ĕngooˈgē wä tē-ŏngˈgō, 1938–, Kenyan writer also known as James Ngugi. He studied in Uganda and England. Although acclaimed as East Africa's foremost novelist, Ngugi has been imprisoned for the political content of his works. His first novel, Weep Not, Child (1964) and his second, A Grain of Wheat (1967), are accounts of the Mau Mau rebellion. He is particularly concerned with preserving native African languages and in 1977, he wrote (with Ngugi wa Mirii) and directed a play, Ngaahika Ndeenda (tr. I Will Marry When I Want, 1982), in Kikuyu. The production was so popular among Kikuyu farmers and workers that the government, fearing it would encourage political dissent, banned the play. Arrested and detained shortly after (1978–79), Ngugi wrote about his prison experience in Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary (1981). After his release, he continued to write in Kikuyu as well as English. Ngugi's litary targets have included governmental corruption, socioeconomic exploitation, and religious hypocrisy. Some of his writings, such as the novels Petals of Blood (1977), Caitaani mutharaba-ini (1980; tr. Devil on the Cross, 1982), and Matigari (1986, tr. 1990) are still politically controversial. His nonfiction works include Barrel of a Pen (1983), Decolonising the Mind (1986), and Moving the Centre (1992). He has also written children's books. Ngugi has taught at universities in Africa, Europe, and the United States.

See studies by C. B. Robson (1979), D. Cook and M. Okenimkpe (1983 repr. 1997), G. D. Killam, ed. (1984), C. M. Nwankwo (1992), H. Narang (1995), C. Cantalupo, ed. (1995), J. Ogude (1999), S. Gikandi (2000), and O. Lovesey (2000).

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