Chinua Achebe (born, 1930), Nigerian novelist and graduate of the University College at Ibadan (1953), wrote in English and was one of Africa’s most acclaimed authors and considered by some to be the father of modern African literature.
His early novels, including the groundbreaking Things Fall Apart (1958) and No Longer at Ease (1960), describe poignantly the effects of European colonialism on Igbo society, Nigeria, and newly independent African nations. He taught at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1976-81), and was founding editor (1971) of the influential journal Okike.
Achebe returned to the novel form with Anthills of the Savannah (1987). He also wrote numerous short stories, children’s books, and a book of essays, Home and Exile (2000), reflecting on his nation’s coming of age. A paraplegic as a result of a 1990 automobile accident, Achebe lived in the United States and taught at Bard College. In 2007 he was awarded the Man Booker International Prize.