Category: Transition
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South African author and academic Zoe Wicomb has passed away
South African author, translator, and academic Zoe Wicomb passed away in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday, October 13, 2025. Zoë Wicomb was born in Namaqualand, Northern Cape, in 1948, and grew up during the height of apartheid, a time that deeply influenced her writing and lifelong inquiry into the complexities of belonging and selfhood. After completing…
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Kenyan writer and academic John Habwe has passed away
Kenyan writer and academic John Habwe passed away, following a long illness in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday, August 17, 2025. John Habwe, who was born on December 12, 1962, had a career spanning close to four decades of teaching, writing, and scholarship at the University of Nairobi. He earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees…
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Femrite founder Mary Karooro Okurut has passed away
Mary Karooro Okurut, the founder of the Uganda Women Writers Association, also known as Femrite, passed away on Monday, August 11, 2025. Mary Karooro Okurut was a Ugandan educator, author, and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Bushenyi District and a Cabinet Minister. The Ugandan politician was also a prolific writer with…
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St Lucia author and academic Dr Hazel Simmons-McDonald has passed away
St Lucia author, linguist, and academic Dr Hazel Simmons-McDonald passed away in Barbados on Sunday, June 8, 2025. Dr Hazel Simmons-McDonald was born in Lucia in 1947 and studied at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, graduating with a degree in education in 1972, with a special focus on English. She then attended…
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Kenyan writer and academic Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’o has passed away
Kenyan writer and academic Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’o passed away in Buford, Georgia, United States on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. Ngugi Wa Thiong’o was a Kenyan writer and academic who was born in Kamiriithu, near Limuru, on January 5, 1938. He attended Alliance High School before studying at Makerere University College in Kampala, Uganda, where he…
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Legendary UK novelist Alex Wheatle has passed away
Legendary UK novelist Alex Wheatle passed away from prostate cancer in London on Sunday, March 16, 2025. Alex Wheatle was born to Jamaican parents on January 3, 1963, grew up in children’s homes, and began by writing lyrics then progressed to poetry, short stories, and novels. His first novel, Brixton Rock, about a troubled London…
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Nigerian poet and playwright Mabel Segun has passed away
Legendary Nigerian poet, broadcaster and playwright Mabel Segun passed away in Nigeria on Thursday, March 6, 2025. Mabel Segun, who was born in Ondo City, Nigeria on February 13, 1930, attended the University of Ibadan graduating in 1953 with a BA degree in English, Latin and History. She taught these subjects in Nigerian schools, and…
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US poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni has passed away.
US poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator Nikki Giovanni passed away on Monday, December 9, 2024. Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni Jr was born in Knoxville, Tennessee to Yolande Cornelia Sr. and Jones “Gus” Giovanni on June 7, 1943. Soon after her birth, the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where her parents worked at Glenview School.…
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South African poet and scholar Breyten Breytenbach has passed away.
South African poet, scholar, and activist Breyten Breytenbach died in Paris, France on Monday, November 25, 2024. Breyten Breytenbach was born on September 16, 1939, in Bonnievale, South Africa attended secondary school in the Western Cape, and studied fine arts at the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town. Breytenbach was…
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Trinidad author and academic Elizabeth Nunez has passed away
Trinidad and Tobago-born USA-based author and academic Elizabeth Nunez passed away in New York, USA on Monday, November 11, 2024. Elizabeth Nunez, born in Cocorite, Trinidad, on February 18, 1944, began writing as early as nine years of age and won the first-place prize for the “Tiny Tots” writing contest in the Trinidad Guardian. She…
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Writer and scholar Funso Aiyejina has passed away
Nigerian-born Trinidad and Tobago-based poet, short story writer, playwright, and academic Funso Aiyejina passed away on Monday, July 1, 2024. Funso Aiyejina was born in Edo State, Nigeria in 1949 and attended the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in Nigeria. He also attended Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, in Canada, and the University…
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Maryse Conde has passed away.
Guadalupian novelist, critic, and playwright Maryse Conde passed away in France today, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Maryse Condé was a novelist, critic, and playwright born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe in 1937. She studied at the Université de Paris III (Sorbonne Nouvelle), where she took her doctorate in Comparative Literature (1975). Her research was on Black stereotypes…
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Kenyan publisher Henry Chakava has passed away.
Kenyan publisher Henry Chakava passed away at age 77 in Nairobi on Friday, March 8, 2024. Henry Chakava graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1972 and his lecturer at the Department of Literature, Professor Andrew Gurr, arranged an apprenticeship at Heinemann Educational Books in Nairobi. This role became a life dedicated to books as…
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UK poet and writer Benjamin Zephaniah has passed away
UK poet, actor, academic, and writer Benjamin Zephaniah passed away earlier today, Thursday, December 7, 2023. Benjamin Zephaniah was born to a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse in Birmingham, England on April 15, 1968. He was one of the pioneers of the performance poetry ‘scene’ in Britain. He was part of the ‘school’ known…
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Trinidad and Tobago author Michael Anthony has passed away
Trinidad and Tobago author Michael Anthony passed away in Port of Spain on Thursday, August 24, 2023. Michael Anthony was born in the county of Mayaro, Trinidad and Tobago, on February 10, 1930, and was educated on the Caribbean Island. In 1954, he moved to England where he held several jobs, including as a sub-editor…