Ngugi: African Literature and Politics

Today, I submitted to the English Department the description of a seminar I will be teaching in the Fall, 2011, titled "Ngugi: African Literature and Politics." Here is the description, now available to prospective students:

Ngugi wa Thiong’o is one of Africa’s leading writers. He is also a political and cultural activist. He has written short stories, novels and plays, as well as essays on literature, politics and language. He is the most well known champion of African language literatures. His work draws on sources as diverse as Gikuyu folklore, The Bible, Chinua Achebe, Karl Marx and Frantz Fanon. In this seminar, we will read and discuss a selection of Ngugi’s works in a chronological order, including his earliest short stories, The Black Hermit, The River Between, The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, A Grain of Wheat, and Wizard of the Crow. We will explore the evolution of Ngugi’s writings, and how he has been influenced by, and in turn influenced, African writing and debates about politics, culture and language. Studying Ngugi offers a unique opportunity to understand the relationship between literature and politics in contemporary Africa.

(The photo above, featuring Ngugi and me, was taken during Ngugi's visit to Macalester College, where he gave a reading of Wizard of the Crow)

Teaching "A Grain of Wheat"

My African Literature and Politics class is now embarking on a study of Ngugi wa Thingo's A Grain of Wheat. I read this novel for the first time around 1971-72 at Mkwawa High School, Tanzania. It was on the reading list for the Literature course.

I remember quite well the experience of studying A Grain of Wheat. Our teacher was Paul Sorenson, a Danish volunteer. Soft-spoken and focused, he led us through a methodical exploration of this novel, alongside works of criticism, such as an essay by David Cook, titled "A New Earth."

There are memories that seem to last for ever. One such, for me, and close to my heart, is the cover of the novel--both the front and the back--featured on this page.

In those days, the author's name was James Ngugi. A Grain of Wheat and Ngugi's other writings touched us in a special way. Because of our rural backgrounds, most of us could relate to the lives of Ngugi's characters.

I have just introduced Ngugi to the class, with remarks about Kenya's colonization, settlers and the alienation of land, the Kenyan people's resistance against colonialism. I dwelt on the Mau Mau uprising and the Emergency.

I mentioned Ngugi's earlier works, such as Weep Not Child, The River Between, and The Black Hermit; his advocacy of writing in African languages, his stand against imperialism and for decolonization. I look forward to rich and memorable conversations with my students about A Grain of Wheat.

Teaching "God's Bits of Wood"

After discussing Ferdinand Oyono's The Old Man and the Medal, my African Literature and Politics class picked up Sembene Ousmane's God's Bits of Wood, enabling us to continue our exploration of African Francophone writing.

I was happy to introduce Sembene Ousmane, Africa's leading film maker and one of its most accomplished writers. I talked about his life, work and travels, the evolution of his writing and his decision to make films. I talked about his politics as reflected in his life, writings and films.

After years of studying epics, I now see God's Bits of Wood in terms of the epic genre. The struggle of the workers, epitomized by the strike, is a classic epic tale, reinforced by Maimouna's songs from the ancient legend of Goumba N'Diaye, "the woman who had measured her strength against that of men."

This legend foreshadows the role women play in God's Bits of Wood. Mindful, however, of the many female characters and their roles, we dwelt on specific characters: Old Niakoro, Maimouna, Ramatoulaye, Ndeye Touti, and the little girl Adjibidji, who reminds me of another little girl, Raka, in Anita Desai's Fire on the Mountain. Both are free spirits, perpetually crossing the boundaries their societies impose on girls and women.

God's Bits of Wood methodically explores the trials and tribulations of a society under siege, reminiscent, in some ways, of Albert Camus's The Plague. Both texts explore what happens or might happen to human beings under such extreme conditions, as suffering persists and intensifies, seemingly with no end in sight.

We talked about themes in the novel: oppression, discrimination, racism, religion, colonial education, the politics of language, the relationship between the old generation and the new, and between men and women. In discussing these themes, we invoked the ideas of people like Frantz Fanon and Ngugi wa Thiong'o. I gave the class plenty of time to read the novel, and I believe the experience was worthwhile.