Ngugi wa Thiong'o (born 1938) was Kenya's most famous writer. Best-known as a novelist, he also wrote plays, literary criticism, and essays on cultural and political topics. Ngugi wa Thiong'o (formerly James Ngugi and known generally as Ngugi) was born...

When he was incarcerated as a political detainee in Kamiti Maximum Security Prison near Nairobi in 1978 for his part in the production of his Gikuyu-language play Ngaahika Ndeenda (performed, 1977; published, 1980; translated as I Will Marry When I...

Critical Essays on Ngugi wa Thiong'o Peter Nazareth, ed. New York. Twayne 2000. xi + 341 pages. $49 ISBN 0-7838-0456-3 THIS IS A VOLUME of essays written at different times and, for the most part, previously published and now carefully assembled by...

Oliver Lovesey, Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Bernth Lindfors, ed. New York. Twayne. 2000. xiii + 164 pages. $32. ISBN 0-8057-1695-5. THE LATEST BOOK on perhaps the single most critiqued African writer fulfills the mission statement of the Twayne series edited by Bernth Lindfors:...

In the following essay, Berger explores the comedic elements in Ngugi's fiction, noting how the author's satirical overtones transform his novels into works of “resistant political discourse.”

In the following essay, Loflin maintains that descriptions of the land, boundaries, and features of Kenya are paramount to Ngugi's novels, asserting that his portrayal of the Kenyan landscape is closely related to the well-being and identity of the community.

In the following essay, Roos acknowledges the contradictory traits of the character Wanja in Petals of Blood, asserting that “the great beauty of Ngugi's characterization is that he recognizes these conflicts within himself and in the people around him.”