Video: An Evening with Chinua Achebe
Author Chinua Achebe reads from and discusses his classic Things Fall Apart for its 50th anniversary.
Nigerian author Chinua Achebe was a world-famous novelist best known for his debut work, Things Fall Apart. The story and Achebe’s other works primarily explore the impact of European colonialism in Africa, particularly through the eyes of the Igbo people. The rapid change brought about by British interests are shown to powerful effect at the end of Things Fall Apart. The troubled protagonist, Okonkwo, returns home after a period of exile to find his ancestral village rapidly converting to Christianity. In just a few short years, everything he believes and values has been set aside, replaced with a world he no longer wants to be a part of.
Things Fall Apart is the most widely recognized of Achebe’s novels, but the author published many other works and was also a prominent thinker, critic, and poet. After a lifetime of activism, he moved to the United States in 1990, teaching as a tenured professor at Bard College and Brown University. He passed away in 2013, but his legacy in literature and philosophy continues.
This video, courtesy of the Library of Congress, features Chinua Achebe as a guest speaker. The event marked the 50th anniversary of Things Fall Apart. Achebe reads aloud from his classic and discusses the meaning behind it for an appreciative audience. The video does contain some spoilers, so be sure to pick up a copy if you haven’t read it!
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