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Ngugi wa Thiong'o

(Encyclopedia)Ngugi wa Thiong'o ĕngo͞oˈgē wä tē-ŏngˈgō [key] or James Ngugi, 1938–, Kenyan writer, acclaimed as East Africa's foremost novelist. He studied at universities in Uganda and England. His firs...

Hughes, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Hughes, Richard, 1900–1976, English novelist. After graduating from Oxford in 1922, he helped found the Portmadoc Players and was for a time vice president of the Welsh National Theatre. In addition...

Fadeyev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Fadeyev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich əlyĭksänˈdər əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch fŭdyāˈəf [key], 1901–56, Russian author. An active Communist, he fought in the Revolution of 1917. His first novel, Raz...

Asturias, Miguel Ángel

(Encyclopedia)Asturias, Miguel Ángel mēgĕlˈ ängˈhĕl ästo͞oˈryäs [key], 1899–1974, Guatemalan novelist, poet, and diplomat. Living in Paris in the 1920s, Asturias was influenced by Romain Rolland, Valé...

Murasaki Shikibu

(Encyclopedia)Murasaki Shikibu mo͞oˌräsäˈkē shēˌkēbo͞oˈ [key], c.978–1031?, Japanese novelist, court figure at the height of the Heian period (794–1185). Known also as Lady Murasaki, she is celebrate...

Harris, Frank

(Encyclopedia)Harris, Frank, 1856–1931, British-American author, b. Galway, Ireland. He studied at the Univ. of Kansas, became a U.S. citizen, and returning to England, edited successively a number of periodicals...

Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich ēvänˈ əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch gənchərôfˈ [key], 1812–91, Russian novelist. Goncharov was a government official from 1835 to 1867. His realistic and satirical nov...

Gallegos, Rómulo

(Encyclopedia)Gallegos, Rómulo rōˈmo͞olō gäyāˈgōs [key], 1884–1969, Venezuelan novelist and statesman. Gallegos lived in Spain in voluntary exile from the Venezuelan dictatorship from 1931 until 1935. He...

Ivanov, Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich

(Encyclopedia)Ivanov, Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich ēväˈnôf [key], 1895–1963, Russian short-story writer, novelist, and dramatist, b. Siberia. Ivanov had an adventurous early life as a sailor, circus performer, f...

Irving, John

(Encyclopedia)Irving, John, 1942–, American writer, b. Exeter, N.H. His mixture of wild plot strategies and eccentric characters brought him to wide attention with his fourth novel, The World According to Garp (1...