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Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

ングギ・ワ・チョンゴ

Ngugi wa Thiongo

Aliases: James Ngugi
Pen Names: James Ngugi（Baptismal name and used for early works written in English）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1938-01-05 （Kamiriithu, Kiambu District, Kenya）
Died
2025-05-28 （Buford, Georgia, United States） age 87
Nationality
Kenyan
Languages
English, Gikuyu (Kikuyu)
Religion
Christianity （Baptismal Name: James Ngugi）
Residence History
Kamiriithu, Kenya → Kampala, Uganda → London, United Kingdom (exile period) → United States (Irvine, California and other locations) → Buford, Georgia, United States (place of death)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Academic, Playwright
Active Years
1960-2025
Affiliations
University of Nairobi, Makerere University (Fellow in Creative Writing), Northwestern University (visitor), Yale University (Visiting Professor), New York University (Erich Maria Remarque Chair), University of California, Irvine (Distinguished Professor; founding director of International Center for Writing and Translation)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Letters (Honorary Foreign Member), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Elected Member), Royal Society of Literature (International Writer)
Influenced By
Chinua Achebe, Frantz Fanon, George Lamming
Influenced
Contemporary East African and African writers, His children who are writers (e.g. Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ)
Nominations
International Booker Prize (The Perfect Nine, longlisted 2021), Man Booker International Prize (shortlisted 2009), International Dublin Literary Award (nominated 2008)

Education

Makerere University College
English
Degree: BA
Period: 1959–1963
Year of Graduation: 1963
Country: Uganda
Attended the 1962 African Writers Conference while at Makerere; received BA in English.
University of Leeds
Graduate studies (focused on Caribbean literature)
Period: 1964–1967
Country: United Kingdom
Studied for an MA; did not complete thesis.

Awards

UNESCO First Prize
1966
Work: Weep Not, Child
Organization: World Festival of Black Arts / UNESCO
Result: 受賞
Lotus Prize for Literature
1973
Organization: Lotus Prize / Afro-Asian Writers' organisations
Result: 受賞
Nonino International Prize for Literature
2001
Organization: Nonino (Italy)
Result: 受賞
Park Kyong-ni Prize
2016
Organization: Park Kyong-ni Prize committee
Result: 受賞
Premi Internacional de Catalunya
2019
Organization: Government of Catalonia
Result: 受賞
Grand Prix des mécènes (GPLA)
2018
Organization: Grand Prix of Literary Associations
Result: 受賞（作品全集に対して）
EBRD Literature Prize
2021
Work: The Perfect Nine
Organization: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Result: 受賞
PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature
2022
Organization: PEN America
Result: 受賞
International Booker Prize (longlisted)
2021
Work: The Perfect Nine
Organization: International Booker Prize
Result: 長list（ノミネート）
Zora Neale Hurston–Paul Robeson Award
1993
Organization: National Council for Black Studies
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Weep Not, Child

1964 Novel

A novel set in colonial Kenya focusing on village life and young people's experiences; one of the early important English-language novels from an East African writer.

ColonialismEducation and hopeLand and belonging
Translations
  • Translated into multiple languages

The River Between

1965 Novel

Set against the Mau Mau uprising, the novel examines conflict between Christianity and traditional beliefs, entwined with a tragic romance.

Religious conflictEthnicity and traditionEffects of colonialism

A Grain of Wheat

1967 Novel (political/historical)

Incorporates Fanonist ideas to portray politics and human relationships in Kenya around independence; marks a more overtly political turn in the author's writing.

Anti-colonial struggleBetrayal and forgivenessIndividual vs community

Petals of Blood

1977 Novel (social critique)

A forceful critique of corruption and injustices arising from capitalist development in postcolonial society.

Corruption and exploitationSocial injusticeDevelopment and land issues

Devil on the Cross (Caitaani Mutharaba-Ini)

1980 Novel (written in Gikuyu)

Famous for having been written on prison-issued toilet paper; symbolizes the author's turn to writing in his native language.

Satire on capitalismResistance and liberationMother tongue and expression

Wizard of the Crow

2006 Novel (elements of magical realism)

Set in a fictional African state, the novel uses humour and allegory to examine power, corruption and social dynamics.

Corruption of powerAllegory and humourInstitutions and individuals

The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi

2020 Epic (novel-in-verse; reinterpretation of folktale)

A reworking of the Gĩkũyũ origin myth from a feminist and pan-African perspective; originally written in Gikuyu and translated into English by the author.

Myth reimaginingFeminine powerCulture and memory

Bibliography

  • Weep Not, Child, 1964
  • The River Between, 1965
  • A Grain of Wheat, 1967
  • Petals of Blood, 1977
  • Devil on the Cross, 1980
  • Matigari, 1986
  • Wizard of the Crow, 2006
  • The Perfect Nine, 2020

Adaptations

  • Ngaahika Ndeenda (theatre): staged in 1977, was shut down by authorities after six weeks

Translations by Author

  • The Perfect Nine (Gikuyu→English): translated into English by the author

Translations of Works

  • Short story 'The Upright Revolution' translated into over 100 languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Politically explicit social criticismAllegorical and parabolic modesRevival of oral-literature elements
Recurring Motifs
Colonialism and decolonizationLand and belongingLanguage and identity

Health

  • Prostate cancer
    1995（診断）
    Diagnosed in 1995 and given a short prognosis but recovered.
  • Triple bypass heart surgery
    2019頃
    Underwent triple bypass in 2019 and subsequently struggled with kidney failure.
  • Kidney failure (dialysis)
    晩年（2019年以降）
    Reportedly received dialysis treatments in later years; died in 2025.

Legacy

A leading East African novelist and intellectual who championed literature in African languages and decolonisation. His advocacy for mother-tongue writing, theatre practices and prison-era creations left a profound mark on contemporary African literature.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Royal Society of Literature (International Writer)

Archives

  • Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o Foundation archives
  • Official website and university archival records

In Popular Culture

  • Subject of international obituaries and frequently cited in debates on language and decolonisation

Quotes

  • To starve or kill a language is to starve and kill a people's memory bank.
    Source: Various writings and speeches (reflected in works such as 'Something Torn and New') (2009)

Trivia

  • Devil on the Cross was famously written on prison-issued toilet paper.
  • After 1967 he largely renounced writing in English and advocated for writing in his native Gikuyu.
  • The short story 'The Upright Revolution' has been translated into over 100 languages.