The Cold War and the African Writer: An Interview with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Author of over two dozen novels, plays, and essay collections, Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a pioneering figure of African literature. In this interview, Ngũgĩ focuses on a lesser-known aspect of his prolific career—his inadvertent entanglement with the Cold War and its influences on himself as well as his peer African writers. In reminiscences of various conferences he attended during this phase, Ngũgĩ reflects on encounters with Cold War initiatives such as the CIA-funded Congress for Cultural Freedom and the Soviet-influenced cultural organization the Afro-Asian Writers Association. Along the way he argues though the Cold War might be over, the struggle for the resources in the Global South continues unabated.