Binyavanga Wainaina (1971–2019)

Binyavanga Wainaina, director of Bard’s Achebe Center from 2009 to 2012, acclaimed Kenyan author, and one of the most prominent Africans ever to publicly identify as gay, died May 21 in Nairobi. He was 48. Wainaina was founding editor and publisher of Kwani?, a leading African literary magazine based in Kenya. He won the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing, and was known for his works How to Write about Africa (2006) and One Day I Will Write about This Place: A Memoir (2012). Named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2014, he was an outspoken gay rights activist who worked tirelessly to destigmatize homosexuality in Africa.

Post Date: 05-21-2019