The Martyr | Author Biography
East Africa's most prominent writer, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, was born James Thiong'o Ngugi, in Limuru, Kenya, on January 5,1938. In order to shed his colonial Christian namesake, Ngugi dropped "James" from his name in favor of his traditional name. As a result of his eventual international recognition as a novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and essayist, he is often referred to simply as Ngugi. Ngugi was one of twenty-eight children; his father, a peasant farmer who could not own his own land, had four wives, and Ngugi was the fifth child of the third wife. Ngugi first received primary...
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