Peter Kimani is a leading Kenyan journalist and author of Dance of the Jakaranda, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His research explores the relationship between culture and the politics of identity and representation in colonial and postcolonial Africa. Kimani was one of three international poets commissioned by National Public Radio in the United States to compose and present a poem to mark Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in 2009. He has held writing fellowships in the United States, and recently served as the visiting writer at Amherst College. He is at work editing the Nairobi Noir, an anthology of short stories excavating the history of Nairobi, while working on his new historical novel, Kalifornia.
Photo Credit: Yusuf Wachira