Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Kenyan writer (1938-)
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (ki;[1] born James Ngugi; 5 January 1938)[2] is a Kenyan author and academic. He is called "East Africa's leading novelist".[3] He started writing in English, but later wrote mostly in Gikuyu. He has written many novels, plays, short stories, and essays. His work has been many different things. He has written literary and social criticism, to children's books. He is the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. His short story The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright has been translated into 100[4] languages.[5]
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o | |
|---|---|
 Thiong'o in 2012 | |
| Born | James Ngugi 5 January 1938 Kamiriithu, Kenya Colony (present-day Kiambu County, Kenya) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English, Kiswahili, Kikuyu |
| Education | Makerere University (BA) University of Leeds |
| Notable works | Weep Not, Child (1964); The River Between (1965); A Grain of Wheat (1967); Petals of Blood (1977); Matigari ma Njiruungi (1986); Mũrogi wa Kagogo (Wizard of the Crow, 2006) |
| Spouse | Njeeri |
| Children | Mũkoma, Wanjiku and others |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Ngũgĩ was a professor at the University of California, Irvine, Northwestern University, Yale University, and New York University. Ngũgĩ has often said to be a possible candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.[6][7][8] He won the 2001 International Nonino Prize in Italy. In 2016, he won the Park Kyong-ni Prize. His children are also popular authors, including Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ[9] and Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ.[10]
Awards and honours
change- 1963: The East Africa Novel Prize
- 1964: Unesco First Prize for his debut novel Weep Not Child, at the first World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar, Senegal
- 1973: The Lotus Prize for Literature, at Alma Atta, Khazakhistan
- 1992 (6 April): The Paul Robeson award for Artistic Excellence, Political Conscience and Integrity, in Philadelphia, U.S.
- 1992 (October): honoured by New York University by being appointed to the Erich Maria Remarque Professorship in Languages to "acknowledge extraordinary scholarly achievement, strong leadership in the University Community and the Profession and significant contribution to our educational mission."
- 1993: The Zora Neale Hurston-Paul Robeson Award, for artistic and scholarly achievement, awarded by the National Council for Black Studies, in Accra, Ghana
- 1994 (October): The Gwendolyn Brooks Center Contributors Award for significant contribution to The Black Literary Arts
- 1996: The Fonlon-Nichols Prize, New York, for Artistic Excellence and Human Rights
- 2001: Nonino International Prize for Literature[11][12]
- 2002: Zimbabwe International Book Fair, "The Best Twelve African Books of the Twentieth Century."
- 2002 (July): Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature, UCI.
- 2002 (October): Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Cabinet Awarded by the International Scientific Committee of the Pio Manzu Centre, Rimini, Italy.
- 2003 (May): Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
- 2003 (December): Honorary Life Membership of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA),
- 2004 (23–28 February): Visiting Fellow, Humanities Research Centre.
- 2006: Wizard of the Crow is No. 3 on Time magazine's Top 10 Books of the Year (European edition)[13]
- 2006: Wizard of the Crow is one of The Economist's Best Books of the Year[14][15]
- 2006: Wizard of the Crow is one of Salon.com's picks for Best Fiction of the year[16]
- 2006: Wizard of the Crow is the winner of the Winter 2007 Read This! for Lit-Blog Co-Op; The Literary Saloon
- 2006: Wizard of the Crow highlighted in the Washington Post’s Favorite Books of the year.
- 2007: Wizard of the Crow - longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.
- 2007: Wizard of the Crow - finalist on the NAACP Image Award for Fiction
- 2007: Wizard of the Crow - shortlisted for the 2007 Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book – Africa.[17]
- 2007: Wizard of the Crow - Gold medal winner in Fiction for the 2007 California Book Awards[18]
- 2007: Wizard of the Crow - 2007 Aspen Prize for Literature
- 2007: Wizard of the Crow – finalist for the 2007 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Black Literature
- 2008: Wizard of the Crow nominated for the 2008 IMPAC Dublin Award[19]
- 2008 (2 April): Order of the Elder of Burning Spear (Kenya Medal – conferred by Kenya’s Ambassador to the United States in Los Angeles).
- 2008: (October, 24) Grinzane for Africa Award
- 2008: Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.[20]
- 2009: Shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize[21][22]
- 2011: (17 February) Africa Channel Literary Achievement Award.
- 2012: National Book Critics Circle Award (finalist Autobiography) for In the House of the Interpreter[23]
- 2012 (31 March): W.E.B. Du Bois Award, National Black Writer’s Conference, New York.[24]
- 2013 (October): UCI Medal
- 2014: Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences[25]
- 2014: Nicolás Guillén Lifetime Achievement Award for Philosophical Literature[26]
- 2014 (16 November): Honoured at Archipelago Books' 10th anniversary gala in New York.[27]
- 2016: Park Kyong-ni Prize[28]
- 2016 (14 December): Sanaa Theatre Awards/Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of excellence in Kenyan Theatre, Kenya National Theatre.[29]
- 2017: Los Angeles Review of Books/UCR Creative Writing Lifetime Achievement Award[30]
- 2018: Grand Prix des mécènes of the GPLA 2018, for his entire body of work.[31]
- 2019: Premi Internacional de Catalunya Award for his Courageous work and Advocacy for African languages
- 2021: Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize for The Perfect Nine
- 2021: Elected a Royal Society of Literature International Writer[32]
- 2022: PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature[33]
Honorary degrees
change- Albright College, Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa, 1994
- University of Leeds, Honorary doctorate of Letters (LittD), 2004
- Walter Sisulu University (formerly U. Transkei), South Africa, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Literature and Philosophy, July 2004.
- California State University, Dominguez Hills, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, May 2005.
- Dillard University, New Orleans, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, May 2005.
- University of Auckland, Honorary doctorate of Letters (LittD), 2005
- New York University, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, 15 May 2008
- University of Dar es Salaam, Honorary doctorate in Literature, 2013[34]
- University of Bayreuth, Honorary doctorate (Dr. phil. h.c.), 2014[12]
- KCA University, Kenya, Honorary Doctorate degree of Human Letters (honoris causa) in Education, 27 November 2016
- Yale University, Honorary doctorate (D.Litt. h.c.), 2017[35]
- University of Edinburgh, Honorary doctorate (D.Litt.), 2019[36]
- Honorary PhD, Roskilde, Denmark
Publications
changeNovels
change- Weep Not, Child (1964), ISBN 978-0143026242
- The River Between (1965), ISBN 0-435-90548-1
- A Grain of Wheat (1967, 1992), ISBN 0-14-118699-2
- Petals of Blood (1977), ISBN 0-14-118702-6
- Caitaani Mutharaba-Ini (Devil on the Cross, 1980)
- Matigari ma Njiruungi, 1986 (Matigari, translated into English by Wangui wa Goro, 1989), ISBN 0-435-90546-5
- Mũrogi wa Kagogo (Wizard of the Crow, 2006), ISBN 9966-25-162-6
- The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi (2020)
Short-story collections
change- A Meeting in the Dark (1974)[37]
- Secret Lives, and Other Stories (1976, 1992), ISBN 0-435-90975-4[38]
- Minutes of Glory and Other Stories (2019)[39]
Plays
change- The Black Hermit (1963)[source?]
- This Time Tomorrow (three plays, including the title play, "The Rebels", "The Wound in the Heart" and "This Time Tomorrow") (1970)[40]
- Homecoming: Essays on African and Caribbean Literature, Culture, and Politics (1972), ISBN 0-435-18580-2[41]
- The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (1976), ISBN 0-435-90191-5, African Publishing Group, ISBN 0-949932-45-0 (with Micere Githae Mugo and Njaka)[37]
- Ngaahika Ndeenda: Ithaako ria ngerekano (I Will Marry When I Want) (1977, 1982) (with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii)[source?]
Memoirs
change- Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary (1981)[source?]
- Dreams in a Time of War: a Childhood Memoir (2010), ISBN 978-1-84655-377-6[source?]
- In the House of the Interpreter: A Memoir (2012), ISBN 978-0-30790-769-1[source?]
- Birth of a Dream Weaver: A Memoir of a Writer's Awakening (2016), ISBN 978-1-62097-240-3[source?]
- Wrestling with the devil: A Prison Memoir (2018) [42]
Other non-fiction
change- Education for a National Culture (1981)[37]
- Barrel of a Pen: Resistance to Repression in Neo-Colonial Kenya (1983)[37]
- Mother, Sing For Me (1986)[source?]
- Writing against Neo-Colonialism (1986)[37]
- Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature (1986), ISBN 978-0852555019
- Moving the Centre: The Struggle for Cultural Freedoms (1993), ISBN 978-0852555309
- Penpoints, Gunpoints and Dreams: The Performance of Literature and Power in Post-Colonial Africa (The Clarendon Lectures in English Literature 1996), Oxford University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-19-818390-9[43]
- Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance (2009), ISBN 978-0-465-00946-6[44]
- Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing (2012), ISBN 978-0231159517 Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing on JSTOR
- Secure the Base: Making Africa Visible in the Globe (2016), ISBN 978-0857423139
- The Language of Languages (2023), ISBN 978-0183090979
Children's books
change- Njamba Nene and the Flying Bus (translated by Wangui wa Goro) (Njamba Nene na Mbaathi i Mathagu, 1986)[source?]
- Njamba Nene and the Cruel Chief (translated by Wangui wa Goro) (Njamba Nene na Chibu King'ang'i, 1988)[source?]
- Njamba Nene's Pistol (Bathitoora ya Njamba Nene, 1990), ISBN 0-86543-081-0[source?]
- The Upright Revolution, Or Why Humans Walk Upright, Seagull Press, 2019, ISBN 9780857426475[source?]
References
change- ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o: 'Europe and the West must also be decolonised'". YouTube. 10 September 2019.
- ↑ "Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o: A Profile of a Literary and Social Activist". ngugiwathiongo.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
- ↑ Scheub, Harold; Wynne Gunner, Elizabeth Ann (2 December 2022). "African literature; search for Ngugi wa Thiong'o". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- ↑ Kilolo, Moses (2 June 2020). "The single most translated short story in the history of African writing: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and the Jalada writers' collective". The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Activism. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315149660-21. ISBN 978-1-315-14966-0. S2CID 219925787. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ "Jalada Translation Issue 01: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o". Jalada. 22 March 2016.
- ↑ Evan Mwangi, "Despite the Criticism, Ngugi is 'Still Best Writer'". AllAfrica, 8 November 2010.
- ↑ Page, Benedicte, "Kenyan author sweeps in as late favourite in Nobel prize for literature", The Guardian, 5 October 2010.
- ↑ Provost, Claire, "Ngugi wa Thiong'o: a major storyteller with a resonant development message", The Guardian, 6 October 2010.
- ↑ "MUKOMA WA NGUGI". MUKOMA WA NGUGI.
- ↑ "A Family Affair at Calabash: Lit Fest hosts First Family of Kenyan Letters". Jamaica Observer. 18 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ↑ "Some of the Prize Winners". Nonino Distillatori S.p.A. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Ehrendoktorwürde der Universität Bayreuth für Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (German)". University of Bayreuth. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ↑ "10 Best". TIME. 17 December 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ "Where magic is reality". The Economist. 17 October 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ "Books of the year 2006 | Fighting to be tops". The Economist. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ Miller, Laura; Frey, Hillary (13 December 2006). "Best fiction of 2006". Salon. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ Kinna (27 August 2010). "Beginnings: Wizard of the Crow". Kinna Reads. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ Lewis, Veronica (23 April 2007). "Ngugi Wins Fiction Prize". New University. University of California, Irvine. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ Pauli, Michelle (6 November 2007). "Crowd of contenders jostle for Impac prize". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Ngugi wa Thiong'o". Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ "Ngugi Wa Thiong’o" Archived 23 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Booker Prize Foundation. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ Flood, Alison (18 March 2009). "James Kelman is UK's hope for Man Booker international prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ Williams, John (14 January 2012). "National Book Critics Circle Names 2012 Award Finalists". The New York Times.
- ↑ "Ngugi Wa Thiong'o Honoured". Ghafla!. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ "American Academy of Arts and Sciences Elects its 2014 Class of Members". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ↑ "The Nicolas Guillén Philosophical Literature Prize". Caribbean Philosophical Association. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ↑ "Honoring Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o at Archipelago's 10th Anniversary Gala". Archipelago Books. 18 August 2014.
- ↑ "Ngugi Wa Thiongo wins 6th Pak Kyong-ni Literature Award". donga.com. 21 September 2016.
- ↑ "Jalada Africa, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o Win at Sanaa Theatre Awards". James Murua's Literature Blog. 16 December 2016. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ↑ "Awards: LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement". Shelf Awareness. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ↑ Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, lauréat du Grand Prix des Mécènes / Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o awarded Grand Prix des mécènes: actualitte.com
- ↑ "Inaugural RSL International Writers Announced". Royal Society of Literature. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ↑ Ibeh, Chukwuebuka (4 February 2022). "Ngugi wa Thiong'o Awarded Prestigious PEN America Honors". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ↑ "43rd graduation" (PDF). University of Dar es Salaam. November 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2014.
- ↑ "Yale awards honorary degrees to eight individuals for their achievements". Yale News. 18 May 2017.
- ↑ "Honorary Graduates in 2019". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 37.4 "List of Works". Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ↑ Ngugi wa Thiong'o (1992). Secret Lives and Other Stories. Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-435-90975-8 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Bokemper, Daniel (Summer 2019). "Minutes of Glory and Other Stories by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o". World Literature Today. doi:10.1353/wlt.2019.0028. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ↑ This Time Tomorrow. East African Literature Bureau. 1970. p. 50.
- ↑ Homecoming: Essays on African and Caribbean Literature, Culture and Politics. Lawrence Hill and Company. 1972. ISBN 978-0-435-18580-0 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo (2018). Wrestling with the devil : a prison memoir. New York, NY. ISBN 978-1-62097-333-2. OCLC 990850151.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ↑ "Penpoints, Gunpoints, and Dreams: Towards a Critical Theory of the Arts and the State in Africa". Oxford Academic. 1998. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198183907.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-818390-7.
- ↑ Mwangi, Evan, "Queries over Ngugi's appeal to save African languages, culture", Daily Nation, Lifestyle Magazine, 13 June 2009.
Further reading
change- Toh, Zorobi Philippe. “Linguistic Mystifications in Discourse: Case of Proverbs in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Matigari”. Imaginaire et représentations socioculturelles dans les proverbes africains, edited by Lèfara Silué and Paul Samsia, Paris: L’Harmattan, 2020, pp. 63–71.
- Wise, Christopher. 1997. "Resurrecting the Devil: Notes on Ngũgĩ's Theory of the Oral-Aural African Novel." Research in African Literatures 28.1:134–140.
Other websites
change- Leonard Lopate, "Writing in Exile", 12 September 2006. Interview with Ngũgĩ wa Thiongo on The Leonard Lopate Show, WNYC, New York public radio, following publication of Wizard of the Crow.
- Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o – An Overview
- Ngugi wa Thiong'o biography and booklist
- The Language of Scholarship in Africa, 2012 lecture by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, published in Leeds African Studies Bulletin 74 (December 2012), pp. 42–47.
- James Currey, "Publishing Ngũgĩ", Leeds African Studies Bulletin 68 (May 2006), pp. 26–54.
- Carey Baraka, "Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o: three days with a giant of African literature", The Guardian, 13 June 2023.