'Things Fall Apart' writer talks on Afro-pessimism

Chinua Achebe — a Nigerian novelist best known for his 1958 novel "Things Fall Apart" — spoke Friday about Western prejudice and misconceptions of Africa. His speech, titled "Insider Perspectives on Afro-Pessimism: Rethinking Our Role as Contemporary Self-Critics," drew enough spectators to pack Friend 101 auditorium.

Achebe's lecture was followed by a workshop Saturday on writing about Afro-pessismism, sponsored by the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts.

Anthropology professor and member of the Council of the Humanities Anne-Maria Makhulu introduced the author, poet, critic and Bard College professor, noting that "Things Fall Apart," his best-known work, has been translated into 45 languages.

Achebe's talk addressed the misconceptions that Europeans and other Western nations have traditionally held about Africa and its people, called Afro-pessimism.

Achebe said he is known for his candid and sometimes harsh portrayal of the realities of living in Africa.

"I have a certain reputation for saying hard things about politics in Africa, specifically Nigeria," he said.

Many of Achebe's own novels end in tragedy and disappointment.

"The recurrent story of Africa is that Africans and Africa will always fail," Achebe said to explain his unhappy endings.

Because of this "mystique that there is something that dooms Africa and Africans," Achebe said he attempts to use these stories of failure to create something Africans can rise above.

"Achebe's endings open up spaces in which a new future and possibilities can be opened," Simon Gikandi, a professor in the University's English department and author of a number of books about Africa and Achebe, said in a brief response to Achebe's speech.

"There is no doubt that, for my generation, Achebe's works stand as a force in our lives," he added.

During a question-and-answer session, one of Achebe's former classmates from Nigeria spoke about Achebe's status as an inspiration to all Africans tired of other nations' inaccurate presumptions concerning them.

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"When growing up, we did not think that anyone would do anything about the idea that we are trapped in stereotypes and people keep defining us," he said. "Chinua provides the reason of some degree of optimism. Out of the darkness, there is light, and Africa is extremely proud."

Tess Cecil-Cockwell '08 attended Achebe's lecture and was struck by his poise and wisdom about Africa.

"He did not answer any questions that he could not give an articulate answer to," she said. "That only gave the answers he did say more validity and respect."

The lecture was cosponsored by the Walter E. Edge Lectures, the Princeton Institute of International and Regional Studies, the anthropology department and the African Studies Program.