At least not for Chinau Achebe on the 50th anniversary of his novel — the focus of a celebration in New York City coming up on Wednesday night — as an interview with the Village Voice proves.
Excerpt:
After teaching undergrads at a liberal-arts college like Bard for almost two decades, what have you concluded about using multicultural literature to eradicate racism and xenophobia?
The number of children who are reading Things Fall Apart in high school has increased enormously, especially among the students who take my classes. For me, that’s a very good sign. Because this generation has a lot of responsibility waiting for it. And how they link up with others their age in distant places may well determine how our civilization survives in this century.
Here.
[...] May 19, 2008 · No Comments Chinau Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is 50 years old this year. It’s been a good year or so for the Nigerian man of letters. He was awarded the Man Book Prize (a kind of Booker for non-Brits) and has events just dedicated to him in New York City. [...]