Moving the Centre: The Struggle for Cultural Freedoms

If reading Ngugi's fiction can stir people from stupor, reading his non-fiction works can only do that in greater measure. He has significantly contributed to moving the center through his many years of resistance and writing both fiction and non-fiction in English and especially in Kikuyu. - Nikhil Aziz in AFRICA TODAY The compelling emotional force of this book emerges from Ngugi's convincing emphasis on a truly universal human culture and his continuing ability to personalize large political issues and to persuasively politicize his own personal experiences. CHOICE ... the poet or storyteller, he argues, cannot perform his function within his own society unless he shares and enriches its tongue. The Kenyan government only moved decisively against him when he began to do precisely that, first imprisoning him, then driving him into exile. - Gerald Moore in LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE For a long time, Ngugi's was a lone voice howling against the wind. Now people like Edward Said have joined in the war against cultural imperialism. - Anver Versi in NEW AFRICAN