – an African titan

Even to this day, with the rise of African literature into global consciousness, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is the most common point of departure.

At the time when he was writing his first novel, very little African (English) literature was available, beside Cyprian Ekwensi’s People of the City and Amos  Tutuola’s Palm-Wine Drinkard. Nevertheless, Achebe persevered and eventually published Things Fall Apart, which sold over 8 million copies around the globe and translated into 50 languages.

He also proceeded to publish four more novels – Arrow of God, Anthills of the Savannah, No Longer At Ease, A Man of the People – numerous anthologies of short stories and poetry, essays and children’s books.

He passed away at the age of 82 in February 2013, leaving behind a body of work that has significantly changed the way the world sees African literature and its writers.