Ngugi wa Thiong’o

The acclaimed writer shares the tale of his prison captivity and writing the influential novel, Devil on the Cross

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, UCI Distinguished Professor of comparative literature and English, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by Scotland’s University of Edinburgh on July 8. He was presented to the university’s academic senate by Thomas Molony of the School of Social & Political Science, who recognized the Kenyan author’s significant leadership in shifting the […]

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, UCI Distinguished Professor of comparative literature and English, has been awarded the 2019 Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize for Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature, about language and its constructive role in national culture, history and identity. The collection of essays advocates for linguistic decolonization and is one […]

Writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Distinguished Professor of comparative literature and English at UCI and perennial Nobel candidate, recently received an honorary degree from Yale University in recognition of his distinctive achievements in the humanities. Yale President Peter Salovey said, “Brave wordsmith, for breaking down barriers, for showing us the potential of literature to incite change […]

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Distinguished Professor of English and comparative literature, has been named the winner of the sixth Pak Kyong-ni Prize. South Korea’s first international literary award, it was established in 2011 to honor the achievements of the late South Korean novelist Pak Kyong-ni (1926-2008) and, with a cash prize of more than $90,000, is one of […]

His name is pronounced “Googy,” and in his native African tongue, it means “work.” It’s fitting, because prolific author Ngugi wa Thiong’o has worked hard his entire life, turning out books, plays and newspaper columns that have made his unusual name known the world over. Now in his 70s, Ngugi could be forgiven for slowing down the […]

African author Ngugi wa Thiong’o champions diversity in literature and culture