This Week's Best Kept Poetic Secret

 In the photo below, I am hugging this week's best kept poetic secret. 

Before I share it with you, may I thank you all so deeply, for your kind and warm comments and responses to the anniversary post I shared this Monday, 7th. My husband and I had a beautiful surprise, it was unexpected and lovely. Thank you.

This morning, I dressed in bright orange and mustard, to match the colours of  the Schooner, a global fusion series of poetry. My journey as an international collaborator of poetry began in 2012.

Poetry is an act of faith and faith without works is dead. In 2012, we began sending the winners of the Beverley Nambozo Poetry Award to Nairobi to participate in the Story Moja literary festival. Introducing the first Ugandan poets to the festival, each year the numbers of Ugandans increased highly. We met and interacted with leading writers, scholars and artrepreneurs from around the world.

In 2013, I met Prof. Kwame Dawes. He is a world renowned literary professor and also the poet laureate of Jamaica, with a real Jamaican accent. I stared at his grey moustache that kept dancing as he spoke in his Jamaican lilt. He was saying something about wanting me to serve as the focal point for Ugandan poets in this new fusion series of poetry. I was just so distracted.

After many nods and several questions, I began my journey as the official focalpoint for Uganda's fusion series, which is a curation of  thematised poems from Uganda, selected and edited by myself. What a task! I had just completed my Master's in Creative Writing and was working on our very first poetry anthology. This was huge.

Uganda's theme, Shoes, began. With carefully selcted poets who had a wide range of theme, boldness, originality and vision, we compiled our selection and submitted to Kwame and his team. In 2016, the digital book was published. 

Last year, the editorial team approached me again, requesting to publish the poems in print format. What a double blessing! In this print issue which I received this week, are 12 Ugandan poets whose poems lie beside international and literary honour. Some of them are previous winners of the Beverley Nambozo Poetry Award and Babishai poetry award, others are associates of Babishai.

You may shop for the issue here: THE SCHOONER GLOBAL FUSION SERIES

This is my week's best kept poetic secret. Thanks to the Ugandan poets who submitted their fine work under the theme of 'Shoes,' and to Edward Echwalu who provided the photography for the digital version.

As an act of faith, I said 'Yes' to Kwame Dawes and so many international doors have opened for many poets in Uganda. Say yes, in faith, to what you know deep down inside, is meant for you. It's not too big, it's faith, and then start the hard work after that. It is worth it.

   

I have just finished writing a biography of a Ugandan doctor and ready to write another one. Let me know if your story needs to be told.

Bless!

Bev