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Kill Me Quick
''Kill Me Quick'', published in 1973, is a novel by Meja Mwangi. The novel won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 1974. Plot The story follows Meja and Maina, two young boys who move to the city after obtaining their secondary school diplomas. They hope to find jobs in order to support their families back home. Initially unsuccessful, the pair live in dumpsters, eating rotten fruit and stale cakes, unable to return home as failures. Eventually, they obtain jobs at a farm working for a very rich family. Maina causes problems in the house while blaming Meja, who suffers the consequences. Meja is put on half rations, moved from job to job, then has his rations almost completely revoked. After Maina's biggest episode, the pair lose their jobs. Mania and Meja split after Mania steals from a store and gets Meja in trouble. Meja flees home only to return to the city and work in a coal mine. Maina joins a gang in "shanty land," led by a boy named Razor who claims they went to school ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meja Mwangi
Meja Mwangi (born 27 December 1948) is a Kenyan writer. He has worked in the film industry, including in screenwriting, assistant directing, and casting. Biography Mwangi was born David Dominic Mwangi in Nanyuki, Kenya, and was educated at Nanyuki Secondary School, Kenyatta College, and briefly at the University of Leeds.He did not complete a full university degree at University of Leeds. He then worked for the French Broadcasting Corporation doing odd jobs and the British Council in Nairobi as Visual Aids Officer, before turning to writing full-time. He was Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa (1975-6). After a prolonged period on the Kenyan and African publishing scene, Mwangi moved to the US after gaining international recognition and winning several awards. His best-known early work includes the novels ''Kill Me Quick'' (1973), ''Going Down River Road'' (1976), and ''The Cockroach Dance'' (1979), which illustrate the urban landscapes of Kenya, the struggle against ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jomo Kenyatta Prize For Literature
The Text Book Centre Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature is a biennial literary award given by the Kenya Publishers' Association. It has been called "the most prestigious literary award in the country". The first award ceremony took place in 1974, however due to financial constraints, it was unable to continue. In 1990, the award was revived with sponsorship from the Text Book Centre, and the first prize was given in 1992. Beginning in 2015, the award's official name was changed to Text Book Centre Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature. Honorees 1974 * English winner: Meja Mwangi, ''Kill Me Quick'' * Kiswahili winner: Abdilatif Abdalla, ''Sauti ya Dhiki'' 1992 * First prize: Wahome Mutahi, ''Three Days on the Cross'' * First prize: David Maillu, ''The Broken Drum'' 1995 * First place: Margaret Ogola, '' The River and the Source'' * Second place: Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, ''Homing In'' * Third place: Sam Kahiga, ''Paradise Farm'' 1997 * English winner: Ngumi Kibera, ''Grape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Postcolonial
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a critical theory analysis of the history, culture, literature, and discourse of (usually European) imperial power. Postcolonialism encompasses a wide variety of approaches, and theoreticians may not always agree on a common set of definitions. On a simple level, through anthropological study, it may seek to build a better understanding of colonial life—based on the assumption that the colonial rulers are unreliable narrators—from the point of view of the colonized people. On a deeper level, postcolonialism examines the social and political power relationships that sustain colonialism and neocolonialism, including the social, political and cultural narratives surrounding the colonizer and the colonized. This approach may overlap with st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1973 Novels
Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam. * January 17 – Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life of the Philippines. * January 20 – Richard Nixon is Second inauguration of Richard Nixon, sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. Nixon is the only person to have been sworn in twice as President (First inauguration of Richard Nixon, 1969, Second inauguration of Richard Nixon, 1973) and Vice President of the United States (First inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953, Second inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957). * January 22 ** George Foreman defeats Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight world boxing championship. ** A Royal Jordanian Boeing 707 flight from Je ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novels By Meja Mwangi
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the histori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novels Set In Kenya
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the histori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
