Some people flinch when you talk about art in the context of the needs of society thinking you are introducing something far too common for a discussion of art. Why should art have a purpose and a use? Art shouldn't be concerned with purpose and reason and need, they say. These are improper. But from the very beginning, it seems to me, stories have indeed been meant to be enjoyed, to appeal to that part of us which enjoys good form and good shape and good sound.

The lecture caused a storm of controversy even at the reception immediately following his talk. In his essay "The African Writer and the English Language" he discusses how the process of colonialism – for all its ills – provided colonised people from varying linguistic backgrounds "a language with which to talk to one another". His essay "A Bloody Racist: About Achebe's View of Conrad" defends Heart of Darkness as an anti-imperialist novel suggesting that "part of its greatness lies in the power of its criticisms of racial prejudice.

He became fascinated with world religions and traditional African cultures and began writing stories as a university student. He was best known for his first novel and magnum opusThings Fall Apart (1958) which is the most widely read book in modern African literature. After graduation he worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) and soon moved to the metropolis of Lagos.