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Ngu~gi~ wa Thiong’o (b. 1938)

Kenyan novelist, playwright, and social critic. Born in what was then British East Africa, Ngu~gi~ grew up amidst colonialism, revolution, and the emergence of independent Kenya in 1963. His first novel, Weep Not, Child (1964), and his second, A Grain of Wheat (1967), depict the Mau Mau Uprising against the British. His 1977 play, Ngaahika Ndeenda, written in his native Gi~ku~yu~ and translated by the author as I Will Marry When I Want (1982), was critical of the Kenyan government, resulting in Ngu~gi~’s year-long imprisonment. He has since lived in self-imposed exile in the United States and is currently a professor of comparative literature at the University of California, Irvine. His books include Decolonising the Mind (1986), which argues for the use of native languages; Wizard of the Crow (2006), a novel; and Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir (2010). See also ngugiwathiongo.com.