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Museum of the African Diaspora

October 7 - October 7, 2012

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685 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94105
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A Co-Presentation by Museum of the African Diaspora and Litquake Acclaimed, Nobel-nominated Kenyan author and activist Ngugi wa Thiong’o in conversation on politics, aesthetics, writing, and more, with his son, novelist, poet, and Cornell professor, Mukoma Wa Ngugi. Moderated by author and professor Sarah Ladipo Manyika. Conversation followed by audience Q&A. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is is a novelist, essayist, playwright, journalist, editor, academic and social activist from Kenya. The Kenya of his birth and youth was a British settler colony (1895-1963). As an adolescent, he lived through the Mau Mau War of Independence (1952-1962), the central historical episode in the making of modern Kenya and a major theme in his early works. He was imprisoned for one year without charge in 1977. He went into exile from Kenya in 1982. His works include Weep Not Child, The River Between, A Grain of Wheat, and many more. He teaches at UC Irvine. His son, Mukoma Wa Ngugi is the author of Nairobi Heat and an anthology of poetry, Hurling Words at Consciousness. He was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2009 and for the Penguin Prize for African Writing in 2010. He is assistant professor of English at Cornell. Sarah Ladipo Manyika was raised in Nigeria and has lived in Kenya, France, and England. She is the author of In Dependence and Editor of Pulsations, The Journal of New African Writing. She teaches at SFSU and serves on the board of the Museum of the African Diaspora. This program is part of Words and Pictures: A Cultural Stroll through Yerba Buena. To purchase the Litquake Museum Pass click here. Litquake, San Francisco's annual literary festival, was founded by Bay Area writers in order to put on a week-long literary spectacle for book lovers, complete with cutting-edge panels, unique cross-media events, and hundreds of readings. Since its founding in 1999, the festival has presented more than 3,650 author appearances for an audience of over 83,500 in its lively and inclusive celebration of San Francisco's thriving contemporary literary scene. Litquake seeks to foster interest in literature, perpetuate a sense of literary community, and provide a vibrant forum for Bay Area writing as a complement to the city's music, film, and cultural festivals. October 5-13, 2012. Click here for the 2012 Litquake Festival Schedule. Free with MoAD Admission or with Litquake Museum Pass