Author: Iddah Otieno

About The Author

Iddah Aoko Otieno was born and raised in Kenya. She is a professor of English and African Studies at Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Lexington, Kentucky. She is also the founding Director of the Kenya Exchange Program, Bluegrass Community and Technical College - the first linkage with Africa within the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). She holds a B.Ed. (English) from Maseno University, Kenya, an M.A. (English) from Eastern Kentucky University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy (Comparative and International Education) from the University of Kentucky. Her teaching and research focus on African Literature, Education, and Culture. She is also an editorial board member of the Eastern Kentucky University's Journal of Retracing Africa (JORA).

About The Book

This anthology brings together contemporary voices from East Africa's new generation of writers unconstrained by geographical boundaries. A significant number of authors included in this volume were not only born after the three East African countries attained political independence, but have also schooled, lived, and worked in their home countries and abroad. Their perspectives and worldview are as diverse as the geo-political and literary environments that have produced them. The voices presented here transcend the confines of the political boundaries shamelessly drawn and marked during the scramble for and partition of Africa, and the historical reality of the aftermath of voluntary and involuntary dispersion of people of African descent to foreign lands. Focusing on themes of alienation, search for identity, disillusionment, survival, among other thematic areas, the selections included in this volume touch on cross-cultural issues that transcend the East African region into the wider global community. This anthology is recommended for undergraduate Introduction to African Literature courses in colleges and universities all over the world.