Chinua in Loving Memory!
Yep, rest now that soul of the pen
the famous name we all celebrated
over the ages, kept the burning flames
when things were up or down
with words of wisdom, sincerely
and you watched the old baobab trees sway
as they danced to times' changes
with the winds of change breezing hot and cold
for the long awaited redemption.
Among the many sons of Africa
you kept your tact to the last breathe
unlike the others who bullied and dictated
not only our conscience but prostituted our virginity
and stripped us naked in all angles
with their tainted ink and barrels of the gun
putting the yokes of the chains back on our necks
after the many years of bitter sorrow
insensitive and unsympathetic to our plight.
Now that time and death has called
a call that everyone must answer to
we mourn and weep bitterly
of your departure to eternity
and we pray that the holy angels
welcomes you with that shiny ink
as you rest in that serene status
on thrones with breezy islands
aloft mansions where the righteous reside.
RIP that Soul of the Pen!
By: Yero Jallow
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [>-<] Pan-African Perspectives/Chinua Achebe Dies
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:52:59 -0500
Nigerian author Chinua Achebe dies
Renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe has died at the age of 82 after a brief illness.
A statement from his family said his "wisdom and courage" were an "inspiration to all who knew him".
One of Africa's best known authors, his 1958 debut novel Things Fall Apart, which dealt with the impact of colonialism in Africa, has sold more than 10 million copies.
He had been living in the US since 1990 following injuries from a car crash.
The writer and academic wrote more than 20 works - some fiercely critical of politicians and a failure of leadership in Nigeria.
South African writer and Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer called him the "father of modern African literature" in 2007 when she was among the judges to award him the Man Booker International Prize in honour of his literary career.
Things Fall Apart has been translated into more than 50 languages and focuses on the traditions of Igbo society and the clash between Western and traditional values.
'Indelible lessons'
The Anambra state government in Nigeria first made the announcement about his death.
Analysts say in Igbo society the death of an important person must be announced by someone in authority.
His home state was in mourning for the death of "the illustrious son of the state, Nigeria and Africa", Mike Udah, spokesman for Anambra state governor Peter Obi, told the BBC.
A statement released on behalf of his family said Mr Achebe was "one of the great literary voices of his time".
"He was also a beloved husband, father, uncle and grandfather, whose wisdom and courage are an inspiration to all who knew him. Professor Achebe's family requests privacy at this time."
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan said Mr Achebe's admirers had all learnt "indelible lessons of human existence" from his works.
"Achebe's frank, truthful and fearless interventions in national affairs will be greatly missed at home in Nigeria because while others may have disagreed with his views, most Nigerians never doubted his immense patriotism and sincere commitment to the building of a greater, more united and prosperous nation that all Africans and the entire black race could be proud of," the president said in a statement.
Last year, Mr Achebe published a long-awaited memoir about the brutal three-year Biafran war - when the south-eastern Igbo region tried to split from Nigeria in 1967.
After leaving Nigeria, he worked in the US as a professor. His 1990 car accident left him paralysed from the waist down and in a wheelchair.
A statement of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory said it offered its condolences to the Achebe family.
The former South African president and anti-apartheid fighter, who spent 27 years in jail, "referred to Prof Achebe as a writer 'in whose company the prison walls fell down'", the statement said.