grain of wheat

NGUGI WA THIONGO is undoubtedly Kenyas most prolic writer. From the time he launched himself as a pioneer African writer with Weep Not, Child (1964), there was no stopping Ngugi. Weep Not, Child was quickly followed up by The River Between (1965) and A Grain of Wheat (1967), both of which conrmed Ngugi as a writer of great ambition. The publication of Petals of Blood (1977) and the pre-publication staging of the Gikuyu version of I Will Marry When I Want (a play), swiftly led to his detention without trial by Kenyas authorities. After detention, Ngugi issued Caaitani Mutharaba-ini, (Devil on the Cross 1982) and Matigari ma Njirungi (1986), a novel in Gikuyu. Ngugi is also a renowned playwright which such works as The Black Hermit (1968) and The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (1976), co-authored with Micere Githae Mugo. Besides novels and plays, he has also written volumes of essays and has published an anthology of short stories Secret Lives (1963). All Ngugis novels are published in the Peak Library.