International records / Internet Archive

Chinua Achebe (1964-00-00)

As this program begins the viewer sees three men walking through one of the halls of the Nigerian National Museum in Lagos. They are: series host Lewis Nkosi, Wole Soyinka, and the featured guest, Chinua Achebe. The interview, which focuses on the craft of Achebe himself, begins as Soyinka and Achebe discuss a carving of Ikenga, a symbol of manhood in Ibo society. Soyinka likens the spirit of Achebe's character Okongkwo from the novel Things Fall Apart to that represented by the carving. Achebe says he poured the essence of the aggressiveness and showy masculinity, traditionally so admired by …