Chinua Achebe, the father of African literature?
“For many people all around the world, Chinua Achebe was their first African writer”
“For many people all around the world, Chinua Achebe was their first African writer.” - Kwame Anthony Appiah
The debate continues as Prof. Wole Soyinka reaffirms his stance that Achebe is not "the father of African literature," pointing to the rich diversity of African literary traditions. What do other literary icons have to say? Explore the varied perspectives on Achebe's legacy.
There is a report that Prof. Soyinka just repeated his stance about Achebe not being “the father of Africa literature.”
Well, we all could remember that just few weeks after Achebe’s demise, Soyinka had this to say; “Chinua himself repudiated such a tag—he did study literature after all, bagged a degree in the subject…Those who seriously believe or promote this must be asked: have you the sheerest acquaintance with the literatures of other African nations, in both indigenous and adopted colonial languages? What must the francophone, lusophone, Zulu, Xhosa, Ewe literary scholars and consumers think of those who persist in such a historic absurdity?”
He maybe right there. That’s his opinion. Just like everyone else has their own.
Of course, I have my own opinion on this issue but will mostly be sighting the opinions of great minds and ins
