Decolonizing language and other revolutionary ideas

Considered one of Kenya's most accomplished cultural figures, radical octogenarian writer, scholar, and activist Thiong'o (Minutes of Glory, 2019) is the author of over two dozen novels, story collections, plays, memoirs, and other works of nonfiction, many of which explore themes of colonial linguistic legacies, African liberation, and political justice. As such, he is uniquely positioned to weigh in on questions of decolonization and knowledge production. Divided into two halves, the book first explores the traumas inflicted by English-only education in Africa and elsewhere as well as the complicit roles universities and other systems of formal education continue to play in perpetuating linguistic hegemony. The second part puts these ideas into conversation with prominent African writers and thinkers, such as renowned Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, Nobel Prize--winning South African author Nadine Gordimer, and influential Kenyan publisher Henry Chakava. Steeped in rich historical references and Thiong'o's own lived experiences, this book brings refreshing focus back to efforts towards decolonization, a term that has perhaps faded from popular discourse but that deserves vigorous resuscitation.

These erudite essays from Kenyan novelist Thiong'o (The Perfect Nine) meditate on colonialism, literature, and politics. "Decolonizing Education" defends the preservation of native languages as a vital expression of culture, criticizing how the English attempted to suppress Gaelic in Ireland and Sanskrit in India as a means of subduing colonial populations. In "Between Enslavement and Empowerment," Thiong'o laments how the middle class in many African countries reinforce the preference for European languages even after independence, noting that most contemporary African academics don't write in African languages and that the Kenyan parliament voted to ban African languages on official premises. Several pieces pay tribute to Thiongo's literary contemporaries, as when he lauds novelist Chinua Achebe for raising the international profile of African writers as adviser to the Heinemann African Writers Series and praises playwright Mĩcere Mũgo for critiquing Kenyan dictator Daniel arap Moi in her work even as doing so forced her into exile. Elsewhere, Thiong'o exhorts Kenyan leaders to address acute poverty in the country and calls on universities to encourage discourse across cultures and languages. Thiong'o's incisive analysis unearths the hidden connections between language and power, doling out insights into the fault lines of postcolonial African politics along the way. This will leave readers with much to ponder. Agent: Julia Masnik, Watkins/Loomis. (May)