Pio Zirimu

Pio Zirimu
Born Pio Zirimu
Uganda
Died 1977
Occupation writer, Academic
Nationality Ugandan
Alma mater

Makerere University

King's College Budo
Notable works Black Aesthetics: Papers from a Colloquium Held at the University of Nairobi, June, 1971

Pio Zirimu (died 1977) was a Ugandan linguist, scholar and literary theorist. He is credited with coining the word "orature" as an alternative to the self contadictory term, "oral literature[1] used to refer to the non-written expressive African traditions. Zirimu was also central in reforming the literature syllabus at Makerere University to focus on African literature and culture instead of the English canon.[2]

Early life and education

Zirumu was born in Buganda. He attended high school at King's College Budo, and subsequently went to Makerere University college, and the University of Leeds, where he was a contemporary of Ngugi wa Thiong'o. While at Makerere, Zirimu met Ugandan poet and dramatist Elvania Namukwaya Zirimu. They were to marry a few years later. The marriage produced a daughter.

Teaching

Zirimu later taught at the Institute of Languages Studies at Makerere, where he was involved in the formulation of standards for judging emergent African literature in the 1960s.[2]

Published works

References

  1. "Notes towards a Performance Theory of Orature", ohio.edu, 3 September 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 Simon Gikwandi, Evan Mwangi (2013). The Columbia Guide to East African Literature in English Since 1945, p. 177. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0231125208.
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