Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Herbert Ekwe Ekwe (UNIFOR - Universidade de Fortaleza)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 8.2.3: Anglophone African Writing and Culture: Subsaharan.
Vol. editors: Helen Rachel Cousins (Birmingham Newman University), David Firth (University of Manchester), Alex Nelungo Wanjala (University of Nairobi)

Dates

Born 5 Jan 1938
Activity 1958-ongoing

Places

Born in Kenya
Active in Kenya; United States

Activities

Primary

Literary Critic/ Historian
Novelist
Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Works

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The politics of language in African literature has been the focus of major debates in classrooms, lectures, talks, seminars, workshops and conferences, and the subject of theoretical exposition in numerous publications in Africa and elsewhere over the past 45 years. Obiajunwa Wali, the novelist and critic, had caused a storm at the historic 1962 Kampala conference on African Literature, when he challenged the main theme of the gathering:

The whole uncritical acceptance of English and French as the inevitable medium of educated African writing is misdirected, and has no chance of advancing African literature and culture … What we would like future conferences on African literature to devote time to, is the all-important problem of African writing in African languages, and all its

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2481 words

Citation: Ekwe Ekwe, Herbert. "Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 January 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3332, accessed 21 November 2024.]