Pio Zirimu | |
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Born | Pio Zirimu Uganda |
Died | 1977 |
Occupation | Writer, academic |
Alma mater | Makerere University King's College Budo |
Notable works | Black Aesthetics: Papers from a Colloquium Held at the University of Nairobi, June, 1971 |
Spouse | Elvania Namukwaya Zirimu |
Pio Zirimu (died 1977) was a Ugandan linguist, scholar and literary theorist. He is credited with coining the word "orature" as an alternative to the self-contradictory term, "oral literature"[1] used to refer to the non-written expressive African traditions. Zirimu was also central in reforming the literature syllabus at Makerere University to focus on African literature and culture instead of the English canon.[2]