Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the most dominant figure in modern African literature. His first novel and magnum opus, Things Fall Apart, occupies a pivotal place in African literature and remains the most widely studied, translated and read African novel. Along with Things Fall Apart, his No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God complete the so called "African Trilogy"; later novels include A Man of the People and Anthills of the Savannah. He is often referred to as the "father of African literature", although he vigorously rejected the characterization.
Born in Ogidi, British Nigeria, Achebe's childhood straddled the worlds of Igbo traditional culture and postcolonial Christianity. He excelled in school and attended what is now the University of Ibadan, where he became fiercely critical of how European literature depicted Africa. Moving to Lagos after graduation, he worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service and garnered international attention for his 1958 novel Things Fall Apart.