Pushing boundaries: Ngugi gave up writing in English to avoid continuing the ‘neocolonialism of African languages’. Photo: facebook.comNgugiwaThiongoAuthor
The River Between is the first work of Ngugi Wa Thiong’o that I’ve read, but I’ve known of him since my first introduction to African writing – rather predictably through Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka – during my literature classes when I was 17.
It’s perhaps more accurate to say I was in awe of Ngugi for what I still think is an act of immense boldness: In the late 1960s, after receiving much acclaim for his first three novels (Weep Not, Child; The River Between and A Grain Of Wheat), the Kenyan writer gave up writing in English and began writing in his native language, Gikuyu. He considered English a remnant of Africa’s imperialist past and writing in the language a form of neocolonialism over African languages, culture and philosophy – subjects that he explores in his 1986 book of essays, Decolonising The Mind: The Politics Of Language In African Literature.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
