Chinua Achebe
The Failure Interview.
Written by Filed under Arts & Entertainment, History
When Chinua Achebe unveiled “Things Fall Apart” (1958), at the age of 28, he had no idea that his story would ultimately be recognized as a turning point in African literature. Prior to Achebe’s first novel, the so-called “dark continent” had been primarily defined by Western writers, who depicted Africa and its people using uncharitable stereotypes. But in the 1960s, African authors began to tell their own story—presenting the continent from a uniquely African perspective.
In his latest book, “Home and Exile” (2000)—which evolved from a series of lectures given at Harvard in 1998—Achebe applauds this development, while reminding us that Westerners, for the most part, continue to paint Africa in a harsh light. To Achebe, the reason for this dehumanization is clear—it makes inaction much easier to justify. In other words, why bother with Africa? It’s a place where nothing works and nothing will ever work.
Despite the fact that Achebe urges Third World writers to live among and write about their own people, his health makes it impractical to live in his native Nigeria. In 1990, Achebe was involved in a serious automobile accident, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. While recuperating in a London hospital it became evident that acceptable medical treatment would be unavailable in Nigeria, as the country was well into a long period of decline brought on by military dictators.
So for the past ten years, Achebe has been living in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, a small town 90 miles north of New York City, dividing his time between writing and teaching African literature at Bard College. Meanwhile, the long reign of Nigerian dictators has come to an end, and Achebe holds out hope that his beloved country will recover enough under democratically-elected president, Olusegan Obasanjo, to permit a return to his homeland. Failure met with Achebe one snowy afternoon in late March at his on-campus home, to discuss “Home and Exile” and how Africa has been portrayed in the world’s media and literature.
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