A giant of African literature whose best works existed between the political and the personal, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o was warm, funny and friendly – and liked to bet on my pool gamesAmong the African writers who emerged in the middle of the 20th century, the most political undoubtedly was Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Born in Kenya while it was still under British rule he was anti-colonialist, a communist, anti-dictatorial, and an almost militant proponent for African languages being used for African literature.His best works exist at the interface between the political and the personal. His first book of essays, Homecoming, is at once engaging and polemical. His early novels Weep Not, Child and A Grain of Wheat look at the impact of colonialism and the Mau Mau rebellion on individual lives. He was strangely at his best with the personal and the intimate, but his reputation grew more from his political stances – first against the British government, then against the dictatorship in Kenya in the 70s. He was jailed not for a thundering political text but for a play in Kikuyu called I Will Marry When I Want. In prison he wrote his memoir on toilet paper. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2025-05-30 16:36:34 UTC ]
Review of "There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century" by Fiona Hill Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-01 14:45:07 UTC ]
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Carlo Collodi’s version of Donkey Skin, by French author Charles Perrault, will appear in a new collection of Italian fairytalesCarlo Collodi is remembered today for Pinocchio, his 1881 children’s story about a puppet who turns into a real boy, immortalised on screen by Disney. Now another... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-10-01 13:46:15 UTC ]
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Dave Grohl has visited London to promote his memoir, The Storyteller, (Simon & Schuster) ahead of its publication on 5th October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-01 02:55:46 UTC ]
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The response to the criticism of Kate Clanchy’s memoir was a moral failure on the part of white publishing—and an artistic failure too Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-30 18:27:25 UTC ]
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In the memoir “Here, Right Matters,” Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman defends his decision to report President Trump’s call with Ukraine. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-09-29 18:40:35 UTC ]
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In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This month we’re featuring Made in China author Anna Qu, who will be leading a year-long Online Memoir Generator for writers of color... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-09-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton has landed a memoir by Keith Brymer Jones, star judge of Channel Four’s “The Great Pottery Throwdown”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 20:55:02 UTC ]
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Sphere has pre-empted In Two Minds: Stories of Murder, Justice and Recovery from a Forensic Psychiatrist by Dr Sohom Das. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-22 23:05:16 UTC ]
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Monoray has secured a deal for In the Shadow of the Mountain, the “heart-breaking and empowering” memoir from climber Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, which will soon be adapted into a film starring Selena Gomez. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-17 20:43:04 UTC ]
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Rajika Bhandari talks about her memoir “America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility” and how students from other countries benefit the U.S. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-09-13 14:26:03 UTC ]
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Fiction Drawing inspiration from the writing of Lesley Nneka Arimah, Edwin Okolo creates a world of birth factories, colossal levees, secret labs, and New Biafra, where we find Ameli, Lotanna’s wife—because he chose her. Those colossal levees, rising... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-09-13 14:09:11 UTC ]
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“Feeling afraid to obey the demands of your own heart? Is there anything more human?” Jennifer Finney Boylan considers Henry David Thoreau and the risks we take to live our full truth. | Lit Hub Memoir Who was Laurie Colwin, and what makes her (newly reissued) fiction so relevant today? | Lit... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-13 10:30:34 UTC ]
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Anna Qu is the guest. Her new book, Made in China: A Memoir of Love and Labor, is out now from Catapult. From the episode: Anna Qu: I think I was trying to capture a couple of points. The first point is really arriving at a single moment of betrayal, and that betrayal was reporting […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-13 08:48:59 UTC ]
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Wildfire has acquired Love from the Pink Palace: Memories of Love, Loss and Cabaret Through the AIDS Crisis, a memoir by Jill Nalder, the real-life inspiration behind the character Jill from Channel 4's "It’s a Sin". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-09 20:53:00 UTC ]
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Grisham, also a former top aide to Melania Trump, to publish memoir containing ‘surprising new scandals’ in October The former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, also a former top aide to former first lady Melania Trump, will release a memoir in October. Related: ‘Bring it’:... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-09-09 19:11:26 UTC ]
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David Ulin read four of the recall candidate's books, from the jeremiad "Showdown" to the memoir "A Lot Like Me," and found not a writer but a brand. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-09-08 13:00:05 UTC ]
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Dawn Turner’s memoir gives a tutorial of urban decay, White privilege, poor city planning and the influence of fads and digital advances on Black urban teenagers. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
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In ‘Forever Young,’ the 75-year-old actress opens up about life before and after ‘The Parent Trap’ Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-05 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Five years ago, when in her late twenties, Emma Gannon released her first book: Ctrl Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online. It’s a funny and thoughtful memoir which charts her formative experiences on the internet as a Millennial woman born in the same year as the World Wide Web. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-03 14:05:09 UTC ]
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Shawna Kay Rodenberg recounts her childhood in a religious sect and in rural Kentucky. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-03 12:00:00 UTC ]
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