MAISHA YETU
Title: The Girl with the Louding Voice Author: Abi Dare Publisher: Sceptre (UK) Reviewer: Cynthia Abdallah It is not enough that the main character Adunni will tug at your heartstrings and make you sympathize with the plight of the girl child in the novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice. Her father’s decision to marry her […]
Short story writers have until May 15 to submit their entries to the Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The call out for submission for the 2023 prize was made on Saturday January 28, during the inaugural Kendeka Lecture, held at the Mount Kenya University. The lecture, titled Why Literature Matters and Literary Prizes Matter, was […]
Marx Kahende, a retired diplomat and Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s son, Nducu, are among the winners of the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature. Kahende’s book, The Wayward Vagabond, published by East African Educational Publishers (EAEP), won in the adult English category, while Nducu wa Ngugi’s book Benji’s Big Win (EAEP), won in the youth English category. […]
When Ngugi wa Thiong’o left his Kamirithu village, in Limuru, to join Alliance High School, the State of Emergency had already been declared, by colonial authorities in Kenya. This mainly affected members of the Gikuyu, Embu and Meru communities, that formed the bulk of the Mau Mau rebellion. Members of these three communities could not […]
Kenyans are reading. Introducing; top ten books of the month, as sold by Prestige Bookshop. 1.Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka In an imaginary Nigeria, a cunning entrepreneur is selling body parts stolen from Dr. Menka’s hospital for use in ritualistic practices. Dr. Menka shares the grisly […]
Longhorn Publishers has expanded its operations to the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Longhorn Publishers has been serving the needs of students and educators in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda for over 50 years, and we’re thrilled to be offering our quality products and services to learners in DRC,” said the company in a statement on […]
Gíkúyú mythology tells the story of the cunning hare that entered into a deal with the hyena to the effect that they beat up their mothers later that evening.While it is not clear what wrong the two mothers had done to deserve such ‘punishment’, the two friends were nonetheless determined to go ahead with their […]
When Jaramogi Oginga Odinga sent his son Raila Odinga to communist East Germany, it was on the firm understanding that he would eventually study Medicine, despite the fact that the son was inclined to the arts. This was in 1962 and Raila was only 17. He had just left Maranda School. In Germany, he was […]
It was relief for Kenyan publishers after they held their first book fair in two years in Nakuru City last week. The publishers are just recovering from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw them lose a whole year’s sales when learning institutions were closed in 2020. Due to restrictions pertaining to Covid […]
History has a funny way of repeating itself, especially if we do not learn from it. In 1980, Frank Sundstrom, an American marine landed at the Kenyan coast, where he met Monicah Njeri. Njeri was what you would call a sex worker, yaani alikuwa anatafutia watoto. One thing led to another; the two had sex, […]