University of Makerere

Makerere University College in Kampala, Uganda hosts in 1962 a conference “A Conference of African Writers of English Expression,” which Ngũgĩ attends, enjoys, and only later realizes its limitations. The university is therefore a space of thwarted radicalism. While the conference sought to rethink African literature, it failed to address the most important issue of all: the language question.

Kamĩrĩĩthũ

Kamĩrĩĩthũ is the name of the rural village that Ngũgĩ visits. While some of the villagers are employed in factories or industrial plants, the vast majority are peasant farmers. The community, including its “richest” peasants, is generally poor and rural.

Kamĩrĩĩthũ Community Education and Cultural Centre

Ngũgĩ gets involved with the local cultural center in Kamĩrĩĩthũ. It has a simple, open-air theater, which is popular among the residents. As part of the state government’s...