Ngugi wa Thiong'o will speak at the University of Houston in the Honors College Commons. Ngugi wa Thiong'o will participate in a discussion moderated by Aboul-Ela on Nov. 11 at 4 p.m.

On Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m., Ngugi wa Thiong'o will read from his works as part of the Poetry and Prose Series with Peter Kimani, a Ph.D. candidate in UH's Creative Writing Program and former columnist and senior editor in Kenya's national press. 

A distinguished professor of English and comparative literature at the University of California, Irvine, Ngugi wa Thiong'o has been awarded numerous awards and honorary degrees from around the globe. He started his writing career around the time Kenya gained its independence from Britain in 1963. His first novel was published in 1964, making it the first novel in English to be published by an East African writer. His novels include A Grain of Wheat, Petals of Blood and Wizard of the Crow. His memoirs and autobiographies include Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary, Dreams in a Time of War and In the House of the Interpreter — a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.