Odaga, Asenath (1938–)

views updated

Odaga, Asenath (1938–)

Kenyan novelist, playwright and children's writer. Name variations: Asenath Bole Odaga. Born 1938 in Kenya; earned degrees in history and children's literature at Nairobi University.

Established publishing house in Kenya and served as chair of Children's Literature Association there; writing both in English and Luo, published such fiction as Jande's Ambition (1966), The Villager's Son (1971), The Angry Flames (1978), Thu Tinda (1980), The Storm (1985), and A Bridge in Time (1987); also wrote Yesterday's Today: The Study of Oral Literature (1984) and (with K. Akivaga) Oral Literature: A School Certificate Course (1982); edited Why the Hyena has a Crooked Neck and Other Stories: Anthology of short stories by Kenyan Grassroots Women Writers and Storytellers (1993).