Of Chameleons and Gods is the title of the first collection of poetry by Malawian poet Jack Mapanje, published in 1981 in the United Kingdom,[1][2] in Heinemann's African Writers Series.

[5] After its initial launch in London, Mapanje was told of rumours of a poor reception by the Malawian Censorship Board, including the purchasing of multiple copies of the text only to dispose the books in public latrines.

After a poor reception of the 1984 reprint of the collection by officials in Malawi, the Ministry of Education and Culture banned the book from schools and universities in June 1985, claiming it was "unsuitable".

In response to his imprisonment, Amnesty International made him a Prisoner of Conscience; protests included a reading of selections from Of Chameleons and Gods outside the Malawian High Commission in London by Harold Pinter.

[5] In response to the book's censorship, Mapanje wrote the poem 'On Banning Of Chameleons and Gods (June, 1985)', first published in his later collection The Chattering Wagtails of Mikuyu Prison.