₦airaland Forum

Which African writer wrote better than Chinua Achebe?

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IkennaNweke:
Which African writer wrote better than Chinua Achebe?

Camara Laye (The Radiance of the King and African Child)
But "Things Fall Apart" is one of the top 100 books ever written by Man.

Not sure if there is any, not saying there is none though but Achebe's Things fall apart is one oof the top books written by a man to be interpreted or transcribed to many foreign languages. He s truly a legend

Adaezeagu:
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just booking space nne'm?

What's all this rubbish about comparing creative people? It makes no sense.

You guys forget that we are talking about literature as an art, and using the word 'better' does not capture it.
Depending on the reader, critic or environment the criteria for measuring which writer is better will be entirely different.
Why do humans like putting people in a box by classifying them as better or worse.
We have had a horde of brilliant writers over the past century in the African continent, majority of whom even the OP has not read even if you spend every minute of your life reading.

The question is subjective and can only lead to arguments and counter-arguments.

My two cents though.

WOLE SOYINKA

Wole soyinka

None

Talking about one writer being better than the other is out of it. Each writer has his own style. Individual style is what distinguishes a writer from his peers. If you're going to say one writer is better than another, in what context would that be? Writers write in various genres. Soyinka writes plays and poems. Achebe and Adichie are strictly into prose. Others too choose where they belong. It's a matter of choice. I've seen people comparing Soyinka with Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Achebe with Adichie and all that. From all indications, each writer has his own style determined by his experience. You may prefer one writer to another but no need proposing that one is better than another.

Wole Soyinka and Ben Okri are better

I think Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka says he loathes any such comparison with Chinua.

He's gone further to say he would not even want to compare any of his own works with themselves.

Art and literary appreciation, according to him, is a function of mood at any given point in time.

I so much crave for Chinua's books sometimes, that I find myself reading "Arrow of God"'s publishers' names over and over. The next hour, it's Reuben Abati's archive I'm digging into online and offline. And would trash every Chinua's book that tries to stop me en route. That's mood!

Good readers don't compare authors, especially along ethnic lines. Everyone is useful in his time.

Oluwole Soyinka naa

Chimamanda...maybe?

Chinua Achebe is not just a household name but a universal figure too...no one else

All those shouting Wole Soyinka should go for a medical check up

I prefer Soyinka any day.

What is all these rubbish comparison going to achieve? Must you compare people just to find out who is the best?

One other thread was comparing Chimamanda with Achebe. I wonder what the OP stands to benefit if he finds out who's better

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Wole the cultist from our land should retire to writing dictionary

Anambra born Chinua Achebe is Africa's best and equally the father of modern African literature.

His works has been translated into over 150 languages across the world. No African has ever achieved this singular feat!

Which other African Writer is aNoble Laureate ?

There are many, I know. No soul knows it all. But for now, I'm content with the fact that he is my best!

Chris Abani

The undisputed god of African literature. OLUWOLE SOYINKA. THE NOBEL PRIZE WINNER IN LITERATURE.