Alert! Brown University’s student newspaper is the first to interview Chinua Achebe on his recent move there from Bard College. Here’s the paper’s Nandini Jayakrishna’s Q&A with the literary giant:
The Herald: You were a professor at Bard College in New York for 19 years. What drew you to Brown?
Achebe: There were all these years at Bard which I enjoyed, but I recognized that there are other places — this is a big country (with) good variety — and that I should look at other parts of this nation. … Many people don’t know that Brown gave me an honorary degree in literature in 1998, so Brown is not foreign to me. I know a few people here.
Brown has begun a concerted effort to establish itself as a leader in African scholarship through different programs, including research projects in African countries and a proposed graduate program in the Africana Studies department. Where do you think Brown currently stands on that front?
I think (Brown) has got the resources — human particularly, but also, I suppose, material resources — to place itself wherever it desires in the African field. … I do know that there is strong interest from a group of academics who have the ability to bring to Brown a really exciting Africana Studies department. The more such schools you have, the better.
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Photo courtesy PBN.com
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