The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) is poised to honour the acclaimed father of African literature, the late Professor Chinua Achebe on his 10th anniversary.

NewsOrient Network reports that ANA’s celebration will be in the form of a roundtable discussion.

Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, is Africa’s most celebrated novelist and undisputed pioneer of what is today known as Modern African Fiction.

His novel, ‘Things Fall Apart,’ published in 1958, is generally acknowledged as a seminal work. It is the novel that first concretely challenged European narratives about Africans.

Things Fall Apart’s appearance also changed the form of the novel genre from what the world knew before to a great new reality. This is because Things Fall Apart came with new a form and a new voice. Since then, literature in Africa and the world has never remained the same.

No wonder that soon after it’s publication, Things Fall Apart became a global hit.

It’s global acceptance soon revolutionised the novel form because it combined oral and literary traditions, an experiment unheard of in the literary world before the coming of Achebe.

Things Fall Apart’s greatness and that of its author, Chinua Achebe, is therefore not limited to the fact that it pioneered African Literature and sold it to the world but also because it actually reshaped the English language to reflect Igbo voices and concepts.

A press release signed by the National Publicity Secretary, ANA, Wole Adedoyin, said the association will host a day roundtable discussion with the theme ‘Re-visiting Chinua Achebe’s Position on Colonial Language and Creative Writing in Africa.’

“This event will take place on Saturday, 20th May 2023, at the prestigious Chinua Achebe International Conference Centre (CAICC) located in the Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village in Mpape, Abuja.

According to Adedoyin, the roundtable discussion will feature an international panel of esteemed scholars, writers, and intellectuals who will explore Achebe’s views on colonial language and its impact on creative writing in Africa.

Panelists include Terri Ochlagha from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, UK; Manfred Metzner from Verlag Das Wunderhorn Publishing in Heidelberg, Germany; Barack Wanderah Oduor, a writer from Webuye, Kenya; Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, a writer and poet from Egypt; and Romeo Oriogun, an author from Iowa, USA.

There will also be contributions from notable figures in the Nigerian literary scene, including Denja Abdulahi, Dike Chukwumerije and Jahman Anikulapo.

The discussion will be moderated by Professor Razinat Mohammed from the University of Abuja and Professor Emmanuel Sule Egya from IBB University.

The convener of the event is Professor E.S. Dandaura.

The chief host of the event is Camillus Ukah, the President of ANA.

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