"World Link"

Feeling a bit devoid of inspiration as of late, not because my life has been dull, but because of the exact opposite (there was so much DRAMA going on that the last thing I wanted to do was take a moment to sit down and relive any portion of it by writing it out) so I decided to attend an event that Toni Morrison was hosting. I’ve always loved her work and had a feeling I might be inspired by her presence as well.

The event was held at The Town Hall where many greats have graced the stage and numerous albums have been recorded over the decades, from Pete Seeger to Dizzy Gillespie. Just walking into a space that’s not only held such immense talent but has also been the foundation of many creative projects was inspiring in itself. My objective was met before I even found my seat! Then the tribute to Chinua Achebe began.

Michael Cunnigham delivered a sweet introduction of the Nigerian author and his 50-year-old book, Things Fall Apart, followed by one touching speech after another from the likes of Chris Abani, Ha Jin, Edwidge Danticat and many more. One of my favorite quotes of the evening, for all you writers out there, came from Colum McCann who compared Achebe’s words to Yates’ via what he called the “world link” saying, “The best words unravel and remake the familiar. Chinua Achebe opened his window and made local universal.” Lesson in point: “If you don’t like a story you read, tell your own.” (And here I am blogging in the night, thanks Colum!)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a fellow Nigerian writer, similarly said that until she read Things Fall Apart she didn’t know people like her could exist in books. She added that before this book “Africa was always defined by what it was not, what it did not have, how it was dying, not how it lived… Chinua Achebe changed that.” To be honest, I’m not sure how much that has changed in the larger scheme of things as the majority of what we hear about Africa still fits into the said categories of what the continent is lacking as opposed to anything positive, but kudos to Achebe for entering a new frontier and voicing a more truthful reflection of Africa half a century ago, bravely paving the way for many writers to come.

All in all, it was far more inspiring of an event than I’d ever expected and we haven’t even gotten to the stars of the evening: Toni Morrison and Chinua Achebe. Turns out they were born the same year, 1931. Morrison was a supporter of Achebe from the minute he moved to NY having discovered his writings while pulling together an African Literature textbook for American public high schools years before her own work had been published. She once even arranged a reading of Things Fall Apart by her friend, Allen Ginsburg, but Achebe was too shy to attend the reading himself so he watched it on video later, from home.

Sitting alone, center stage, on this Tuesday night in The Town Hall, Achebe recalls this distant moment in life with a chuckle as he gazes out at a full house of admirers. “I sent the only manuscript from a mailbox in Nigeria to England where someone would ‘type it well’ but there was no guarantee I would see it ever again. Things Fall Apart brought me lots of good luck. That book wrote me,” he says. Immobilized at this age, he thanks us for honoring him one last time and waits to be wheeled away…

I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t read Things Fall Apart but I guarantee you that after attending the 50th Anniversary of the book and hearing about all that it has done for the literary world, it’s next on my list of recommended reads, how about you?

Event presented by the PEN American Center. For more info go to: www.pen.org