Nigerian author Chinua Achebe dies at 82

Photo by Stuart C. Shapiro/Wikimedia

Twice-nominated for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature (1994 and 2004), and a juror for the prize in 1974, Nigerian author Chinua Achebe died on Thursday at the age of 82, the New York Times reported. His writing and novels have been published all over the world, including his most widely known book, Things Fall Apart, which has been published in over fifty languages.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a special tribute to Achebe on the WLT blog, and in the meantime we leave you with a few of Achebe’s words from his most recent book, There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra, which is reviewed in the current issue of WLT and available to read on the WLT website.

“The triumph of the written word is often attained when the writer achieves union and trust with the reader, who then becomes ready to be drawn into unfamiliar territory, walking in borrowed literary shoes so to speak, toward a deeper understanding of self or society, or of foreign peoples, cultures, and situations.” ― Chinua Achebe