Book Launch
Writing for Kenya,
the Life and Works of Henry Muoria
Tuesday 20th October, 5.30 p.m.
Brunei Suite, SOAS
Henry Muoria was a fascinating figure a largely self-taught
Kenyan thinker and writer, whose Kikuyu and English pamphlets
and newspaper Mumenyereri contributed to the intellectual
ferment of the anti-colonial struggle in the late 1940s and early
1950s. This wonderful book retrieves some of his most significant,
but neglected, works and offers them in a scholarly edition, with
English translations and excellent editorial annotations.
The pamphlets reproduced here, in Gikuyu and English, contrast his
own originality with the conservatism of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's
first President. The contributing editors introduce Muoria's political
context, tell how three remarkable women sustained his families'
life; and remember him as father. Courageous intellectual, political,
and domestic life here intertwine
Published by Brill, 2009
Co-authored by
Wangari Muoria-Sal,
Bodil Folke Frederiksen,
John Lonsdale and
Derek Peterson.
RSVP: cas@soas.ac.uk
Invitation attached