Our latest interview is by Geoffrey Gyasi, a writer, reader, poet and blogger at Geosi Reads. Here he is chatting with Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, a writer and professor of English. She talks about her career as an educator and about writing.
Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo was born and raised in Eastern Nigeria, but now lives in Lagos. Raised partially in a rural environment and partially in the city, she combines these two factors, as background and setting for her children’s stories and adult fiction.
Akachi obtained her Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Masters (MA) degrees in English from the University of Lagos and her Ph. D from University of Ibadan, in Nigeria. A lecturer, writer, novelist, critic, essayist, journalist, and administrator, she was appointed a professor of English at University of Lagos in 1999. She has taught in this university, in the Department of English, since 1981. She has travelled extensively in Africa, Europe and in the USA. She is married to Professor Chris Ezeigbo and they have three children.
No matter what anyone says, I regard Achebe as the father of ‘modern African literature’ – what some people refer to as ‘postcolonial African literature’. The prestige African literature enjoys globally today is a result of the ground-breaking work done by Achebe (especially with his Things Fall Apart) and a few other writers like him. I will always remember him as a man of courage and integrity; a great patriot and lover of his people. I remember him with gratitude for being the founder of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), an organization I am very proud of.
Follow this link to read the full interview.
