Ngugi Wa Thiong'o: The Making of a Rebel. A Source Book in Kenyan Literature and Resistance

520 Pages·1990·32.714 MB·English

by  Carol Sicherman

wa
Ngugi
Thiong'o:
The Making of a Rebel
A
Source Book Kenyan
in
and
Literature Resistance
Carol Sicherman
Documentary Research in African Literatures 1
,

Documentary Research African
in
Literatures
General Editor:
Bernth Lindfors
Professor of English, University of Texas at Austin
No.1 Ngugi wa Thiong'o: The Making of a Rebel:
:
A Source Book in Kenyan Literature and Resistance
Carol Sicherman
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2017 with funding from
in
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/ngugiwathiongomaOOsich
wa
Ngugi Thiong'o:
The Making
of a Rebel
A
Source Book in Kenyan Literature
and Resistance
Carol Sicherman
HANS ZELL PUBLISHERS
London • Munich • New York • 1990
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans-
mitted in any form or by any means (including photocopying and record-
ing) without the written permission of the copyright holder except in
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1
under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 7
WC1E
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tion.
©
1990 Carol Sicherman
Hans Zell Publishers
Is an imprint of Bowker-Saur Ltd, a Reed International Books Company.
Borough Green, Sevenoaks, Kent, England TNI 5 8PH
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Sicherman, Carol
Ngugi wa Thiong'o: the making of a rebel. A source book in Kenyan
literature and resistance
1 . Fiction in English, Kenyan writers, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, 1 938 -
Title
I.
823
ISBN 0-90545-066-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sicherman, Carol.
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, the making of a rebel.
(Documentary research in African literatures 1)
;
Includes bibliographical references and index.
(p.
)
1 . Ngugi wa Thiong'o, 1 938- . 2. Authors, Kenyan—20th century—Biography.
3. Revolutionists-Kenya—Biography. 4. Kenya in literature. 5. Kenya-History.
I. Title. II. Series.
PR9381 .9.N45Z87 1990 823 [B] 90 -12531
ISBN 0-90545-066-3
Cover design by Robin Caira
Printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in Great Britain by
Bookcraft Ltd., Midsomer Norton, nr Bath
Contents
Foreword by Bemth Lindfors, Series Editor vii
Preface by Ngugi wa Thiong’o
viii
Acknowledgments x
Abbreviations xiv
Introduction xvi
Maps
Kenya
i.
Gikuyuland: Kiambu, Murang’a, and Nyeri
ii.
Nairobi, Limuru, and Environs.
iii.
Part Ngugi: Biography and Documents
I.
1. Chronology of Ngugi’s Life and Career 3
2. Ngugi on Ngugi 18
3. The Language Question 27
—
4. Detention Reports and Reviews 33
1. Ali A. Mazrui: “The Detention of Ngugi wa Thiong’o:
Report on a Private Visit”; “Ali Mazrui on Ngugi wa
Thiong’o’s Detention: An Unpublished Press Report” 33
2. Detained: Two Kenyan Reviews 37
Part n. Historical Backgrounds
5. Annotated Chronology of Kenyan History and Politics, 1870-1988 43
6. Biographical Glossary 104
7. Linguistic Glossary 195
Geographical Glossary 242
8.
CONTENTS
vi
Part III. Documents of Kenyan History
9. Colonial Kenya, 1888-1945
Documents 271
1.
2. Five Cases
A. Francis George Hall, Pioneer Administrator 309
B. E. S. Grogan, Settler and Flogger 324
C. Galbraith Cole, Murderer 333
D. T. G. Askwith, “Trustee for the Native People” 341
E. Waiyaki, Martyr 349
10. Resistance
1. The Fight for Independence: Mau Mau 358
2. E. Carey Francis, “Kenya’s Problems as Seen by
a Schoolmaster in Kikuyu Country” 389
—
Repression Three Cases
1 1
.
1. The Hola Massacre (1959) 398
2. The Manyani Detention Camp Inquiry (1959) 411
,
3. Torture Diary (1986) 424
Part IV. Bibliography
1. Primary Sources 431
2. Secondary Sources 433
Index 468