Wangũi wa Goro
Wangũi wa Goro (PhD) is a distinguished interdisciplinary scholar, translator, and public intellectual renowned for her pioneering work in literary translation and advocacy for African languages and literatures. She was the first PhD scholar in Translation Studies in the UK where she pioneered the discipline alongside global luminaries of literary translation. She has made significant contributions to translation studies and practice through teaching, editing, and cultural curation,
Pioneering translation scholar and cultural curator:
Wangũi wa Goro has taught translation for many years, including co-developing the UK's first literary translation Master’s degree, leading the African Translation Masterclass in different parts of the world and with global online communities; and curating translation festivals in different parts of the world. She holds honorary and visiting professorships at SOAS and King’s College, London and has extensive experience of working as Editor in international development for many years.
Acclaimed translator:
She is celebrated for translating Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Matigari and his three children’s books in the Njamba Nene Series from Gĩkũyũ, and Veronique Tadjo’s As the Crow Flies from French, alongside her work as a translation theorist and practioner, writer, poet, editor, and promoter of intercultural dialogue which she had conducted for over forty years through SIDENSI. Her creative and scholarly works have been widely published and recognized globally. She has continued to experiment across genres and languages, including in Gĩkũyũ, Kiswahili, French, English and Italian.
Commitment to African languages and global translation advocacy:
Wangũi’s career focuses on safeguarding African languages and world literatures via translation and traducture, inspired by prominent intellectuals and leaders including Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’ through whose work she earned global acclaim as a translator. She has served in leadership roles in multiple translation and academic associations and advisory bodies in different parts of the world, promoting transnational intersectional freedom and cultural practice through her hobbies, reading and translation.