Jonathan Kariara (1935–1993) was a Kenyan poet and short story writer who wrote works including "A Leopard Lives in a Muu Tree".
At Makere University College, Kariara edited and wrote for Penpoint, the college's literary magazine, and developed relationships with other young intellectuals from across Africa (including Rebeka Njau, David Rubadiri, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o), many of whom would play important roles in developing postcolonial literature and thought in Africa.
[1] Kariara also worked as manager of Oxford University Press's branch office in Nairobi.
[5] For Simon Gikandi, "Kariara's creative writing belongs solidly to what has come to be known as the Makerere School of English, a tradition characterized by attempts to use local materials and backgrounds while maintaining the formal conventions of English writing in both verse and prose.
"[1] According to Mohamed Bakari and Ali A. Mazrui, because English was only used in the Makere College's formal pedagogy, while students spoke various ethnic languages in their downtime, this Makere School centered on formal, grammatrical English rather than local forms of English-based creole languages.