Chinua Achebe, celebrated Nigerian novelist, poet, professor and critic, died on March 22, 2013 in Boston, MA at the age of 82. Born on November 16, 1930 in Ogidi, Nigeria, Achebe grew up surrounded by the Igbo culture. After completing secondary school, he attended the University College, Ibadan, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature in 1953. After school he worked with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation and then joined the staff of the Nigerian Ministry of Information before later becoming a professor at many universities across the United States. He is best known for his debut novel, Things Fall Apart, published in 1958. Other notable works include No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and the Anthills of the Savannah (1987). In 1995 Achebe was awarded the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for his work Beware Soul Brother, and in 2007 he won the Man Booker International Prize. He is survived by his wife, Christie, four children, ten grandchildren, and many adoring fans.