A Grain of Wheat

NGUGI WA THIONG'O is undoubtedly Kenya's 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 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.