Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebewas a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first novel Things Fall Apartwas considered his magnum opus, and is the most widely read book in modern African literature...
NationalityNigerian
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth16 November 1930
CityOgidi, Nigeria
CountryNigeria
writing voice perspective
Writing has always been a serious business for me. I felt it was a moral obligation. A major concern of the time was the absence of the African voice. Being part of that dialogue meant not only sitting at the table but effectively telling the African story from an African perspective - in full earshot of the world.
believe thinking perspective
I believe in the complexity of the human story, and that there's no way you can tell that story in one way and say, 'this is it.' Always there will be someone who can tell it differently depending on where they are standing ... this is the way I think the world's stories should be told: from many different perspectives.
moving thinking perspective
If you're rooted to a spot, you miss a lot of the grace. So you keep moving, and this is the way I think the world's stories should be told - from many different perspectives.
leaders nigerians
Nigerians are what they are because their leaders are not what they should be
abandoned falsehood notion recognize third waste
What's important is that we recognize the falsehood of the notion that the Third World should be abandoned because it's a waste of time.
expect fellow full life lives next observe
The most important thing about myself is that my life has been full of changes. Therefore, when I observe the world, I don't expect to see it just like I was seeing the fellow who lives in the next room.
Nigera is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be.
character
There must be areas in which a particular character does not represent you.
writing accepting
What you must accept is that your life is not going to be the same while you are writing.
trying done kind
I prefer to go on trying all kinds of things, not to be told, This is the way it is done.
thinking
Just think of the work you've set yourself to do, and do it as well as you can.
book thinking ask-me
If you ask me, Now, is it your best book? I would say, I don't really know. I wouldn't even want to say. And I'd even go on and say, I don't even think so.
commitment artist political
There is something about important stories that is not just the message, but also the way that message is conveyed, the arrangement of the words, the felicity of the language. So it's really a balance between your commitment, whether it's political or economic or whatever, and your craft as an artist.
writing teach
I wouldn't have wanted anyone to teach me how to write. That's my own taste. I prefer to stumble on it.