“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
Chinua Achebe's 1958 novel Things Fall Apart is the most widely read book in modern African literature, with over 20 million copies sold in 57 languages. Set in pre-colonial Igboland, it challenged Western narratives about Africa and gave voice to a continent's complex humanity. Achebe taught at universities across the world and was awarded the Man Booker International Prize in 2007. He remains the founding father of African literature in English.
Things Fall Apart — 20 million copies sold in 57 languages
Man Booker International Prize (2007)
Commonwealth Poetry Prize (1972)
Nigerian National Merit Award
Honorary degrees from more than 30 universities worldwide
Personalities whose journeys echo this archive
Youssou N'Dour is one of the most celebrated musicians in the world and the leading figure of Mbalax — the Senegalese fu…
Known as "Mama Africa," Miriam Makeba became the voice of Black South Africa during the darkest years of apartheid. Exil…
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti created Afrobeat — a fusion of jazz, funk, and traditional Yoruba music — and used it as a weapon ag…
