Kenyan literature

Part of a series on the

Culture of Kenya

History

* Pleistocene
* Neolithic
* African iron age
* Swahili city states
* Portuguese and Omani period
* British Colonial Period
* Early post Independence
* Moi Era
* Recent history

People

Historic peoples

* Koobi Fora Hominins
* Olorgesailie Aechulean hand axe culture
* Savanna Pastoral Neolithic Culture
* Eburran industry
* Elmenteitan culture
* Sirikwa culture
* Urewe culture
* Shungwaya

Modern ethnicities

* Kikuyu
* Luhya
* Banyala
* Bukusu
* Gisu
* Idakho
* Isukha
* Khayo
* Kisa
* Marachi
* Maragoli
* Marama
* Tachoni
* Tiriki
* Samia
* Wanga
* Kalenjin
* Nandi
* Marakwet
* Kipsigis
* Elgeyo
* Tugen
* Terik
* Pokot
* Sabaot
* Luo
* Suba
* Kunta
* Kamba
* Somali
* Kisii
* Kuria
* Meru
* Mbeere
* Embu
* Teso
* Maasai
* Samburu
* Ilchamus
* Turkana
* Borana
* Sakuye
* Orma
* Rendille
* Gabra
* Sengwer
* Mijikenda
* Jibana
* Giriama
* Duruma
* Chonyi
* Swahili
* Taita
* Taveta
* Okiek
* Kenyan Asians
* White Kenyans
* Kenyan Arabs

Diaspora

* Kenyan Americans
* Kenyan Australians
* Kenyan Britons

Languages

* Niger–Congo
* Bantu
* Swahili
* Kikuyu
* Kamba
* Ekegusii
* Kimîîru
* Oluluhyia
* Kipokomo
* Kigiryama
* Kiembu
* bajuni

* Nilo-Saharan
* Nilotic
* Dholuo
* Kalenjin
* Maa
* Turkana

* Afroasiatic
* Cushitic
* Rendille
* Somali
* Semitic
* Arabic

* Indo-European
* Germanic
* West Germanic
* English
* German
* Afrikaans
* Indo-Iranian
* Hindustani
* Italic
* French
* Italian

Mythology

* Bantu mythology
* Gikuyu
* Akamba
* Maasai mythology
* Kalenjin mythology
* Kit-Mikayi
* Luanda Magere

Cuisine

Festivals

* New Year's Day
* Mawlid
* Good Friday
* Easter Monday
* Lamu Cultural Festival
* Labour day
* Madaraka Day
* Eid al-Fitr
* Eid al-Adha
* Huduma Day
* Diwali
* Mashujaa Day
* Jamhuri Day
* Rusinga (Cultural) Festival
* Christmas Day
* Boxing Day

Religion

* Catholicism
* Anglicanism
* African Inland Church
* Quakers
* Judaism

Art

* Traditional art
* Wangechi Mutu

Literature

* Swahili literature

Music and performing arts

* Benga
* Boomba
* Genge
* Kenyan hip hop
* Lingala
* Ohangla
* Soukous
* Taarab

Performing arts

* Kenya National Theatre
* Kenya Institute of Puppet Theatre (KIPT)
* The Kenya Schools and Colleges Drama Festival
* Too Early for Birds

Media

* Television
* Cinema
* Nation Media Group

Government agencies

* Communications Authority
* Kenya Film Commission
* Kenya Film Classification Board
* Kenya News Agency

Television

* A24 news channel
* Citizen TV
* Kenya Broadcasting Corporation
* Kenya Television Network
* Tinga Tinga Tales

Radio

* 98.4 Capital FM
* CRI Nairobi 91.9 FM
* Pamoja FM
* Radio Maria

Newspapers

* The African Executive
* Business Daily Africa
* Daily Nation
* The EastAfrican
* Kenya Gazette
* Kenya Times
* The Standard
* The Star

Sport

* Athletics Kenya
* Football in Kenya
* Football Kenya Federation
* Kenyan Premier League
* Rugby union in Kenya
* Safari Sevens
* Cricket in Kenya
* Golf in Kenya

Monuments

* World Heritage Sites
* List of Monuments
* Lothagam North Pillar Site
* Namoratunga
* Thimlich Ohinga
* Ruins of Gedi
* Jumba la Mtwana
* Lamu Fort
* Siyu Fort
* Fort Jesus
* Tom Mboya Monument
* Dedan Kimathi Statue
* Baden-Powell grave

Symbols

* Flag
* Coat of arms
* National anthem
* Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu
* Coat of arms of Kenya

* Kenya portal

* v
* t
* e

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Kenyan literature describes literature which comes from Kenya. Kenya has a long literary tradition, both oral and written; primarily in English[1] and Swahili, the two official languages of the country.

## History

[edit]

Kenya has a strong tradition of oral literature, which continues today in several languages.[1] As a result of Kenya's history, including a period where it was a former British colony, Kenyan literature concurrently belongs to several bodies of writing, including that of the Commonwealth of Nations and of Africa as a whole.[1] Most written literature is in English; some scholars consider Swahili to be marginalized in Kenyan literature.[2]

## Notable writers

[edit]

Important Kenyan writers include Grace Ogot, Meja Mwangi, Paul Kipchumba, Kinyanjui Kombani, Margaret Ogola, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Francis Imbuga, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor and Binyavanga Wainaina.[3][4][5][6]

## Notable works

[edit]

One of the best known pieces of Kenyan literature is Utendi wa Tambuka, which translates to The Story of Tambuka. Written by a man named Mwengo at the court of the Sultan of Pate, the epic poem is one of the earliest known documents in Swahili, being written in the year 1141 of the Islamic calendar, or 1728 AD.[7]

Thiong'o's first novel, Weep Not, Child, was the first novel in English to be published by an East African. His The River Between is currently on Kenya's national secondary school syllabus.[8][9] His novel A Grain of Wheat was said to "...[mark] the coming of age of Anglophone literature in East Africa".[10]

## Works set in Kenya

[edit]

Numerous authors of European background also wrote or based their books in Kenya. The best-known of these include Isak Dinesen (the pen name of Karen Blixen), whose Out of Africa was the basis for the popular film starring Meryl Streep; Elspeth Huxley, author of The Flame Trees of Thika; Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, whose Coming to Birth won the Sinclair Prize; and Beryl Markham, author of West with the Night.[11]

## See also

[edit]

* Swahili literature
* Culture of Kenya
* Music of Kenya

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Kiiru, Muchugu (March 2004). "Kenyan Literature: A Call for Discourse By Muchugu Kiiru". The Nairobi Journal of Literature. 2. University of Nairobi.
2. ^ Amoko, Apollo Obonyo (2010). Postcolonialism in the Wake of the Nairobi Revolution: Ngugi wa Thiong'o and the Idea of African Literature. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan.
3. ^ Grace Ify Achufusi, "Conceptions of Ideal Womanhood: The Example of Bessie Head and Grace Ogot", in Neohelicon, 2005 19(2): p. 95.
4. ^ "Meja Mwangi". Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2016.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
5. ^ Paul Kipchumba
6. ^ "Visiting writer Wainaina winning worldwide accolades". Union College. 31 January 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
7. ^ Knappert, Jan (1958). Het Epos Van Heraklios.
8. ^ Muchemi Wachira (2 April 2008). "Kenya: Publishers Losing Millions to Pirates". The Daily Nation. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
9. ^ Joseph Ngunjiri (25 November 2007). "Kenya: Ngugi Book Causes Rift Between Publishers". The Daily Nation. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
10. ^ Caminero-Santangelo, Byron (1998). "Neocolonialism and the Betrayal Plot in "A Grain of Wheat": Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Re-Vision of "Under Western Eyes"". Research in African Literatures. 29 (1).
11. ^ Ingham, Kenneth (24 May 2016). "Kenya". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 21 October 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Literature of Kenya
* Kenyan Catholics strike against African literature
* Kenyan folklore

* v
* t
* e

Kenya articles

History|

* Timeline
* Wanga Kingdom
* Indian Ocean slave trade
* East Africa Protectorate
* Uganda Railway
* Kenya Colony
* In World War II
* Ilemi Triangle
* Kenya African Union
* Mau Mau rebellion
* 1963 Constitution
* 1982 coup d'état attempt
* Goldenberg scandal
* 1992 Elections
* 2007–2008 crisis
* 2010 referendum
* 2013 Elections

Geography|

* Biosphere reserves
* Climate
* Ecoregions
* Environmental issues
* Great Rift Valley
* Lakes
* Mountains
* Protected areas
* Rivers
* Volcanoes
* Wildlife
* World Heritage Sites

Subdivisions|

* Cities
* Counties

Politics|

* Constitution
* Elections
* Foreign relations
* Government
* Human rights
* Intersex
* LGBT rights
* Judiciary
* Law enforcement
* Military
* Parliament
* Building
* Political parties
* President
* list
* Deputy President
* Prime Minister (defunct)

Economy|

* Agriculture
* Central bank
* Coffee
* Energy
* Real Estate
* Shilling (currency)
* Telecommunications
* Tourism
* Transport

Society|

* Child marriage
* Corruption
* Crime
* Demographics
* Education
* Health
* Human trafficking
* Languages
* Polygamy
* Prostitution
* Religion
* Squatting
* Water supply and sanitation
* Women

Culture|

* Anthem
* Cinema
* Coat of arms
* English
* Engsh
* Flag
* Names
* Literature
* Media
* Museums
* Music
* Public holidays
* Sports
* Sheng
* Swahili
* Video gaming

* Outline
* Index

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

African literature

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

Dependencies and
other territories

* Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberanía (Spain)
* Madeira (Portugal)
* Mayotte / Réunion (France)
* Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)

Authority control databases: National |

* Czech Republic

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template