NGUGI WA THIONG'O

Ngugi wa Thiong'o, the exalted Kenyan writer, was destined for literary greatness from the very beginning. That this wonderfully versatile writer keeps on being touted for the Nobel Award in Literature says it all.     

As a young man, Ngugi was already cemented as an all-time great of African writing. The novels, Weep not Child and The River Between had set him up nicely; and when he published A Grain of Wheat his reputation was solid as a world class novelist.  

But this was only the beginning. As the decades unfolded Ngugi would publish countless other works; more novels, superb essays and criticism, plays and much more. A committed artist and ideologue, he is now regarded as easily one of the top-notch quality writers in the whole wide world.     

Even those who assert that they do not "read fiction" are intrigued with the richness and profundity of Ngugi's essays in general; essays on general literature, world history,criticism, politics, sociology and  more - essays paying tribute to autochthonous African values and background.

As for his novels, apart from his first three, works like Petals of Blood, Matigari, and Devil on the Cross stunned and intrigued the world. Ngugi, for many years then seemed silent as a novelist, before he brought out the awesome Wizard of the Crow.

Wizard of the Crow, at around 800 pages is perhaps the longest "novel" published by an African writer. It is already deservedly celebrated worldwide - but then again, most works by Ngugi have been celebrated for decades. Literary pundits around the world affirm (like in the case of Philip Roth) that Ngugi should have been honoured with the Nobel Award for Literature…

STUDIES:

Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo by Oliver Lovesey

Ngugi wa Thiong'o, an exploration of his writings by David Cook

Ngugi wa Thiong'o by Simon Gikandi

Ngugi's novels and African history : narrating the nation by James Ogude

An introduction to the writings of Ngugi by G. D Killam

Ngugi wa Thiong'o by Patrick Williams

Critical perspectives on Ngugi wa Thiong'o

Ngugi wa Thiong'o, the making of a rebel : a sourcebook in Kenyan literature and resistance by Carol Sicherman

Ngugi wa Thiong'o by Clifford B Robson

The Kenyan epic novelist Ngugi : his secular reconfiguration of Biblical themes by John A Anonby