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NGUGI WA THIONG'O                         CLARKE

projecting a new image of Africa to the world. He sees the African writer in a changing society, playing a role that is radically different from the western writer who irresponsibly indulges in self-gratification at the expense of his readers and, in most cases, avoids social issues that are sores on the body politic of the society itself. In this seciton, Ngugi's best insight is used to evaluate the work of two nigerian writers, Chinua Achebe and T.M. Aluko, both of different temperaments, who have made special contributions to the understanding of Africa through its new literature.

In the world part of the book, he continues his observation of the writers as interpreters of their times. He calls attention to Caribbean and Afro-American writers, especially W.E.B. Dub Bois, C.L.R James, and George Lamming. He sees these writers as creators of a new African tradition in the Western world, because he sees their writings (mostly about the struggle of African people to survive outside Africa and keep their sanity), especially the novels of George Lamming, as literature of estrangement, the protracted confessions of a forced exiled African people, who have no secure spiritual home, and who are searching for one within the framework of their literature which is highly personal.

In these essays, Nguigi Wa Thiong'o has talked on the recurring themes in the lives of African people and he has shown that the troubles of the African in Africa and those of African heritage elsewhere are related. Further, he has shown that, while addressing ourselves to these problems, we might create an ideological basis for the reunification of all African people.

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