A novelist and a theorist of post-colonial literature at the University of California, Irvine, Ngugi wa Thiong'o is one of Kenya's most prominent public intellectuals. In 1977, following the publication of his novel Petals of Blood he was arrested and imprisoned without charge. Now, living in exile for more than 20 years, Thiong'o still writes for the oppressed Kenyan working class. His novels include A Grain of Wheat, Matigari, and the highly praised Wizard of the Crow. In his new memoir, Dreams in a Time of War, Thiong'o recalls growing up under British colonialist rule and his survival during the war for independence in Kenya.

Poet Sonia Sanchez introduces Ngugi wa Thiong'o