Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was one of 25 “geniuses” to net one of this year’s prestigious MacArthur fellowships. We knew we had a special talent in our pages when we reprinted this lovely, touching piece of hers back in our March-April issue. Enjoy the read. And enjoy her reaction to news of the award, as quoted in the New York Times:
Ms. Adichie was celebrating her birthday and taking a bath when the phone call came. “I was thrilled and grateful,” she wrote in an e-mail message from Lagos. “I like to say that America is like my distant uncle who doesn’t remember my name but occasionally gives me pocket money. That phone call filled me with an enormous affection for my uncle!”