The Author: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Background

• Born: 1938, Kenya (under British colonial rule).
• Education: Attended a mission school, then studied at Makerere University (Uganda) and the University of Leeds (England).
• Current Role: Since 2002, he has been a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine (USA).

Literary Career

• Began writing in 1962 with a play celebrating Uganda's independence.
• Published his third novel, A Grain of Wheat (1967), which was also his last novel written in English.
• After this, he wrote in Gikuyu, his mother tongue, to promote African literature.
• Advocated for African literature to be valued equally to English literature.

Political Involvement and Exile

• Witnessed the Mau Mau rebellion against British rule.
• His brother was a freedom fighter in the Mau Mau movement.
• Criticised the Kenyan government under Daniel arap Moi.
• 1977: His play I Will Marry When I Want led to his arrest and imprisonment without trial.
• Lived in exile since 1982 after his release from prison.

Significance

• Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a key figure in postcolonial African literature.
• His works focus on colonialism, independence, and African identity.
• He promotes the use of African languages in literature to preserve cultural heritage.