{"id":361,"date":"2022-08-27T02:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T20:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/?p=361"},"modified":"2023-06-12T09:41:14","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T04:11:14","slug":"ngugi-wa-thiongo-nigerian-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/ngugi-wa-thiongo-nigerian-writer\/","title":{"rendered":"Ngugi wa Thiong’o : Nigerian Writer"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ngugi\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n

Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiong\u2019o (b. 1938)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

\u2022 Born in 1938 in Kamiriithu, Kenya
\u2022 Formerly wrote in English and now in Gikuyu; founder editor of the Gikuyu-language journal M\u0169t\u0129iri
\u2022 Has written novels, plays, short stories, critical essays and children’s books
\u2022 Embraced Fanonist Marxism and subsequently renounced English, Christianity, and the name
James Ngugi as colonialist
\u2022 Changed his name back to Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiong’o, and began to write in his native Gikuyu and Swahili<\/p>\n\n

\u2022 The political message of his 1977 play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want)
caused him to be imprisoned and was later exiled for 22 years
\u2022 Wrote the first modern novel in Gikuyu, Caitaani m\u0169tharaba-In\u0129 (Devil on the Cross), on prison-issued toilet paper, while in prison
\u2022 In the US, he taught at Yale University, New York University and the University of California
\u2022 Author M\u0169koma wa Ng\u0169g\u0129 is his son<\/p>\n\n

Major Works<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

\u2022 The Black Hermit (1963, play)
<\/strong>\u2022 Weep Not, Child (1964)<\/strong> \u2013 Published under the name James Ngugi; the first English novel by an East African; heavily critical of British colonial rule; deals with the Mau Mau Uprising and the dispossession of an entire people from their ancestral land
\u2022 The River Between (1965)<\/strong> \u2013 Story of the separation of two neighbouring villages of Kenya caused by differences in faith, with the Mau Mau Uprising as its background; about the struggle of a young leader ‘Waiyaki’ to unite the two villages of Kameno and Makuyu through sacrifice and pain
\u2022 A Grain of Wheat (1967)<\/strong> \u2013 Set during the state of emergency in Kenya’s struggle for independence (1952\u20131959); focuses on the quiet Mugo, whose life is ruled by a dark secret<\/p>\n\n

Two Novels
\u2022 Petals of Blood (1977)
<\/strong>\u2013 Set in Kenya just after independence
\u2013 Social and political criticism cast in the form of a crime story
\u2013 Follows major characters – Munira, Abdulla, Wanja, and Karega – whose lives are intertwined due to the Mau Mau rebellion
\u2022 Devil on the Cross (1980, Gikuyu)
<\/strong>\u2013 Set against the post colonial era in Kenya, which is criticized
\u2013 Caustic satire, with the devil on the cross instead of Jesus
\u2013 Written in prison<\/p>\n\n

More Works
<\/strong>\u2022 Homecoming: Essays on African and Caribbean Literature, Culture and Politics (1972)
\u2022 Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature (1986)
\u2022 Matigari (1989)
\u2013 The story of a former Mau Mau fighter, Matigari, who returns to his land to start a new life
\u2013 His life instead becomes a search for peace and justice<\/p>\n\n

\u2013 A satire on the betrayal of human ideals and on the bitter experience of post-independence African society
\u2022 Wizard of the Crow (2006) \u2013 Set in the imaginary Free Republic of Abruria, autocratically governed by
one man, known only as the Ruler<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

African English Literature &#8211; An overview of Great Tradition<\/a><\/p>\n

other sources: https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/people\/literature-and-arts\/miscellaneous-english-literature-20th-cent-biographies\/ngugi-wa-thiongo<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiong\u2019o (b. 1938) \u2022 Born in 1938 in Kamiriithu, Kenya\u2022 Formerly wrote in English and now in Gikuyu; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow3MbQCw:productID":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[297],"tags":[348,350,357,356,358,353,352,355,354,351,349],"class_list":["post-361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-literature","tag-a-grain-of-wheat-1967","tag-child","tag-decolonising-the-mind","tag-homecoming","tag-matigari","tag-mau-mau-rebellion","tag-ngugi-wa-thiongo","tag-nigerian-writers","tag-petals-of-blood","tag-the-river-between-1965","tag-weep-not"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-26.png?fit=2068%2C2902&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":461,"url":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/african-literature-an-overview\/","url_meta":{"origin":361,"position":0},"title":"African English Literature – An overview of Great Tradition","author":"witcritic","date":"May 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"African English literature African English literature refers to the body of literary works written by authors from Africa or of African descent, who use the English language as a medium of expression. African literature is rich and diverse, reflecting the continent's vast cultural, linguistic, and historical heritage. It encompasses a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"African Literature\"","block_context":{"text":"African Literature","link":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/tag\/african-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"African","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/images28329.jpeg?fit=500%2C604&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":357,"url":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wole-soyinka-1934-nigerian-writer\/","url_meta":{"origin":361,"position":1},"title":"Life and works of Wole Soyinka (1934) Nigerian Writer","author":"witcritic","date":"August 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Wole Soyinka","rel":"","context":"In "World Literature"","block_context":{"text":"World Literature","link":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/category\/world-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"wole soyinka","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-25.png?fit=596%2C700&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-25.png?fit=596%2C700&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-25.png?fit=596%2C700&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17,"url":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/cultural-studies\/","url_meta":{"origin":361,"position":2},"title":"Cultural Studies: Most Famous Books","author":"witcritic","date":"August 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Cultural Studies : Free Download - pdf E-Books 1. Raymond Williams- Culture and Society (1960) \ud83d\udc49Masterpiece of materialist criticism in the English language, this omnibus ranges over British literary history from George Eliot to George Orwell to inquire about the complex ways economic reality shapes the imagination. \u00a0 2. Simon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "E- Books"","block_context":{"text":"E- Books","link":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/category\/e-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Raymond Williams- Culture and Society","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Raymond-2BWilliams-174x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":350,"url":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/nadine-gordimer-1923-2014-african-writer\/","url_meta":{"origin":361,"position":3},"title":"Life and works of Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014): African writer","author":"witcritic","date":"August 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Nadine GordimerNovels\u2022 A Guest of Honour (1970)Some More Novels Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer\u00a0(20 November 1923\u00a0\u2013 13 July 2014) was a South African writer and\u00a0political activist. She received the\u00a0Nobel Prize in Literature\u00a0in 1991, recognized as a writer \"who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "World Literature"","block_context":{"text":"World Literature","link":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/category\/world-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"nodaine gordimer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-23.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-23.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-23.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-23.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":347,"url":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/chinua-achebe-1930-2013-nigerian-novelist\/","url_meta":{"origin":361,"position":4},"title":"Life and Works of Chinua Achebe (1930-2013): Nigerian Novelist","author":"witcritic","date":"August 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Chinua AchebeAchebe\u2019s WorksAfrican Trilogy Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe, in full\u00a0Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, (born November 16, 1930, Ogidi, Nigeria\u2014died March 21, 2013,\u00a0Boston,\u00a0Massachusetts, U.S.), Nigerian novelist acclaimed for his unsentimental depictions of the social and psychological disorientation accompanying the imposition of Western customs and values upon traditional African society. His\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "World Literature"","block_context":{"text":"World Literature","link":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/category\/world-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"chinua achebe","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/witcritic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Achebe2.jpg?fit=432%2C585&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3026,"url":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/expanding-the-feminist-literary-horizon\/","url_meta":{"origin":361,"position":5},"title":"Expanding the Feminist Literary Horizon","author":"witcritic","date":"March 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A key works of feminist literature and their contributions to the feminist movement ---**Expanding the Feminist Literary Horizon****\"Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics\" by Bell Hooks** - This book is a primer that offers a clear and concise understanding of feminism and its significance. Hooks addresses the misconceptions about feminism\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Literary Movements"","block_context":{"text":"Literary Movements","link":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/category\/history-of-english-literature\/literary-movements\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1245,"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions\/1245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/witcritic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}