33 Asia in My Life

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Preface ix
4. Acknowledgements xiii
5. Chronology xv
6. Introduction Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: Reflections on His Life of Writing 1
7. Ngũgĩ at Work 13
8. Part I Serenades & Beginnings
9. 1 Hyperbolic Praise Poetry for Ngũgĩ @80 … In Imitation of African Orature 25
10. 2 A Song at Dawn (for Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o) 35
11. 3 Ngũgĩ in Eritrea 36
12. 4 Up From Makerere: On the Publication of Weep Not, Child 41
13. 5 Encountering Ngũgĩ at Leeds: An Interview with Peter Nazareth 45
14. 6 The Book that Made Me: On Weep Not, Child 48
15. 7 Note from a Literary Son 51
16. 8 What is in a Name? 53
17. 9 In Exile: Between Britain & Kenya 57
18. Part II Memories, Recollections & Tributes
19. 10 Remembering Early Conversations with Ngũgĩ 63
20. 11 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o at 80: Pongezi (Congratulations!) 66
21. 12 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o at 80: Inspiring Encounters 69
22. 13 Ngũgĩ in the 1970s at the University of Nairobi 75
23. 14 ‘Professor, You are in Ngũgĩ’s Book’ 79
24. 15 Mũraata, Mũrutani, na Mũthikĩrĩria (Friend, Teacher & Listener) 86
25. 16 Fear & Trepidation in Asmara: Meeting Ngũgĩ 91
26. 17 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: A True Story 97
27. 18 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: Tribute on His 80th Birthday 102
28. Part III Working with Ngũgĩ
29. 19 Ngũgĩ & the Decolonization of Publishing 109
30. 20 The Turning Point: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o & His Kenyan Publisher 115
31. 21 Working with Ngũgĩ 121
32. 22 Recollections of Mũtiiri 125
33. Part IV The Writer, the Critic & the World
34. 23 Bricklayer & Architect of a World to Come 133
35. 24 Revisioning Goethe’s Idea of ‘World Literature’ 135
36. 25 Globalectics: Beyond Postcoloniality, & Engaging the Caribbean 143
37. 26 Ngũgĩ & the Quest for a Linguistic Paradigm Shift: Some Reflections 150
38. 27 Autobiographical Prototypes in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Early Fiction & Drama 156
39. 28 Homecoming: The Idea of Return in the Works of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o 163
40. 29 Gũcookia Rũĩ Mũkaro 168
41. 30 Muthoni’s Afterlives 172
42. Part V The Other Ngũgĩ
43. 31 Kwa Grant Kamenju 183
44. 32 Wasomi, Lugha za Ulaya na za Kiafrika: Kati ya Kuweza na Kuwezwa 186
45. 33 Asia in My Life 194
46. 34 Ndaĩ ya Wendo 200
47. Appendixes
48. Appendix A Review of Wizard of the Crow: Ngũgĩ’s Homecoming Gift to Kenyans 205
49. Appendix B Directing the River Back to its Course 208
50. Appendix C For Grant Kamenju 212
51. Appendix D Intellectuals, European & African Languages: Between Enslavement & Empowerment 214
52. References
53. Bibliography of Ngũgĩ’s Primary Works 225
54. Works Cited 227
55. Notes on Contributors 231
56. Index 236