Ngugi nominated for top book prize

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature and director of the International Center for Writing and Translation at UC Irvine, is one of 14 nominees for the Man Booker International Prize for “Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance.” The prize, established in 2005, is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction in English or whose work is generally available in English through translation. In his book, published in early March, Ngugi explores how original African cultures have been decimated during periods of slavery, colonialism and globalization and describes the importance of saving the continent’s cultural future.