Chinua Achebe, the David and Marianna Fisher University professor and professor of Africana studies at Brown University, recently died in Boston on March 21, 2013. Achebe, among the world’s greatest writers of his time, joined the Brown faculty in the fall of 2009. He was the Nigerian-born novelist and poet who wrote the classic “Things Fall Apart.”
Achebe, the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and professor of Africana studies, joined the Brown faculty in September 2009. Best known for his novels and essays which critique postcolonial Nigerian politics and society as well as the impact of the West on Africa, Achebe was widely acknowledged as “godfather” to a generation of African writers. His first novel, Things Fall Apart, is the most widely read work of African fiction, having sold more than 12 million copies in English alone. It has been translated into 50 languages.
Among his activities at Brown was the annual Achebe Colloquium on Africa, an international gathering of scholars, policymakers, elected officials, writers, and others with a shared interest in current-day African affairs.
“Professor Achebe’s contribution to world literature is incalculable,” said Brown President Emerita Ruth J. Simmons, who led the University when Achebe came to Brown. “Millions find in his singular voice a way to understand the conflicting opportunities and demands of living in a post-colonial world. The courageous personal and artistic example he offered will never be extinguished. Brown is fortunate to have been his home.”
