The Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) is a
publishing house and
state corporation in
Kenya
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, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
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founded in 1947. It is located in South-C off Popo Road 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 ...
.
History
The Kenya Literature Bureau was initially established by the "East Africa governments (Kenya,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
)" in 1947 as the East African Literature Bureau as an "offshoot" of the missionary-owned Ndia Kuu Press in order to publish books for the general public in
Kiswahili,
East African vernacular languages
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
The Bureau's first director was Charles Granston Richards, who held that post for fifteen years.
The regional status continued after independence with the establishment of the
East African Community
The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, ...
(EAC). In the early 1970s the Bureau published many pioneering anthologies of English-language poetry from East Africa:
However, in 1977, the EAC collapsed and the reins of the bureau were transferred to the Kenyan Ministry of Education thereby making it a department under that ministry. In 1980, the KLB Act was passed by the
Kenyan Parliament
The National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya. Between 1966 and 2013, it served as a unicameral house. In 2013 ( 11th Parliament), it became the lower house when the Senate was reestablis ...
making it a state corporation—a status it holds to this day.
Book series
* Early Travellers in East Africa
Early Travellers in East Africa (East African Literature Bureau; Kenya Literature Bureau) - Book Series List
publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
References
Further reading
* Shiraz Durrani, ''Never Be Silent: Publishing and Imperialism 1884-1963'', Nairobi: Vita Books, 2006.
External links
Kenya Literature Bureau
- official website
Book publishing companies of Kenya
Government-owned companies of Kenya
East African Community
Education in Kenya
Publishing companies established in 1947
1947 establishments in Kenya
{{Kenya-stub