Groping in the Dark

Ngugi wa Thiong’o was one of Africa’s most prominent writers. Born in 1938 in Limuru, Kenya, Ngugi is a prolific novelist, playwright and short story writer. His widely acclaimed works include his first novel, Weep not, Child (1964), The River Between (1965), A Grain of Wheat (1967), Home coming (1972) and Secret Lives (1964), and Mũrogi wa Kagogo (Wizard of the Crow, 2006) His play, Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii and published in 1977, provoked the Kenyan government which arrested and detained him without trial at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison for nearly a year. During this period, Ngugi wrote the first modern novel in Gikuyu, Devil on the Cross (Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ), on prison-issued toilet paper which was thereafter smuggled out. He went into exile in the UK upon his release a year later, before relocating to the USA. Ngugi wrote numerous books after his release including; Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary (1981), ), Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature (1986), Kenda Muiyuru: Rugano Rwa Gikuyu na Mumbi (The Perfect Nine, 2019), among others. He has won numerous awards for his writing and analyses Never Be Silent Simama Imara Ngugi wa Thiong’o is one of Africa’s most prominent writers. Born in 1938 in Limuru, Kenya, Ngugi is a prolific novelist, playwright and short story writer. His widely acclaimed works include his first novel, Weep not, Child (1964), The River Between (1965), A Grain of Wheat (1967), Home coming (1972) and Secret Lives (1964), and Mũrogi wa Kagogo (Wizard of the Crow, 2006) His play, Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii and published in 1977, provoked the Kenyan government which arrested and detained him without trial at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison for nearly a year. During this period, Ngugi wrote the first modern novel in Gikuyu, Devil on the Cross (Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ), on prison-issued toilet paper which was thereafter smuggled out. He went into exile in the UK upon his release a year later, before relocating to the USA. Ngugi wrote numerous books after his release including; Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary (1981), ), Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature (1986) Kenda Muiyuru: Rugano Rwa Gikuyu na Mumbi (The Perfect Nine, 2019), among others. He has won numerous awards for his writing and analysis.