Grain of Wheat (EAEP)

NGUGI WA THIONG’O is undoubtedly Kenya’s most prolific 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 confirmed 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 Kenya’s 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 Ngugi’s novels are published in the Peak Library.