Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a novelist and essayist, a prominent figure in African literature with an extensive body of work. He was born in 1938 in Limuru, Kenya, and was baptized as James Ngugi. Upon reaching adulthood, he rejected Christianity and adopted his African name to emphasize his cultural identity. His interest in the legacy of colonialism in Africa defines his work. "Petals of Blood" was published in 1977, marking his last book written in English. Since then, he has declared that he will write in his native dialect, Gikuyu, and has encouraged African writers to do the same. His outspoken political views led to many years of self-imposed exile from his country. Today, he is a professor of Comparative Literature and English, as well as the director of the International Center for Writing and Translation at the University of California, Irvine. In recent years, he has been consistently listed among the contenders for the Nobel Prize in Literature.