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Things Fall Apart, tells of a troubled young African whose formal education separates him from his roots and makes him part of a corrupt ruling elite he despises. ... Read more

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This book provides a detailed examination of the writings of Chinua Achebe, Africa's best-known and most widely-read author, shortlisted for the 1987 Booker Prize. Dr Innes studies his writings, lectures and activities chronologically, in the context of Nigerian culture and politics and their interaction with Western cultures and powers. Her analysis goes beyond that of previously published studies, to examine Achebe's short stories, essays and poetry, and his most recent publications, Anthills of the Savannah (1987) and Hopes and Impediments (1988). Particular emphasis is placed on Achebe's departure from European literary models to create a new kind of fiction which seeks to challenge the preconceptions of African and Western audiences alike, and which is of considerable literary and political significance. This study will be invaluable to readers of Achebe and to students and teachers of African literature and politics, and modern fiction. ... Read more

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Though best known as a novelist, Achebe is also a critic, activist, and spokesman for African culture. This reference is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to his life and writings. Included are several hundred alphabetically arranged entries. Some of these are substantive summary discussions of Achebe's major works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Entries are written by expert contributors and close with brief bibliographies. The volume also provides a general bibliography and chronology. ... Read more

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Achebe: The Man and His Works uses the critical essay format to assess Chinua Achebe as a person, a writer and the inaugurator of the literary tradition of cultural nationalism. It progressively and thematically analyses his novels and works, comparing them with those of African literary and cultural groundbreakers in the Diaspora, including the pioneering works of Olaudah Equiano and Zora Neale HurstonThe book is a unique and fresh addition to the body of writings on Africa's most respected novelist, widely acclaimed as the father of modern African literature, and generally believed to be one of the 100 most important writers of the 20th and 21st centuries. A must read!____________________Dr. Rose Ure Mezu was born in Nigeria and studied in Port-Harcourt, (Nigeria), Abidjan, (Côte d'Ivoire ), Buffalo (New York) and Paris (France) where she graduated with a Diplôme d'Étudesfrom the Sorbonne. She obtained a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature in 1993, specializing in Francophone and Anglo-phone Feminist Literature. She had been a Commissioner of Social Welfare in Imo State, Nigeria, and is currently an Associate Professor of English, Women Studies and Comparative Literature at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She is also the founder and Co-ordinator of WADS: Black Creativity & the State of the Race, which organizes international and interdisciplinary conferences on Africa and the Diaspora.A widely published scholar, her books include Women in Chains: Abandonment in Love Relationships in the Fiction of Selected West African Writers (1994), Songs of the Hearth (1993), Homage to my People (2004), A History of Africana Women's Literature (2004), and with Dr S. Okechukwu Mezu, Black Nationalists: Reconsidering Du Bois, Garvey, Booker T. & Nkrumah (1999). ... Read more

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Remarkable
A must read. Amazing insights in comparing works from other diasporan authors. A wealth of knowledge and fresh ideas makes this an interesting and really well thought out read. I would highly recommend this book. Thank you. ... Read more

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They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes™ has developed a loyal community of dedicated users and become a major education brand. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over 150 titles.SparkNotes'™ motto is Smarter, Better, Faster because:

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And with everything covered--context; plot overview; character lists; themes, motifs, and symbols; summary and analysis, key facts; study questions and essay topics; and reviews and resources--you don't have to go anywhere else!

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helpful book
I bought this book for my 15 year old to help her understand the full lenghth book. It was easy to read and focused on the items the teacher wanted them to know. ... Read more

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This important anthology draws together well-established authors and the best of new writers, capturing the diversity of African writing across the continent. ... Read more

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Written during the Nigerian Civil War, this collection of poetry won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1972. ... Read more

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An exploration and celebration of the writer who, for the last half century has been at the forefront of modern African writing. ... Read more

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Chinua Achebe is one of the world’s leading novelists, a writer who, according to Nadine Gordimer, "makes you laugh and then catches your breath in horror."Growing up in the cultural crossroads of colonial Nigeria, he lived and mediated in a world in which people moved between allegiance to traditional Igbo beliefs and values and those introduced by the British, particularly Anglican Christianity under the Church Missionary Society (CMS).

His urge to write developed as an answer to European caricatures of African characters in such novels as Joyce Cary’s Mister Johnson or Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.Africans needed to tell their own stories, and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, published in 1958, became the first attempt by an African to tell a serious African story.Its remarkable success, compared to the works of the best in Greek tragedy, launched the development of a whole continent’s literature, and resulted in the appointment ofChinua Achebe as the founding editor of Heinemann Publishers’ African Writers Series.

Witnessing the fateful 1966 coup led by the young Igbo soldier, Captain Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, and the horrific backlash against the Igbos, Achebe, then Director of External Broadcasting for Radio Nigeria, began to lose hope in a united Nigeria and subsequently became a lead figure during the Nigerian Civil War in the struggle for Biafran independence.Since the end of the Civil War, Achebe has been an active voice against all forms of indiscipline in Nigeria, teaching, participating in politics, and writing.He is the recipient of several major international awards and recognition.The Times of London named him as "one of the 1,000 Makers of the 20th Century."This book, intended for youth and the general reader, is the story of his remarkable life. ... Read more

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A collection of poetry spanning the full range of the African-born author's acclaimed career has been updated to include seven never-before-published works, as well as much of his early poetry that explores such themes as the African consciousness, the tragedy of Biafra, and the mysteries of human relationships. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A powerful collection of poems from a great writer
Chinua Achebe: Collected Poems is a book that celebrates the brilliance and virtuoso of a gifted writer. Achebe's language is elegant. His visionary committment is impressive. Much of the poems are reinforced by the poet's employment of images and elements from the African oral tradition. "A Wake for Okigbo" is superbly written. The poem is a tribute to Achebe's childhood friend and arguably Africa's greatest poet, Christopher Okigbo. Okigbo's death in the heat of the Nigerian civil war robbed the world of his full potential. This poem is fine tribute to him by a close friend and kinsman. Achebe's references to elements from Igbo
culture works wonders in this poem and gives readers something to cheer about the poet's unlimited gifts as a writer. Other poems that standout include "Christmas in Biafra" and "A Mother in a Refugee Camp." These poems are testimonies to major historical and cultural milestones and events that defined Achebe's generation and post independence Nigeria.
Overall, the collection is solid. Only a writer with Achebe's pedigree can handle the English language with such sophistication and class.

Met any great poets lately?Here's your chance...
Within the bright yet unremarkable cover of this small book is the world as seen through the eyes of Mr. Chinua Achebe.The world witnessed by this talented Nigerian-born author and poet contains death, hope, strife, hunger, joy, love, wisdom, and wonder-and Achebe ushers his audience on an emotional journey through them all.As I read "Collected Poems", I became more interested in the poet himself and was driven to learn more about the man behind the words.What continues to impresses me the most about Achebe is the half-century span of his creative effort and quiet achievement in literature.As I thought more on this, I found that beside his sometimes brutally heart-wrenching imagery, what disturbs me about this man's literary work is that America is mostly unaware of its existence.

As undeniable proof that big things come in small packages, Achebe's mastery of the English vocabulary shines in this thin but powerful collection of poetry.He begins with a short preface then presents his poetry in five categorized chapters.At the back of the book are a few pages of notes, which I found to be a welcome and indispensable reference.

Steeped in the tragedies of a Biafra too soon forgotten, the chapter titled "Poems About War" is perhaps the most compelling.Achebe brings to light aspects of war sometimes overlooked.For example, in "A Mother In A Refugee Camp," a mother's love for her child converges with her hopeless acceptance of that child's imminent death from starvation.Passing on into the chapter of "Poems Not About War," the reader will discover such gems as "Public Execution In Pictures" and marvel at Achebe's ability to capture the emotion of such an event.The poem expresses gratitude that children who see of atrocities in newspaper photographs have not themselves witnessed them firsthand.At the same time, there is an unspoken regret that they may never fully understand injustice and or human suffering.

Much of this book has seen prior publication in 1973's "Christmas in Biafra and Other Poems".For those of us whose memory of the Biafran War has grown dim and for those unfortunate enough not to have read his earlier book, the reintroduction of Achebe's vision in "Collected Poems" is nothing short of a gift.So mired are we in our own day-to-day minutia that we rarely notice what has happened or what is happening elsewhere in human terms.Mr. Achebe has, with his elegant words in "Collected Poems", given both a reason and a means to see beyond our own doorstep. ... Read more

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This study note is suitable for English Literature A-Literature and undergraduate students. The book offers a high standard of literary criticism,ideasand thought-provoking questions.The guide is written by a literary critic, teacher at the tertiary level, who has subjected the issues in the guide to intellectual discourse and the feedbacks incorporated to make this book student-friendly. Unravel the secret! FEATURES THAT YOU WILL ENJOY IN THIS BOOK A background study of the author The literary world of the author and his contemporaries Summaries of the text Glossaries Critical commentaries Analysis of characterization, style, language, setting and themes. Sample questions Specimen essay formats Suggestions for further reading ... Read more

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This book discusses the psychological topography of Korean, Nigerian, and Indian people by exploring the counter-colonial discourse through the study of works by three writers-Yom Sang-Sop, Chinua Achebe and Salman Rushdie-counter-colonial discourse in the works of these three writers strikes back at powerful colonial discourses, Soonsik Kim successfully brings out the Third World "voice" against the colonial legacy of the West and gives readers a taste of being "the Other." This book marks a significant transition in the critical attention of Third World discourse from mere projection to subjective viewpoint. ... Read more