Achebe's new memoir on the wayBy BABOUCARR CEESAY in Banjul | Thursday, May 10  2012 at  18:08

Renowned Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe is soon coming out with a new memoir.

The work titled; There was a Country, is to be published by Penguin Books.

It is a recollection of personal experiences during the 1967-1970 Biafra War.

"It will stand as definitive and reinforce Achebe’s place as one of the most vital literary and moral voices of our age," Penguin declared in an early release.

Achebe authored the famous Things Fall Apart, which was first published in 1958 and was still considered among the most influential novels to emerge from the continent.

It is a popular high school text across Africa and beyond.

The 81-year-old Nigerian novelist, poet, teacher and critic, is an indomitable literary voice and master story teller, who brings out a rich and unique idiom from Africa.

There was a Country is slated for release in September.

"This book is, of course, one of the most anticipated books of our times and will hopefully shed more light on the events surrounding the most important period in the history of Nigeria, even of Africa," the author’s niece, Dr Ngozi Achebe, said.

Achebe’s other acclaimed books are No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987).

Since 2009, he has been a professor of African Studies at Brown University in Providence in Rhode Island state, US.