Clifton Gachagua (born 1987) is a

Kenyan ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

poet and novelist.

Biography

Born in 1987, Gachagua grew up in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, Kenya, and studied biotechnology at

Maseno University Maseno University is a public university based in the Maseno district of the city of Kisumu, Kenya, situated along the Equator. It was fully fledged as a university in 2001, after being a constituent college of Moi University for a decade. It is on ...

. His books include the poetry collection ''The Madman at Kilifi'', published by University of Nebraska Press and in Senegal by Amallion Publishers, and the novel ''Zephyrion''. ''Madman at Kilifi'' was the winner of the inaugural Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets, and ''Zephyrion'' was shortlisted for the ''Kwani?'' Manuscript Project. Gachagua was also chosen for

Africa39 Africa39 was a collaborative project initiated by the Hay Festival in partnership with Rainbow Book Club, celebrating Port Harcourt: UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 by identifying 39 of the most promising writers under the age of 40 with the potent ...

, a 2014 initiative that selected 39 African writers under the age of 40 "with the potential to define the literature of the future". Since 2013, he has worked at ''

Kwani? ''Kwani?'' ( Sheng for ''so what?'') is a leading African literary magazine based in Kenya that has been called "undoubtedly the most influential journal to have emerged from sub-Saharan Africa". The magazine grew out of a series of conversatio ...

'' as an assistant editor.

References

{{Kenya-writer-stub 1987 births Living people 21st-century Kenyan writers 21st-century male writers 21st-century novelists 21st-century poets Kenyan male writers Kenyan novelists Kenyan poets Male novelists Male poets Maseno University alumni Writers from Nairobi