David Nandi Odhiambo (born June 24, 1965), also known as D. Nandi Odhiambo is an African-Canadian novelist and writer of

Luo Luo may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. ***Luoland, the ...

and

Luhya Luhya or Abaluyia may refer to: * Luhya people * Luhya language Luhya (; also Luyia, Luhia or Luhiya) is a Bantu language of western Kenya. Dialects The various Luhya tribes speak several related languages and dialects, though some of them are ...

descent. He was born 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 moved to

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada, in 1977. He has a PhD in English Literature from the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Manoa, Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It ...

, an MFA in creative writing from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

, and a B.A. in classics from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. In 2019 he was one of two recipients of the Elliot Cades Award for Literature, considered among the most prestigious literary honors bestowed in Hawaiʻi. As of fall 2019, he is an associate professor of English at the

University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu The University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu (UHWO) is a public college in Kapolei, Hawaii. It is part of the University of Hawaiʻi system. It offers baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts and professional studies. UHWO opened in January 1976 an ...

. Odhiambo has published four novels: ''diss/ed banded nation'' in 1998, ''Kipligat's Chance'' in 2003, and ''The Reverend's Apprentice,'' Volume I in 2008, and ''Smells like Stars'' in 2018.

References

''Revival:an anthology of Black Canadian Writing''
2006 (McClelland & Stewart)
''Bluesprint: Black British Columbian literature and orature''
2002 (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada''
2002 (University of Toronto Press)

Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review

BC BookWorld biography of David N. Odhiambo
1965 births Living people 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian male novelists Kenyan emigrants to Canada Black Canadian writers Writers from Hawaii University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni McGill University alumni {{Canada-writer-stub