Poetic Obituaries: The civil war was the theme of many

of his [Chinua Achebe's] writings during these years. Among the most prominent were a book of poetry, "Beware Soul Brother" (1971), which won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, and a short-story collection,"Girls at War," which appeared in 1972.

But for more than 20 years a case of writer's block kept him from producing another novel. He attributed the dry spell to emotional trauma that had lingered after the civil war.

"The novel seemed like a frivolous thing to be doing," he told The Washington Post in 1988.

That year Mr. Achebe finally published his fifth novel, "Anthills of the Savannah," the story of three former school chums in a fictional country modeled after Nigeria.

from The New York Times: Chinua Achebe, African Literary Titan, Dies at 82
then The Telegraph: Chinua Achebe
then Counterpunch: Achebe's Legacy
then The New Yorker: Postscript: Chinua Achebe, 1930-2013
then Granta: Chinua Achebe's Legacy
then The Guardian: Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist and poet--in pictures
then Los Angeles Times: Chinua Achebe's literary legacy

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