Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995)
Ken Saro-Wiwa was born in Nigeria. He was a writer, poet, television producer and environmental activist. His first novels, Songs in a Time of War and Sozaboy, were published in 1985. Sozaboy, written in ‘rotten’ English, has been translated into several languages. Following his campaign against environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, Saro-Wiwa was imprisoned twice by Nigeria’s military regime and executed in 1995 on false charges of treason. During his incarceration, he exchanged a series of letters with a Catholic nun, Sister Majella McCarron, which were published in a book, Silence Would be Treason: The Last Writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa by Daraja Press. The account of his first incarceration, A Month and a Day: A Detention Diary was published in 1995, two months after his execution. His final novel, Lemona’s Tale, was released posthumously in 1996.
