At the BBC Jane Ciabattari asks: Was Chinua Achebe Africa's most influential author ?
With qualifications, I'd say: of course. Certainly, he remains a great father-/founder-figure of contemporary (sub-Saharan) writing -- as also suggested by the authors Ciabattari uses as examples.
Still, perhaps it would have been useful to consider more than just this particular trio of English-writing Nigerian-born authors, all of whom were at least partially educated abroad and live part/most of the time abroad. Yes, they're leading faces of contemporary African literature; yes, Nigeria remains a fount of African writing -- but there's a lot more to it, too.
With qualifications, I'd say: of course. Certainly, he remains a great father-/founder-figure of contemporary (sub-Saharan) writing -- as also suggested by the authors Ciabattari uses as examples.
Still, perhaps it would have been useful to consider more than just this particular trio of English-writing Nigerian-born authors, all of whom were at least partially educated abroad and live part/most of the time abroad. Yes, they're leading faces of contemporary African literature; yes, Nigeria remains a fount of African writing -- but there's a lot more to it, too.