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 ]
A Memoir About Having Undocumented Parents, One Woman Against the Hordes of Hell, a Chillingly Beautiful Mystery, and More of Today's Best Book Deals Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2025-01-11 12:30:00 UTC ]
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Gloria L. Huang on understanding herself and her family through The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins. | Lit Hub Memoir “Miles tells him he’s the man on the marquee, but the cop assaults him with his stick nonetheless.” Irvin Weathersby Jr. examines the effortless racism of America’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-01-08 11:30:31 UTC ]
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Jewish Life in Harbin, China: A Conversation with Jean Hoffmann Lewanda by Susan Blumberg-Kason Interviews [email protected] Tue, 01/07/2025 - 07:08 Shalama and Paul, Shanghai, 1950. Photo courtesy of Jean Hoffmann LewandaI met the author Jean... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2025-01-07 13:08:24 UTC ]
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Reagan Arthur picks up a memoir of solo travel, a pair of French sister-authors sell the story of their famous grandmother to Europa Editions, and more in this week’s book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-01-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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From angry spirits and parallel universes to alien abductions and epic folklore, African writers are offering fresh new horizons for the world’s science fiction landscape. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-12-19 08:05:22 UTC ]
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From angry spirits and parallel universes to alien abductions and epic folklore, African writers are offering fresh new horizons for the world’s science fiction landscape. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-12-19 08:05:22 UTC ]
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The year’s best books include the novel “James” by Percival Everett and a memoir by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2024-12-18 16:59:22 UTC ]
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Dr. Guy Leschziner explores the science behind the more unsavory aspects of our personalities. | Lit Hub Science Sara B. Franklin on reading children’s lit in troubled times | Lit Hub Memoir What do we really need from our literary heroes? | Lit Hub Memoir “Every food tells a story, and like... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-12-11 11:30:59 UTC ]
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Many celebrities’ books are actually written by others, the UK writers’ union says, and it’s time they were acknowledgedThe Society of Authors (SoA) is calling on celebrities and the publishing industry to properly acknowledge the writers behind celebrity books, particularly those aimed at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-12-10 16:42:22 UTC ]
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Gypsy-Rose Blanchard spent years in prison for helping to kill her mother. Now she's about to become a parent herself — and is out with a memoir about her childhood Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-12-10 11:00:49 UTC ]
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Here are this week's bestsellers from the five biggest lists, including part one of Cher's memoir and THE SERVICEBERRY by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-12-05 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor, seems to inch closer and closer to running for mayor.He clearly hoped Mayor Eric Adams, indicted on corruption charges in September, would resign, triggering a special election. Cuomo, for now, seems less enthusiastic about taking on Adams directly.... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2024-12-03 18:43:26 UTC ]
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December's new mysteries and thrillers include a Japanese murder mystery, a true crime memoir of a woman raised by a serial killer, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-12-02 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Cher discovered that mom Georgia Holt had inadvertently put 'Cheryl' on the birth certificate. Luckily, her memoir gets much juicier. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-11-26 01:23:22 UTC ]
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One thing is clear from the get-go: Werner Herzog, the enigmatic German icon of all things Art, likes for things to be precise. He makes sure I know this within the first minutes of our meeting. He is in Paris for48 hours for the release of the French translation of his memoir Every Man for […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-11-25 09:57:37 UTC ]
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Cher’s memoir is a valuable document of a young girl thrust into the adult world. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2024-11-22 17:45:00 UTC ]
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Her own is called “Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me,” which follows anthologies that grew out of founding the Well-Read Black Girl book club. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-11-21 10:00:06 UTC ]
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Out of an impressive shortlist, Richard Flanagan’s Question 7 has won 2024’s Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Flanagan’s wide-ranging memoir and history weaves together H.G. Wells and Rebecca West’s affair, pre-war nuclear physics, his father’s imprisonment near Hiroshima when the American... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-11-19 22:15:16 UTC ]
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"This is the kind of book that's hard to imagine until you're reading it: it doesn't seem possible, and then it is." Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-19 13:00:00 UTC ]
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In the first volume of her memoir (which she hasn’t read), she explores her difficult childhood, her fraught marriage to Sonny Bono and how she found her voice. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-11-17 10:00:52 UTC ]
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