Product Description

Chinua Achebe is one of the founding fathers of African literature in English, a writer of world stature whose novel Things Fall Apart is one of the essential works of the twentieth century. This Collected Poems draws on his three collections of poetry, and includes seven previously unpublished poems; it reveals a lifetime of poetic engagement with politics, war and culture, inherited wisdom and the making of new futures. Achebe's poems are ironic, generous and tender, drawing deep on the Igbo traditions of his African roots, confronting the continent's harsh realities of violence and exploitation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #433870 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Review
'There was a writer named Chinua Achebe, in whose company the prison walls fell down.' Nelson Mandela 'The father of African literature in the English language and undoubtedly one of the most important writers of the second half of the twentieth century.' Caryl Phillips 'Chinua Achebe is gloriously gifted with the magic of an ebullient, generous, great talent.' Nadine Gordimer 'He taught us a way of integrating what we know from being African with what we've become - hybrids of a kind.' Nuruddin Farah 'A magical writer - one of the greatest of the twentieth century.' Margaret Atwood

About the Author
Chinua Achebe was born in Ogidi in 1930, and graduated from Ibadian University in 1953. After studying in the BBC staff school with other Commonwealth broadcasters, he worked as a radio broadcaster until 1966, when he left his post as director of external broadcasting in Nigeria during the national upheaval that led to the Biafran War. He was appointed senior research fellow at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and lectured widely abroad. From 1972 to 1975 and again from 1987 to 1988, Mr Achebe was Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has travelled widely in East and Central Africa, the USA and Brazil. Chinua Achebe has published novels, short stories, poetry, essays and children's books. His volume of poetry, Christmas in Biafra, was the joint winner of the first Commonwealth Poetry Prize. Of his novels, Arrow of God won the New Statesman-Jock Campbell Award, and Anthills of the Savannah was a finalist for the 1987 Booker Prize. He has received over thirty honorary doctorates and numerous honours from around the world, including the Honorary Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Nigerian National Order of Merit. Mr Achebe lives with his wife in New York, where they teach at Bard College. They have four children and three grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

brilliant pictures of what was, is and could be...
This collection of poems from Africa's most acclaimed novelist is full creative sketches of different times, people, events and customs in Nigeria. It opens with the poem, "1966", a brief, powerful evocation of the heady days before the Nigerian civil war. It ends with three poems in an epilogue, all soaked with a faint scent of sadness at a society that neglects its own virtue and strength; and laughs derisively at its latent capacity to dream. Inbetween, Achebe uses his characteristic style- brief but graphic words; strong, afro-centric metaphors- to address diverse socio-cultural and political issues of post-war Nigeria.

Some of the poems stand gingerly at powerful milestones in Nigeria's modern history; like "The First Shot" with its immortalization of the first bullet fired in the Biafran war. Others are sad; like "A Wake for Okigbo" and its evocative dirge to Christopher Okigbo, the poet turned soldier who didn't survive the war. Some are tongue in cheek; like "Misunderstanding" and a few are shocking; like the poem, "Lazarus".

These poems are not pretentious or convoluted. They talk about real things in simple words. Nigeria's problems with organizing a census, the firing squads of Bar Beach, the foolishness of organized religion, the neglected wisdom of indigenous culture and inner battles to understand reality- these are some of the diverse issues covered masterfully in this collection.

I recommend it for those looking to enjoy simple yet powerful poetry.