Born on the 16th of November, 1930, in Ogidi in Nigeria, and brought up in Igbo, he was educated at University College in English and Literature before he delved into the world of teaching before joining the broadcasting industry. He then confounded a publishing company with Christopher Okigbo but he died soon after in the Biafran Independence civil war.

He became a research fellow at the University of Nigeria when he returned from a tour of the United States in 1969. Then, after around twenty years of filling that position and also the position of director of two Nigerian publishers, he experienced a car accident that left him partially paralysed. He then moved to the United States, teaching in Bard College, New York, before changing in 2009 to Brown University, Rhode Island. 

Achebe’s success as a writer originates in his first published work, Things Fall Apart, in which Achebe describes life in Igbo during the times of the colonial government. We first see his portrayal of social issues clearly, with the oppressive and corrupting takeover of the African way by the western powers. His novels, especially those such as No Longer at Ease, deal heavily with moral dilemmas and the crises extant within the minds of his characters as well as the crises occurring outside in the tangible world. 

Achebe has also released various poetry collections, such as Beware, Soul-Brother and Christmas in Biafra.