 Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Wade. And I'm Ryan Gertzma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live. Art is and always was at the service of man. Our ancestors created their myths and told their stories for a human purpose. Any good story, any good novel, should have a message. It should have a purpose. These words are from Nigerian writer Chinua Acebe. As a young man, Acebe grew up in Igbo Nigerian culture. He saw the beauty and deep tradition of African people. But when he looked at popular culture, he saw something different. Some films and books from around the world showed African people as foolish or stupid. Acebe believed this was very wrong. He believed it was bad for African people. And in fact, it was bad for the world. Today's spotlight is on Chinua Acebe. Many people consider Chinua Acebe to be the father of modern African literature. That is, he began a very important movement. He affected all of Africa with the novels or books he wrote. Acebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. His full name was Albert Chinua Lumogu Acebe. His parents named him in honor of Prince Albert in England. Acebe's father was a teacher in a missionary school. And his parents were strong Christians. But they also taught him many values of the surrounding traditional Igbo culture. Acebe was a skilled student. At university, he studied English, history and theology or faith. He also studied broadcasting. At university, Acebe also rejected his given British name, Albert. Instead, he took his middle name, an African name, Chinua. After university, Acebe traveled in Africa and America. He also worked in radio and was a teacher. But in 1958, Acebe made a permanent mark on the world. He wrote a book called Things Fall Apart. Today, this book appears in more than 50 languages. It has sold more than 11 million copies. This book began a new kind of writing about Africa. Things Fall Apart is the story of a very successful African man. His name is Okonkwo. In the story, Okonkwo is a leader in his village. But after a terrible accident, he must leave his village. Things Fall Apart tells about Okonkwo's life. It tells Okonkwo's religious beliefs and his traditions. It tells about his children and the way the people in his village live. This seems like a very normal story. And it is a very normal story. That is why it is so important. The characters in the book are very real. Acebe showed the world what African people really felt and said and how they acted. This was a very new way to write stories about any African people. Acebe writes stories about Africa for a particular reason. For a long time, Acebe was interested in language. He listened to the people around him in Nigeria. They loved language. He heard them speak with great eloquence. They spoke beautifully. But Acebe did not see the same sort of eloquence and beauty from African people in modern literature of the time. A popular writer of the time was Joseph Conrad. One of his most famous books is called Heart of Darkness. He wrote it in 1902. The story tells of a European man and his travels in parts of Africa. In those days, many Europeans called Africa the Dark Continent. Many believed that African people were not intelligent. They looked at them like animals. They believed the ceremonies and traditions of the Africans were foolish and even evil. Some people believed that Joseph Conrad's book showed Africans in this way. Acebe tells about the longest group of words said by an African character in Heart of Darkness. The character says only eight words. And he is not very eloquent. The African man says, Catch him, give him to us, eat him. The African man who says this is a cannibal. He is looking for someone to eat. In other parts of the novel, this man does not even speak. He shouts in high tones like an angry bird and makes animal noises. Acebe saw this short speech as an insult to the people of Africa. So he wanted to do something different. In an interview with Lorene Carey at the Free Library of Philadelphia, Acebe tells why he wanted to write a book about his people. He says, The people I was writing about wanted their story told. The people of my village wanted their story told. I wanted my story told. I was very young, but I had begun to read other people's stories. And I was beginning to wonder, where was mine? Acebe believed that no one had told the real story of the real people of Africa. Africans in literature did not seem human. These stories lacked the beautiful language Acebe heard around him. And he felt that taking away this language took worth away from Africans. He told Lorene Carey, When I am talking about my story, giving me back my story, I mean giving Africans back the story in which we are human. No matter how damaged or bad we are as humans, we cannot give language to some people and take it away from others. That is what things fall apart is about. What I say must be true. I cannot act as if the Africans I am writing about are angels, that they are perfect, they are not. I have to say that they are human. I lived in the village and I knew the people of the village. They were not people without language. Acebe's books test old ways of thinking about African people. He believes that language and literature greatly influence people. In the past, bad representations of Africa and Africans influenced people all around the world. These bad representations even influenced Africans themselves. They started to believe they were not as modern or as good as white European cultures. But Acebe writes books to show the African cultures as they really are. He educates foreign readers and he encourages African readers. He helps his people understand how valuable their culture is. Through the years, Acebe has written many novels, essays and poems. And he has received many literature awards. His writings have influenced and inspired people all over the world. You can read Things Fall Apart in English. You may also be able to find the book in your own language. Are there writers in your culture who show your culture well? Tell us about them. Write to us at radio at radioenglish.net The writer and producer of this program was Liz Wade. All quotes were adapted and voiced by spotlight. You can hear this program again on the internet at www.radioenglish.net This program is called Nigerian writer Chinua Acebe. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight Program. Goodbye.