For those who could not attend--and for those who would like to relive the moment, or who couldn't write fast enough to keep up with everything he was saying, keep checking the Library website--they will certainly put up a podcast of the interview.
And finally--Andy Kahan is the author events program director for the Library--we did our grad work together at Rutgers (actually, we also shared an office for a year!) As we chatted tonight, he regretfully mentioned that they had hosted an afternoon gathering for around 400 Phila high school students to talk with Achebe.
Again, glad 4 of you made it--and sorry I didn't get to see 3 of you!
Enjoy the rest of break!
LAZ
3 comments:
I'll probably check out that podcast later on.
It was definitely valuable to hear what Achebe had to say about his book. And he was actually kind of funny. I liked his criticisms on Heart of Darkness because they're true. That book effectively silenced any African voice. It, like he said, alienated Africans. Things Fall Apart however made Africans so much more relatable. It showed the injustice felt by the Africans when all the missionaries came in to "spread the gift of God."
Did anyone catch his answer to what exactly fell apart? I wanted to hear it but I couldn't hear it clearly. It's my understanding that he didn't really give an answer?
I don't think he actually answered what fell apart. He said the meaning was up to the readers themselves (crpytic!), and that you're interpretation is all that is important.
He was funny in a strange kind of way. I liked the way he dug into Heart of Darkness. One thing he said stuck out to me - Conrad only had the Africans (cannibals) say eight words in a row. That's the longest sentence they manage to put together. And even those eight are divided up, so really, the longest phrase is 4 words. It's interesting how symantics like that really effect the way a book is read. The less the Africans say in Heart of Darkness, the more animalistic and beast-like they seem.
I think he said it was six and then two words. Not that it makes that much of a difference.
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