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Abdulrazak Gurnah: accidental author and voice of displaced
The Nobel Prize winner, Tanzanian-born author forged a critically acclaimed 35-year career rooted in colonialism and immigration after arriving in Britain as a refugee.
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In a handout photograph released by the University of Kent on October 7, 2021 shows Abdulrazak Gurnah, the Zanzibar-born author awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, teaching students at the University of Kent on May 19, 2016. (AFP/Simon Jarratt/University of Kent)
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bdulrazak Gurnah, the Tanzanian-born author awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, forged a critically acclaimed 35-year career rooted in colonialism and immigration after arriving in Britain as a refugee.
The novelist was born on the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar, off the coast of east Africa, in 1948, and began writing after moving to England as a refugee, where he is now based.
"This is the last thing I would have imagined for myself," the novelist said on Thursday after discovering that he had won the prize.
"I am very surprised and humbled, and of course, I'm thrilled and honoured."
He welcomed the Nobel Prize as sparking greater discussion of the issues he raises in his novels, such as the plight of refugees and colonialism.
"I’m constantly interested in what it is that brought us here... what are the forces and historical moments that brought us here," he said.
"It's still sinking in that the Academy has chosen to highlight these themes which are present throughout my work. It's important to address and speak about them," he said.
