UNITED KINGDOM / USA: Nigerian author Chinua Achebe says he "feels good" about being awarded 2007 Man Booker International Prize
Record ID:
1533482
UNITED KINGDOM / USA: Nigerian author Chinua Achebe says he "feels good" about being awarded 2007 Man Booker International Prize
- Title: UNITED KINGDOM / USA: Nigerian author Chinua Achebe says he "feels good" about being awarded 2007 Man Booker International Prize
- Date: 29th June 2007
- Summary: VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE INSIDE THEATRE WIDE OF PODIUM MORE OF AUDIENCE DR. CHIDI ACHEBE, SON OF CHINUA ACHEBE, AND HIS WIFE MIMI, WALK TO STAGE TO BE PRESENTED WITH WINNING CHEQUE AUDIENCE APPLAUDING (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. CHIDI ACHEBE, SON OF CHINUA ACHEBE, SAYING: "Dad couldn't make it. He's resting, on the orders of his physicians, but he sent me and I jumped at the chance to come and attend this wonderful occasion." VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE LISTENING VARIOUS OF ACCEPTANCE SPEECH READ BY CHINUA ACHEBE ON VIDEO LINK AUDIENCE LISTENING AUDIENCE APPLAUDING DR. CHIDI ACHEBE, SON OF CHINUA ACHEBE, SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. CHIDI ACHEBE, SON OF CHINUA ACHEBE, SAYING: "What he achieved at the time he achieved it was to give the African writers a voice, a voice that was there but wasn't being heard, so when people often use that term 'the father of modern literature' what they don't mean is that he was the first. What they do mean is that he achieved what Nelson Mandela terms ' bringing Africa to the world."
- Embargoed: 18th July 2007 09:00
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- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVADXM8IQR91CG5HQSS251FQGKS7
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, considered to be the father of modern African writing, has been named the winner of the 2007 Man Booker International Prize in literature.
Speaking from his home at Bard College in New York, Achebe said he felt proud to be recognised for his work.
"It feels good to be acknowledged at any time," said Achebe who began writing out of a need to tell the stories about Africa and his native Nigeria that had not yet been told. "To be acknowledged, in other words, it means that what I've written has made some impact somewhere," he added.
Achebe's work also revolves around the effects of colonisation in Nigeria and his most famous novel is Things Fall Apart, written in 1958, which quickly became a best-seller. Achebe describes the book as having "a special place in my heart because it was the first." The novel has sold nearly 10 million copies world-wide and has been translated into 50 different languages.
In 1990, Achebe suffered a car accident which left him paralysed from the waist down and requires him to use a wheelchair. On the advice of his doctors Achebe was not able to travel to Britain to receive his prize at a ceremony at Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre. His son, Dr Chidi Achebe, one of the writer's four children, collected the award and a cheque for 60,000 pounds (120,000 US dollars) on his behalf on Thursday (June 28).
Speaking after the ceremony Dr Achebe paid tribute to his father, saying: "What he achieved at the time he achieved it was to give the African writers a voice, a voice that was there but wasn't being heard, so when people often use that term 'the father of modern literature' what they don't mean is that he was the first. What they do mean is that he achieved what Nelson Mandela terms ' bringing Africa to the world."
The Man Booker International Prize is awarded every two years to a living author for a body of work that has contributed to an achievement in fiction on the world stage. Other contenders for the award included Salman Rushdie, Philp Roth, Carlos Fuentes and Ian McEwan.
Achebe expects to publish his next book by the end of this year. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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