Ngugi wa Thiongo was a champion of indigenous languages and an iconic novelist. The first writer from East Africa to publish a novel.
Ngugi wa Thiongo was born on 5 January 1938 in Kamirithu village near Limuru, Kenya. He has written many books, short stories, essays and children’s books. Below is a list of some of the books he has authored:
- Weep Not, Child 1964
- The River Between 1965
- A Grain of Wheat 1967
- This Time Tomorrow (1970)
- Petals of Blood 1977
- Devil on the Cross 1980 (written in Gikuyu)
- Detained 1981
- Decolonising the Mind (1986)
- Matigari (1986)
- The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (1976)
- Moving the Centre (1992)
- Dreams in the Time of War (2010)
- Wrestling the Devil (2018)
- Globaletics: Theory and politics of knowing
- The Language of Languages 2023
- Secret Lives and other stories
- Birth of a Dream Weaver
- Njamba Nene’s Pistol 1984
- Njamba Nene and the Flying Bus 1986
- Secure the Base 2016
- Writers in Politics: Essays 1981
- Home Coming 2023
- Decolonizing Language 2025
- Barrel of a Pen 1983
- Remembering Africa 2009
Ngugi wa Thiongo believed that language is key to liberation hence he insisted on the use of indigenous languages.
Ngugi wa Thiongo’s book “The Upright Revolution: Why humans walk Upright” was translated into 100 languages. This is a sign that his writings were universal and appealed to many people around the world.
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