Holder of numerous international prizes, born in 1938, is considered the greatest Kenyan writer and is regularly cited as a potential Nobel Prize for Literature. His considerable work (novels, short stories, essays, theatre) reflects his political commitment, paid for by a year in prison in his country and a long exile in the United States.
A defender of African languages, he now writes his novels in his native Kikuyu and then translates them himself into English: a choice he justifies in Decolonize the mind (The Factory, 2011). One of the most translated African authors in the world, he remains poorly known in French-speaking countries. “Dreaming in times of war»translated from English (Kenya) by Jean-Pierre Orban and Annaëlle Rochard, the first volume of his memoirs, is the best way to find out.
” Do your best “, said the mother to the child. Remembering the little boy he was, the immense writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o tells how, from his childhood to his adolescence, History penetrates the family courtyard in Kenya, affects it and changes it. The Second World War crossed his life, his country rose up against the colonial power, the Mau Mau rebellion rose in the heart of his region, leaders – such as Jomo Kenyatta – were born, his brothers were divided between resistance fighters and collaborators. What will save the child from the turmoil are the traditional wakes, books and school that will help him realize his dreams. We cry, we revolt, we vibrate closer to dramatic and sometimes comical situations. And from a story by small touches, the soil is revealed which will nourish the work of the marvelous storyteller who is the author.” (Presentation of Editions Vents d’Ailleurs)
Writer and novelist, Jean-Pierre Orban is the translator and publisher of “Dreaming in times of war”, by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, published by Vents d’Ailleurs.