Literary vitriol: Professor Henry Indangasi may go to his grave without being celebrated
BY OUMAH OTIENOH
I want to restrain from the tone of rancor and vengeance as I do a belated rebuttal of Prof. Henry Indangasi’s ‘biographical sketch’ published two years ago in Kenyan’s Saturday Nation upon the demise of Prof. Micere Mugo titled: “Indangasi: Micere Mugo was not a deep thinker.”
The good professor of Stylistics who taught at the University of Nairobi’s Literature Department since 1977 until his retirement in 2022 has always spewed venom at writers.
When I warned him about belittling Ngugi wa Thiong’o in 2020, he replied: “But what I read from this gentleman (me) are empty platitudes and pedantic postulates. He wants us to worship authors and not critically assess their works.”
Maybe Indagasi was bitter that for eons that I’ve interviewed writers for Saturday Nation including his old University of Nairobi colleague Kithaka wa Mberia, I’ve never bothered for a literary banter with him. I also have bad news to the retired-don: What has the octogenarian academic penned worth a 3-hour conversation?
Earlier in 2014, Indangasi had castigated Chinua Achebe in a glaring article in the Saturday Nation: “Day I invited Achebe to Taifa Hall”.
He ranted: “With a somewhat noticeable Nigerian accent, he wasn’t particularly a good reader. The Nigerian-novelist had the potential to be great: but great he was not.”
Back to his long-winding uncalled for elegy. Why would a scholar of Indangasi’s standing wait for Micere Mugo’s demise before penning such literary vitriol? Is this not akin to dancing on the graveyard of the dead?
The butt-naked truth, for eons that Henry Indangasi taught at the University of Nairobi, he terribly failed as a creative writer. The critique characterised him as a small, insecure and classless person. Decent people don’t do this to a departed colleague.
Saving Mugo
In my opinion, Mugo was more legendary in matters creative writing than Indangasi. The departed Kenyan playwright, author, activist and poet had several artworks under her belt with the epic play; The Trail of Dedan Kimathi co-authored with Ngugi wa Thiong’o my all-time best.
Instead of telling us about Mugo’s acrimonious divorce or her ‘clande’ relationship with Robert Mugabe, why couldn’t he discuss some of the ‘classics’ he authored or co-authored when he was at the helm of the much-hyped literature department?
What noticeable novel or play has he gifted this generation save for school textbooks?
When he boldly avered that Micere Mugo was not a deep thinker, has he demonstrated that he is a better, in-depth and more prolific writer that Mugo?
It is laughable that for 42-solid-years as a varsity lecturer, Indangasi only took pride in three PhD pre-eminent scholars: Wanjiku Kabiru, Muchungu Kiiri and Hellen Mwanzi. Where is the other platoon of noticeable students he taught at the citadel of knowledge?
He discredits everyone in the academy. Just like he affirmed that Ngugi, Mugo and Achebe were not great, his protégés weren’t either.
Why would he always send ‘gossip’ essays to the newspapers before taking a vacation and glare at vitriol being directed at him? Methinks the grapevine pathway about Mugo this, Mugo that makes him feel good. Just like Christopher Hitchens in his novel god is not Great, Indagasi may soon shock us that even God was not great.
There’s a Buddhist expression: Even without announcement, the sun rises every morning. Why should Indangasi announce to us that he is now ‘Professor Emeritus’? Is this not mere grandiose as Twitted by my literary contemporary, Nobert Ndisio? A professor emeritus without a parking lot at the university? A professor emeritus without perks or an office?
Celebrated African novelist Chinua Achebe in his seminal novel Things Fall Apart, once opined: “Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad day-light, something is after its life.” Indangasi’s mean-spirited nature must have some recourse.
On the contrary, there are those who believe that the writer is level-headed. He doesn’t sugar-coat things. If you are a pickpocket, he will remind mourners at your funeral that you had itchy fingers. Richard Monene echoed: “Indangasi has perfectly played his role: initiate a literary debate. He is a conversation starter. A rabble-rouser. A devil’s advocate.”
University of Nairobi’s Ag. Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Margaret Hutchinson in collaboration with the varsity’s literature department should invite him for an inaugural lecture at the varsity’s Taifa Hall. The lecture should have a tagline: ‘Henry Indangasi: The deepest thinker of all time’. I’ll make clarion call for all literary enthusiasts to attend.
Dear reader, literary criticism is certainly unstoppable but criticism in itself does not mean fault-finding but rather deepening of insight in order to attain a higher understanding of works of art. With this kind of mindset, my fear is that Indangasi may go to his grave without being celebrated.
The writer is a Kenyan contributor on literature, art and culture. He is also a travel enthusiast. oumahotienoh2009@yahoo.com
