Winner's Speech 2007
Speeches given by Chidi Achebe who accepted the award on behalf of his father Chinua Achebe, and the speech recorded and played on the night from Chunua Achebe himself.
Acceptance speech by Chinua Achebe
Good evening.
I was overjoyed when I was told that I had been awarded the Man Booker International Prize for 2007. I said the name slowly deliberately, Man Booker International Prize. I was particularly happy with the international part of it because that is what I have tried to cover in my work. I am grateful to everyone who had a hand in this process, I am grateful to all of you.
One of the journalists who spoke with me referred to the shortlist of contenders for this prize as a 'towering shortlist'. I think he was right. You couldn't have wished for a more distinguished group to contend with and I am very proud that it has come my way. I would have been just as happy for my colleagues and peers if it had gone to any of them.
I am grateful to all my friends in Britain and elsewhere who are taking part in this event. There is one obvious regret that I have and that is a big one, my absence. I deeply apologise and I do hope you accept my reason which is that my doctors advised that a long flight would not be good for me at this time. So for that reason I have denied myself the great pleasure and privilege of being there in person today.
Thank you everybody for coming. I regard it as an honour to me that you are here.
Thank you very much.
Acceptance speech by Chidi Achebe on behalf of Chinua Achebe
Good evening everybody.
Dad couldn't make it, he's resting under the orders of his specialist but he sent me and I jumped at the chance to come this wonderful occasion.
What I wanted to do, since I am not a literary professor or someone who is really schooled in literature, I am actually a physician. I wanted to talk about the link between Great Britain and the Achebe family. It goes back to our Grandfather, who is the patron of our family; he was one of the earliest converts to Christianity. He worked very closely with the British missionaries and before he died he helped to build a church called St Philips, which is still standing in our village. He was then educated by the Christian missionaries' society and Oka College of Education in 1904. He did something quite wonderful, he encouraged his wife to get a secondary school education and she was educated by the famous Miss Warner, as some of the historians here will know, who did wonderful work spreading the gospel and also educating the people. Together they spread Christianity to other parts of the world and then they sent their children to British style schools. My father went to Government College of Umuahia and then after that he went to the University in Ibadan. You can tell a lot about a man's values by what he does with his children and Dad of course believing in the great tradition that we've had with the British, sent his first two children, my brother finished at Cambridge and Chinelo went to Kent and then 2 former British colonies, Canada & United States of America.
It's important here to talk about the link between Dad and the British publishing industry. A giant publisher, Alan Hill, who is deceased and James Currey, who is hopefully here somewhere, are two individuals who come to mind, who essentially opened the door for African writers to have a voice and Dad's work recurs with his mission to give a voice to the voiceless.
I am here with my son, formerly mentioned, Chinua Achebe Junior, as a fourth generation. My hope is that this cherished and long relationship with the British, British academics, British institutions will continue far into the future.
I'd like to spend sometime and thank the Man Booker organisation. I'd like to thank the judges Nadine Gordimer, Colm Toibin and Elaine Showalter. As well as the Colman Getty organisation, Eleanor, Lyndsey & Mark. You've been absolutely wonderful hosts and without saying anything further I'm going to let the man himself do the talking.
Thank you.
