Chinua Achebe to deliver University of Cambridge lecture
11th October 2010
Things Fall Apart author Chinua Achebe is to give a public lecture at the University of Cambridge next month.
On November 19th, Achebe will present the first of an annual series of lectures in honour of Dr Audrey Richards, the anthropologist who established the university's Centre of African Studies.
In the lecture, the writer will read from his forthcoming autobiographical book on the Nigeria-Biafra War.
Professor Megan Vaughan, director of the centre, said the university is 'deeply honoured' that Achebe will deliver its first annual African studies lecture.
'Achebe is one of Africa's leading intellectuals. His authoritative voice is critical and humane, direct and compassionate,' she commented.
She also claimed that the author's fiction and non-fiction works play an important role in charting the political, economic and social evolution of the continent in its post-colonial period.
Last month, Achebe was named as the recipient of the 2010 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, which was founded by silent film stars Dorothy and Lillian Gish to celebrate artists who have shaped the cultural landscape of their chosen fields.