Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist and poet who is also remembered for his work as a professor and critic. His masterpiece, Things Fall Apart, is read in classrooms around the world and is the most widely read book in modern African literature.
‘Answer’ by Chinua Achebe portrays a persona shedding off insecurities about his homeland. He stops comparing it to that of his colonizers, seeing it as the vibrant place it always was.
I broke at last
the terror-fringed fascination
that bound my ancient gaze
to those crowding faces
‘Love Cycle’ by Chinua Achebe describes sunrise, sunset, and their effects on Earth using the metaphor of a barely happy couple.
At dawn slowly
the sun withdraws his
long misty arms of
embrace. Happy lovers
‘Air Raid’ by Chinua Achebe is a poem that provides a glimpse into the Nigerian/Biafran Civil War using symbolism and dark humor.
It comes so quickly
the bird of death
from evil forests of Soviet technology
A man crossing the road
‘Dereliction’ by Chinua Achebe is an ambiguous poem in which three speakers elaborate on the action of, a probable consequence of, and probable pardon for, failing to fulfil one’s duties.
I quit the carved stool
in my father’s hut to the swelling
chant of saber-tooth termites
raising in the pith of its wood
a white-bellied stalagmite
‘Vultures’ is one of the famous poems of the Nigerian poet Chinua Achebe. It is a dark and somber piece that focuses on the Belsen concentration camp and a commandant who works there.
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