Chinua Achebe

Philip Roth gets 'Unmasked' on PBS -- or does he?

2013-03-27 13:47:00

I’m of two minds about “Philip Roth: Unmasked,” the “American Masters” documentary that airs Friday night on PBS. On the one hand, it’s always a pleasure to hear Roth, who turned 80 this month and recently announced...

Poems said to be handwritten by F. Scott Fitzgerald to be auctioned

2013-03-26 08:45:00

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a sweet poem for actress Helen Hayes' daughter, Mary McArthur. Then, six years later, he penned her another one on the reverse of the same page that's, well, a little unsettling. Would you write to a 7-year-old about the "thumb-...

Stephen Colbert awards Junot Diaz the Nobel Prize?

2013-03-26 11:36:00

Stephen Colbert had author Junot Diaz on his show Monday night to talk about immigration. He introduced Diaz by saying, "My guest tonight won a Nobel Prize and a MacArthur Genius grant." Sure, Diaz has been racking up awards like nobody's business. He...

Jane Goodall book postponed after plagiarism issues raised

2013-03-25 08:31:00

Primatologist Jane Goodall and publisher Grand Central have announced they will delay publication of Goodall's forthcoming tree-focused book "Seeds of Hope" in the wake of accusations that certain passages were plagiarized. The Washington Post noted the...

L.A. Times Festival of Books schedule announced

2013-03-25 10:00:00

The program schedule for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books was released Monday morning. The schedule, which is online, includes the complete list of author appearances and special events during the Festival of Books, April 20-21, on the campus of...

Chinua Achebe dies at 82; Nigerian writer

2013-03-23 00:00:00

JOHNANNESBURG, South Africa — When Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe was in college, a European professor assigned "Mister Johnson," which portrayed Africa as a land of grinning, shrieking savages. Time magazine called it "the best novel ever written...

Remembering Chinua Achebe, a writer who connected us to the world

2013-03-22 16:00:00

When I think about Chinua Achebe, who died Thursday in Boston at age 82, I remember an event, five years ago, at Manhattan’s Town Hall. The occasion was a commemoration, sponsored by PEN American Center, of the 50th anniversary of Achebe’s...

Obama brokers Israeli apology for Turkish activists' deaths

2013-03-22 09:11:00

JERUSALEM – Spurred by President Obama as he concluded his three-day visit to�Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally apologized to Turkey�over the 2010 killing by Israeli soldiers of nine Turkish activists aboard a Gaza Strip-bound...

Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, 82, dies

2013-03-22 08:44:00

JOHNANNESBURG, South Africa -- Acclaimed Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, who wrote “Things Fall Apart,” died Friday after a brief illness. He was 82. Achebe, often called the father of African literature, was best known for “Things Fall...

Egypt allows showing of 'Jews of Egypt' documentary

2013-03-22 11:21:00

CAIRO – The battle between censors and filmmakers over�"Jews of Egypt" ended this week when authorities granted permission for the documentary to be shown despite fears it may agitate Egypt’s anti-Israeli hatred amid months of political unrest...

Italian marines return to India to face murder charges

2013-03-22 10:44:00

NEW DELHI – Two Italian marines who had been refusing to return to India to stand trial for murder were flown back to New Delhi on Friday evening, ending a diplomatic standoff that threatened to derail relations between the two nations and test...

Cyprus scrambles to put together bailout package

2013-03-22 10:57:00

ATHENS -- Racing against time and short on choices, Cyprus on Friday moved to vote on yet another bailout formula its government cobbled together to secure a $13-billion international lifeline that will keep its weak banks afloat and avert a devastating...

Achebe's 1958 debut novel, "Things Fall Apart," presented European colonization from an African viewpoint and established him as the patriarch of modern African literature. He was 82.

2013-03-26 13:16:40

Achebe made his name more than 50 years ago with his novel "Things Fall Apart," about his Igbo ethnic group's fatal brush with British colonialism in the 1800s.

2013-03-22 07:54:55

Author Chinua Achebe and the cover of 'There Was a Country.'

2012-11-08 13:38:50