Dear colleagues, Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s acceptance of the Catalonia International Prize is not shared by many of us who view him as an American citizen who left his native Kenya over 30 years ago to live where he is most comfortable...as an expat in California. Despite all the honours and awards that pile up, his commitment to a universal literature and principled progressive values remains suspect. Why furthermore is there so little substantive evaluation of the increasingly prominent younger generation of writers such as Yvonne Owuor, Tony Mochama, Stanley Gazemba and Chimamanda Adichie amongst others? The negligence of other writers of his generation such as Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, David Maillu and David Rubadiri is also glaring. In future I expect a more balanced appraisal of Ngugi.

Source: The Star September 22, 2020 01:00 UTC