Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (; born James Ngugi; 5 January 1938) is a Kenyan author and academic who writes primarily in Gikuyu and who formerly wrote in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. He has been described as having been "considered East Africa’s leading novelist". His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature. He is the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. His short story ''The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright'', is translated into 100 languages from around the world. In 1977, Ngũgĩ embarked upon a novel form of

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in his native Kenya that sought to liberate the theatrical process from what he held to be "the general bourgeois education system", by encouraging spontaneity and audience participation in the performances.Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, ''Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature'', 1994, pp. 57–59. His project sought to "demystify" the theatrical process, and to avoid the "process of alienation

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

produces a gallery of active stars and an undifferentiated mass of grateful admirers" which, according to Ngũgĩ, encourages passivity in "ordinary people". Although his landmark play, ''

Ngaahika Ndeenda ''Ngaahika Ndeenda'' (''I Will Marry When I Want'') is a controversial play that covers post-colonial themes of class struggle, poverty, gender, culture, religion, modernity vs. tradition, and marriage and family. The play was written by Ngũgĩ w ...

'', co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii, was a commercial success, it was shut down by the authoritarian Kenyan regime six weeks after its opening. Ngũgĩ was subsequently imprisoned for over a year. Adopted as an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, the artist was released from prison, and fled Kenya. In the United States, he is currently Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and English at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

. He has also previously taught at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. Ngũgĩ has frequently been regarded as a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He won the 2001 International Nonino Prize in Italy, and the 2016

Park Kyong-ni Prize Park Kyong-ni Prize (Korean: 박경리 문학상) is an international literary award based in South Korea. It was established in 2011 in honor of Park Kyung-ni, known for her series '' Toji''. The award was founded and sponsored by the Toji Founda ...

. Among his children are the authors

Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ (born 1971) is a Kenyan American poet, author, and academic. He is associate professor of literatures in English at Cornell University and co-founder of the Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Writing. His father is the au ...

and

Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ Wanjikũ wa Ngũgĩ (born 1970s) is a Kenyan writer, who has lived and worked in Eritrea, Zimbabwe and Finland. She is the founder and former director of the Helsinki African Film Festival (HAFF). Also a political analyst, she is a member of the e ...

Biography

Early years and education

Ngũgĩ was born in

Kamiriithu Kamirithu is a settlement in Kambu County, within Kenya's former Central Province. It was one of the colonial villages established during the scramble for the Kenyan "White Highlands" in the early 1900s. Kamirithu is the home of Chief Kamiri ...

, near

Limuru Limuru is a town in central Kenya. It is also the name of a parliamentary constituency and an administrative division. The population of the town, as of 2004, was about 4,800. In a census taken in 2019 the population had increased to 159,314. Loc ...

Kiambu district Kiambu County is a county in the former Central Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kiambu and its largest town is Thika. Kiambu County is the second most populous after Nairobi County. Kiambu County borders Nairobi and Kajiado Counties to the S ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, of

Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: * Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cent ...

descent, and baptised James Ngugi. His family was caught up in the Mau Mau Uprising; his half-brother Mwangi was actively involved in the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (during which he was killed), another brother was shot during the State of Emergency, and his mother was tortured at Kamiriithu

home guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

post. He went to the Alliance High School, and went on to study at

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of n ...

College in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

. As a student he attended the African Writers Conference held at Makerere in June 1962,Frederick Philander
"Namibian Literature at the Cross Roads"
''New Era'', 18 April 2008. and his play '' The Black Hermit'' premiered as part of the event at The National Theatre. At the conference Ngũgĩ asked

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and '' magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

to read the manuscripts of his novels ''The River Between'' and ''Weep Not, Child'', which would subsequently be published in Heinemann's

African Writers Series The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an international audience fo ...

, launched in London that year, with Achebe as its first advisory editor.James Currey
"Ngũgĩ, Leeds and the Establishment of African Literature"
in '' Leeds African Studies Bulletin'' 74 (December 2012), pp. 48–62. Ngũgĩ received his B.A. in

from Makerere University College, Uganda, in 1963.

First publications and studies in England

His debut novel, '' Weep Not, Child'', was published in May 1964, becoming the first novel in English to be published by a writer from East Africa. Later that year, having won a scholarship to the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

to study for an MA, Ngũgĩ travelled to England, where he was when his second novel, '' The River Between'', came out in 1965. ''The River Between'', which has as its background the Mau Mau Uprising, and described an unhappy romance between Christians and non-Christians, was previously on Kenya's national secondary school syllabus. He left Leeds without completing his thesis on

Caribbean literature Caribbean literature is the literature of the various territories of the Caribbean region. Literature in English from the former British West Indies may be referred to as Anglo-Caribbean or, in historical contexts, as West Indian literature. Most o ...

, for which his studies had focused on

George Lamming George William Lamming OCC (8 June 19274 June 2022) was a Barbadian novelist, essayist, and poet. He first won critical acclaim for ''In the Castle of My Skin'', his 1953 debut novel. He also held academic posts, including as a distinguished v ...

, about whom Ngũgĩ said in his 1972 collection of essays ''Homecoming'': "He evoked for me, an unforgettable picture of a peasant revolt in a white-dominated world. And suddenly I knew that a novel could be made to speak to me, could, with a compelling urgency, touch cords icdeep down in me. His world was not as strange to me as that of Fielding,

Defoe Defoe may refer to: People *Defoe (surname), most notably English author Daniel Defoe Places *Defoe, Webster County, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Other uses *Defoe (comics), a zombie story *Defoe Shipbuilding Company, a former ship ...

, Smollett, Jane Austen,

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

, D. H. Lawrence."

Change of name, ideology and teaching

Ngũgĩ's 1967 novel '' A Grain of Wheat'' marked his embrace of Fanonist

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

. He subsequently renounced writing in English, and the name James Ngugi as colonialist; by 1970 he had changed his name to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, and began to write in his native Gikuyu. In 1967, Ngũgĩ also began teaching at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

as a professor of English literature. He continued to teach at the university for ten years while serving as a Fellow in Creative Writing at Makerere. During this time, he also guest lectured at

in the department of English and African Studies for a year. While a professor at the University of Nairobi, Ngũgĩ was the catalyst of the discussion to abolish the English department. He argued that after the end of colonialism, it was imperative that a university in Africa teach African literature, including oral literature, and that such should be done with the realization of the richness of African languages.

Imprisonment

In 1976, Thiong'o helped to establish The

Kamiriithu Community Education and Cultural Centre The Kamiriithu Community Education and Cultural Centre, in Kamiriithu, Kenya was a center and program formed in 1976 by efforts from Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, scholars from the University of Nairobi, and locals from the Kamiriithu village community. The ...

which, among other things, organised African Theatre in the area. The following year saw the publication of Petals of Blood. Its strong political message, and that of his play ''Ngaahika Ndeenda'' (''I Will Marry When I Want''), co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii and also published in 1977, provoked the then Kenyan Vice-President

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

to order his arrest. Along with copies of his play, books by

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

were confiscated. He was sent to

Kamiti Maximum Security Prison Kamiti Maximum Security Prison is a prison in Nairobi County, Kenya. The prison is within Roysambu Constituency, Kasarani District, bordering Kiambu County. Originally named "Kamiti Downs", it sits in the middle of its own estates which lie fal ...

, and kept there without a trial for nearly a year. He was imprisoned in a cell with other political prisoners. During part of their imprisonment, they were allowed one hour of sunlight a day. Ngũgĩ writes "The compound used to be for the mentally deranged convicts before it was put to better use as a cage for 'the politically deranged." He found solace in writing and wrote the first modern novel in Gikuyu, '' Devil on the Cross'' (''Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ''), on prison-issued

toilet paper Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet tissue or bathroom tissue) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the anus and surrounding anal region of feces after defecation, and to clean the perineal area and external genitalia of ur ...

. After his release in December 1978, he was not reinstated to his job as professor at Nairobi University, and his family was harassed. Due to his writing about the injustices of the dictatorial government at the time, Ngũgĩ and his family were forced to live in exile. Only after Arap Moi, the longest-serving Kenyan president, retired in 2002, was it safe for them to return. During his time in prison, Ngũgĩ made the decision to cease writing his plays and other works in English and began writing all his creative works in his native tongue, Gikuyu. His time in prison also inspired the play ''The Trial of Dedan Kimathi'' (1976). He wrote this in collaboration with

Micere Githae Mugo Micere Githae Mugo (born Madeleine Micere Githae in 1942) is a playwright, author, activist, instructor and poet from Kenya. She is a literary critic and professor of literature in the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse Univers ...

Exile

While in exile, Ngũgĩ worked with the London-based Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners in Kenya (1982–98). ''Matigari ma Njiruungi'' (translated by Wangui wa Goro into English as ''Matigari'') was published at this time. In 1984, he was Visiting Professor at Bayreuth University, and the following year was Writer-in-Residence for the Borough of Islington in London. He also studied film at Dramatiska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden (1986). His later works include ''Detained'', his prison diary (1981), '' Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature'' (1986), an essay arguing for African writers' expression in their native languages rather than European languages, in order to renounce lingering colonial ties and to build an authentic African literature, and ''Matigari'' (translated by Wangui wa Goro), (1987), one of his most famous works, a satire based on a Gikuyu folk tale. Ngũgĩ was Visiting Professor of English and Comparative Literature at

between 1989 and 1992. In 1992, he was guest at the Congress of South African Writers and spent time in Zwide Township with Mzi Mahola, the year he became a professor of Comparative Literature and Performance Studies at

, where he held the

Erich Maria Remarque Erich Maria Remarque (, ; born Erich Paul Remark; 22 June 1898 – 25 September 1970) was a German-born novelist. His landmark novel ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1928), based on his experience in the Imperial German Army during World ...

Chair. He is currently a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature as well as having been the first director of the International Center for Writing and Translation at the

2000s

On 8 August 2004, Ngũgĩ returned to Kenya as part of a month-long tour of East Africa. On 11 August, robbers broke into his high-security apartment: they assaulted Ngũgĩ, sexually assaulted his wife and stole various items of value. When Ngũgĩ returned to America at the end of his month trip, five men were arrested on suspicion of the crime, including Ngũgĩ's own nephew. In the summer 2006 the American publishing firm

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

published his first new novel in nearly two decades, '' Wizard of the Crow'', translated to English from Gikuyu by the author. On 10 November 2006, while in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

at Hotel Vitale at the Embarcadero, Ngũgĩ was harassed and ordered to leave the hotel by an employee. The event led to a public outcry and angered both African-Americans and members of the African diaspora living in America, prompting an apology by the hotel. His recent books include ''Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing'' (2012), and ''Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance'', a collection of essays published in 2009 making the argument for the crucial role of African languages in "the resurrection of African memory", about which ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' said: "Ngugi’s language is fresh; the questions he raises are profound, the argument he makes is clear: 'To starve or kill a language is to starve and kill a people’s memory bank.'" This was followed by two well received autobiographical works: ''Dreams in a Time of War: a Childhood Memoir'' (2010) and ''In the House of the Interpreter: A Memoir'' (2012), which was described as "brilliant and essential" by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', among other positive reviews. His book ''The Perfect Nine'', originally written and published in Gikuyu as '' Kenda Muiyuru: Rugano Rwa Gikuyu na Mumbi'' (2019), was translated into English by Ngũgĩ for its 2020 publication, and is a reimagining in epic poetry of his people's

origin story In entertainment, an origin story is an account or backstory revealing how a Character (arts), character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist, and it adds to the overall interest and complexity of a narrative, often giving reason ...

. It was described by the ''Los Angeles Times'' as "a quest novel-in-verse that explores folklore, myth and allegory through a decidedly feminist and pan-African lens." The review in ''

World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The stated goal of the magazine is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book revie ...

'' said:

"Ngũgĩ crafts a beautiful retelling of the Gĩkũyũ myth that emphasizes the noble pursuit of beauty, the necessity of personal courage, the importance of filial piety, and a sense of the Giver Supreme—a being who represents divinity, and unity, across world religions. All these things coalesce into dynamic verse to make ''The Perfect Nine'' a story of miracles and perseverance; a chronicle of modernity and myth; a meditation on beginnings and endings; and a palimpsest of ancient and contemporary memory, as Ngũgĩ overlays the Perfect Nine's feminine power onto the origin myth of the Gĩkũyũ people of Kenya in a moving rendition of the epic form."

Fiona Sampson writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' concluded that it is "a beautiful work of integration that not only refuses distinctions between 'high art' and traditional storytelling, but supplies that all-too rare human necessity: the sense that life has meaning." In March 2021, ''The Perfect Nine'' became the first work written in an indigenous African language to be longlisted for the

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

, with Ngũgĩ becoming the first nominee as both the author and translator of the same book.

Family

Four of his children are also published authors: Tee Ngũgĩ,

, Nducu wa Ngũgĩ, and

Awards and honours

*1963: The East Africa Novel Prize *1964: Unesco First Prize for his novel, Weep Not Child, at the First World Festival of Black and African arts at 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 *1992 (October): honoured by

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 Zola 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 *2002:

Zimbabwe International Book Fair The Zimbabwe International Book Fair was held for the first time in 1983 in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. It was founded by David Martin (late), Phylis Johnson and Charles Mungoshi (late). Until the opening of the Cape Town Book Fair in 2006 i ...

, "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 The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is Pan-African research organisation headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. The current President of CODESRIA is Dzodzi Tsikata. Background CODESRIA was established in 1 ...

(CODESRIA), *2004 (23–28 February): Visiting Fellow, Humanities Research Centre. *2006: ''Wizard of the Crow'' is No. 3 on ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine's Top 10 Books of the Year (European edition) *2006: ''Wizard of the Crow'' is one of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

''s Best Books of the Year *2006: ''Wizard of the Crow'' is one of ''

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

''s picks for Best Fiction of the year *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'' - Finalist on the Long List for the 2007 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. *2007: ''Wizard of the Crow'' - Finalist on the NAACP Image Award for Fiction *2007: ''Wizard of the Crow'' - finalist on the 2007

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...

Shortlist for Best Book – Africa. *2007: ''Wizard of the Crow -'' Gold medal winner in Fiction for the 2007 California Book Awards *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 *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 The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a public land-grant research university in Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the flagship campus of the University of Haw ...

. *2009: Shortlisted for the

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

*2011: (17 February) Africa Channel Literary Achievement Award. *2012:

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

*2014:

Nicolás Guillén Lifetime Achievement Award for Philosophical Literature Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

*2014 (16 November): Honoured at Archipelago Books' 10th anniversary gala in New York. *2016:

*2016 (14 December): Sanaa Theatre Awards/Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of excellence in Kenyan Theatre, Kenya National Theatre. *2017: ''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...

''/UCR Creative Writing Lifetime Achievement Award *2018: ''Grand Prix des mécènes'' of the GPLA 2018, for his entire body of work. *2019: Premi Internacional de Catalunya Award for his Courageous work and Advocacy for African languages *2021: Shortlisted for the

for '' The Perfect Nine'' *2021: Elected a Royal Society of Literature International Writer *2022: PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature

Honorary degrees

Albright College Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1856. History Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when Union Seminary opened. Present-day Albright was formed by the mergers of several ins ...

, Doctor of Humane Letters ''honoris causa'', 1994 *

, 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 California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, May 2005. * Dillard University, New Orleans, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, May 2005. *

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, Honorary doctorate of Letters (LittD), 2005 *

, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, 15 May 2008 *

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in ...

, Honorary doctorate in Literature, 2013 *

University of Bayreuth A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, Honorary doctorate (Dr. phil. h.c.), 2014 * KCA University, Kenya, Honorary Doctorate degree of Human Letters (honoris causa) in Education, 27 November 2016 *

, Honorary doctorate (D.Litt. h.c.), 2017 *

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, Honorary doctorate (D.Litt.), 2019 *Honorary PhD, Roskilde, Denmark

Publications

Novels

* '' Weep Not, Child'' (1964), * '' The River Between'' (1965), * '' A Grain of Wheat'' (1967, 1992), * '' Petals of Blood'' (1977), * ''Caitaani Mutharaba-Ini'' ('' Devil on the Cross'', 1980) * '' Matigari ma Njiruungi'', 1986 (''Matigari'', translated into English by Wangui wa Goro, 1989), * ''Mũrogi wa Kagogo'' ('' Wizard of the Crow'', 2004), * ''The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi'' (2020)

Short story collections

* ''meeting in the Dark'' (1974) * ''Secret Lives, and Other Stories'', (1976, 1992), * ''Minutes of Glory and Other Stories'' (2019)

Plays

* '' The Black Hermit'' (1963) * ''This Time Tomorrow'' (three plays, including the title play, "The Rebels", "The Wound in the Heart" and "This Time Tomorrow") (c. 1970) * ''Homecoming: Essays on African and Caribbean Literature, Culture, and Politics'' (1972), * ''The Trial of Dedan Kimathi'' (1976), , African Publishing Group, (with

and Njaka) * ''

: Ithaako ria ngerekano (I Will Marry When I Want)'' (1977, 1982) (with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii)

Memoirs

* ''Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary'' (1981) * ''Dreams in a Time of War: a Childhood Memoir'' (2010), * ''In the House of the Interpreter: A Memoir'' (2012), * ''Birth of a Dream Weaver: A Memoir of a Writer's Awakening'' (2016), * ''Wrestling with the devil: A Prison Memoir'' (2018)

Other nonfiction

* ''Education for a National Culture'' (1981) * ''Barrel of a Pen: Resistance to Repression in Neo-Colonial Kenya'' (1983) * ''Mother, Sing For Me'' (1986) * ''Writing against Neo-Colonialism'' (1986) * '' Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature'' (1986), * ''Moving the Centre: The Struggle for Cultural Freedoms'' (1993), * ''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, * ''Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance'' (2009), Mwangi, Evan
"Queries over Ngugi's appeal to save African languages, culture"
''Daily Nation'', Lifestyle Magazine, 13 June 2009. * ''Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing'' (2012),
Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing on JSTOR
* ''Secure the Base: Making Africa Visible in the Globe'' (2016),

Children's books

* ''Njamba Nene and the Flying Bus'' (translated by Wangui wa Goro) (''Njamba Nene na Mbaathi i Mathagu'', 1986) * ''Njamba Nene and the Cruel Chief'' (translated by Wangui wa Goro) (''Njamba Nene na Chibu King'ang'i'', 1988) * ''Njamba Nene's Pistol'' (''Bathitoora ya Njamba Nene'', 1990), * ''The Upright Revolution, Or Why Humans Walk Upright'', Seagull Press, 2019,

References

External links

* *Leonard Lopate
"Writing in Exile"
12 September 2006. Interview with Ngũgĩ wa Thiongo on The Leonard Lopate Show,

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that ...

, New York public radio, following publication of ''Wizard of the Crow''. *
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o – OverviewThe Language of Scholarship in Africa
2012 lecture by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, published in Leeds ''African Studies Bulletin'' 74 (December 2012), pp. 42–47.
'Publishing Ngũgĩ'
by

James Currey James Currey is a former academic publisher specialising in African Studies which since 2008 has been an imprint of Boydell & Brewer. It is named after its founder who established the company in 1984. It publishes on a full spectrum of topic ...

, in Leeds ''African Studies Bulletin'' 68 (May 2006), pp. 26–54. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngugi Wa Thiongo 1938 births Living people Kenyan philosophers Alumni of the University of Leeds Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Kenya University of Nairobi academics Kenyan dramatists and playwrights Kenyan essayists Kenyan novelists Kenyan prisoners and detainees Kikuyu people Makerere University alumni People from Kiambu County University of California, Irvine faculty 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century novelists 21st-century dramatists and playwrights 21st-century novelists 20th-century memoirists 20th-century essayists 21st-century essayists Kenyan emigrants to the United States 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers Dramatiska Institutet alumni Kikuyu-language writers Kenyan expatriates in Uganda Kenyan expatriates in the United Kingdom