Grace Ogot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Grace Ogot
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| Born |
Grace Emily Akinyi
15 May 1930 Asembo, Nyanza, Kenya
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| Died | 18 March 2015 (aged 84) Nairobi, Kenya
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| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Known for | Author, nurse, journalist, politician and diplomat |
Grace Emily Ogot (born May 15, 1930 – died March 18, 2015) was an amazing woman from Kenya. She was a writer, a nurse, a journalist, a politician, and even a diplomat! She made history as one of the first Kenyan women to have her books published in English. She was also one of the first women to become a member of parliament in Kenya and served as an assistant minister.
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Grace Ogot's Life Story
Grace Emily Akinyi was born on May 15, 1930, in Asembo, a village in Nyanza Province, Kenya. Her family was Christian and belonged to the Luo ethnic group.
Her father, Joseph Nyanduga, was one of the first people in their village to get a Western education. He became an Anglican Christian and taught at the Ng'iya Girls’ School. From her father, Grace learned stories from the Old Testament. Her grandmother taught her traditional folk tales from their area, which later inspired her writing.
Grace Ogot went to Ng'iya Girls' School and Butere High School. From 1949 to 1953, she trained to be a nurse in Uganda. She then worked as a nurse in London, England, at St. Thomas Hospital for Mothers and Babies. After that, she returned to Africa to continue her nursing career.
Grace Ogot had many different jobs. She worked for the BBC Overseas Service, writing scripts and announcing for a radio show called London Calling East and Central Africa. She also ran a popular radio program in the Luo language. She worked as a community development officer in Kisumu County and as a public relations officer for Air India Corporation in East Africa.
In 1975, Grace Ogot represented Kenya at the United Nations General Assembly. The next year, in 1976, she joined the Kenyan team at UNESCO. That same year, she helped start and led the Writers' Association of Kenya. In 1983, she became one of the few women to serve as a member of parliament. She was also the only woman assistant minister in the government of President Daniel arap Moi at that time.
Family Life
In 1969, Grace Ogot married Bethwell Allan Ogot, a history professor from the Luo community. They had four children together. Grace loved telling stories, and her husband was very interested in the oral traditions and history of the Luo people. These interests came together in her writing. Grace Ogot passed away on March 18, 2015.
Grace Ogot's Writings
Her Journey as a Writer
In 1968, Grace Ogot shared her short story "A Year of Sacrifice" at a conference about African Literature in Uganda. She noticed that there were no other works from East African writers. This made her want to publish her own stories, which she did in both the Luo language and English.
Her first published work, "A Year of Sacrifice," appeared in the African magazine Black Orpheus in 1963. In 1964, her short story "The Rain Came" was published in a collection called Modern African Stories. This story was a shorter version of "A Year of Sacrifice" with a different beginning and end. Also in 1964, her short story "Ward Nine" was published in Transition.
Grace Ogot's first novel, The Promised Land, came out in 1966. It was set in the 1930s and talked about the Luo people moving to new places and the problems that came with it. The main characters move from Nyanza to northern Tanzania looking for good land and wealth. The story also explored themes like tribal disagreements, wanting too many things, and old ideas about what it meant to be a woman and a wife.
In 1968, she published Land Without Thunder, a collection of short stories set in ancient Luoland. Her descriptions in this book give a great look into the Luo culture before colonial times in East Africa. Some of her other books include The Strange Bride, The Graduate, The Other Woman, and The Island of Tears.
Themes in Her Stories
Many of Grace Ogot's stories take place near the beautiful Lake Victoria and feature the traditions of the Luo people. A big theme in her work is the importance of traditional Luo folklore, myths, and oral stories. For example, in "The Rain Came," a chief's daughter must be sacrificed to bring rain. This tale was told to Grace by her grandmother when she was young.
Ogot's short stories often show how old traditions and new ideas mix, or sometimes clash. In The Promised Land, the main character, Ochola, gets a mysterious illness that doctors cannot cure. He eventually goes to a traditional medicine man to get better. Grace Ogot explained that this shows how people combine old and new ways of thinking. She said, "Many of the stories I have told are based on day-to-day life… And in the final analysis, when the Church fails and the hospital fails, these people will always slip into something they trust, something within their own cultural background. It may appear to us mere superstition, but those who do believe in it do get healed. In day-to-day life in some communities in Kenya, both the modern and the traditional cures coexist."
Another common theme in Ogot’s books is about womanhood and the role of women. Her stories often look at family matters, showing both traditional and modern roles for women, especially in marriage and Christian traditions. In The Promised Land, mothers are shown as strong protectors of their children, and husband-wife relationships often show the husband as the head of the family.
Some critics have said that Ogot's focus on women's roles in marriage and her portrayal of women in traditional roles made her stories seem very focused on men. However, others believe that women in Ogot’s works also show strength and courage. For example, in "The Empty Basket," the main female character, Aloo, is brave, while the male characters fail. Aloo uses her cleverness to escape a dangerous situation with a snake, while the men are scared. Only after she scolds them do they finally act to kill the snake. In Ogot’s short stories, the women often have a strong sense of duty, as seen in "The Rain Came." Her works often highlight the need for understanding between men and women.
Challenges in Publishing
Before Kenya became independent from colonial rule, Grace Ogot found it hard to get her stories published. She said, "I remember taking some of my short stories to the manager [of the East African Literature Bureau], including the one which was later published in Black Orpheus. They really couldn't understand how a Christian woman could write such stories, involved with sacrifices, traditional medicines and all, instead of writing about Salvation and Christianity. Thus, quite a few writers received no encouragement from colonial publishers who were perhaps afraid of turning out radical writers critical of the colonial regime."
Grace Ogot was interviewed in 1974 for a Voice of America radio show. This interview was part of a series called Conversations with African Writers. The Library of Congress has a copy of the recording.
Three more novels by Grace Ogot were published after her death. Her husband launched them in 2018.
See also
