Children's Books for All of Us

I've discovered a treasure trove of children's books. My friend Lillian Nakiwala Nyakana wrote and published several children's books. Immediately she told me, I made orders for the Christmas holiday.

The house is lit with stories, excited!

The two stories, 'The Greedy King,' and 'We are All Superheroes,' are our first holiday delight.

There were times when I was unable to complete half a chapter of a novel because my mind was distracted by the pleasures and pressures of life. Of late, especially this year 2023, I have devoured long forgotten merchandise in the form of fiction, like one book a week. It is not because I am a fast reader but because my mind is free from unnecessary distractions.

Did I mention that I also like a good children's book?

Every self help book, motivational quote and the bible, speak about the power of our minds. Hey, it's true. My mind has been able to whip up impossible tasks, because of its clutter free state. 

And when I read, the children read too. I am searching for delicious books for teens and pre teens too. For now, this brings much contentment.

Thanks, Lillian. Always good to know that Ugandans are writing for children. 

For details on her books, contact +256772 589 432.

Did I mention that I also like to read a good children's book? 

Bless!

A STORY CHASES YOU AND TERRORISES YOU UNTIL YOU WRITE IT-ZAZA MUCHEMWA

 Where do I begin?

Kampala International Theatre Festival totally ripped Kampala to shreds with their talent. I often fully immerse myself in art, I enjoy theatre and I like talking to new and established artists in every field.

What was different then, about KITF's tenth edition? 

I have participated several times before as a moderator and met many of their guests. This year was undeniably earth shattering. Everything was lit from the get go.

I don't know what was in the air but its infusion was an increasing chant from the worlds' greatest.

Being called to moderate the artists' conversation, I thought-how on earth am I going to moderate a conversation with ten or more of the most outstanding theatre practitioners, playwrights and musicians from the continent, with those from Germany, too?

I had only two hours to turn this into not just a conversation but into a memory. Moderation is about transference of spiritual connectivity and making memories. And that's what we did!

L-R Wanjiku Mwawuganga, Beverley, George Bwanika Seremba, Zaza Muchemwa, Kaya Kagimu.

(some of the artists in moderation) 

Photo by Wilhelm. 

Citizen Kane Kollektiv. Photo by Diamond Media

                            Max Sprenger and Beverley: Photo by Lwazi Diamond

While I had read the bios, and watched some of their performances online, nothing prepared me for the magnificence of their craft, their thought processes and their vulnerability. That's what separates artists.

They are able to change their vulnerability into strength, not by mind games or wellness camps but through churning their honesty and strength into an interaction with everyday people going through the same experience.

I will mention by name, each artist who was part of the discussion, because their words sent reality checks and beautiful thoughts into my system.

Citizen Kane Kollektiv-Max Sprenger, Christian Muller and Simon Kubat, Christine Mbabazi, Ssentumbwe Kabuuza, Wanjiku Mwawuganga, George Bwanika Seremba, Zaza Muchemwa, Kaya Kagimu and Ogutu Muraya. Ten in total.

Wearing their hearts, their passion and their future and past on their sleeves, they dove right in, treating me and the audience as if their were friends chatting by the fireside. 

A few quotes:

"A story chases you and terrorises you until you write it"-Zaza Muchemwa

"What is my why, when telling a story?"-Kaya Kagimu

"Artists should also be allowed to fail."- Ssentumwe Kabuuza

Whatever happens, always endeavour to attend Kampala International Theatre Festival-the organisers give their heart into every detail. They are highly meticulous, prepared and every single team member is willing to lend a hand to assist guests. Ndere Centre, too, with its picturesque environment, is ideal for a good old artists' weekend.

.....

A Poem for Honourable Joyce Mpanga

 For Honourable Joyce Mpanga

You crossed the river

with your children on your back

asking you about their daddy

You held the earth

with sadness in your heart

when money disappeared like the sunset

you fed an entire generation

even before they were born

with salt in one hand and hope in the other

you built pyramids made from the doors

that slammed in your face

until the world finally listened

and your voice will never be silenced again.

...

Written by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva, for Honourable Joyce Mpanga, Uganda's first Women Affairs Minister, Africa's first female lecturer at Makerere University, the first woman in Uganda to hold a Master's degree, former State Minister of Education in Uganda,  amongst so many other accolades.

Teaching my Mother How to Give Birth-A Review of Warshan Shire's Poetry

There are those poets whom, when their words touch paper, tremors are felt across the earth. Warsan Shire a  Kenyan born Somali-British award-winning poet, is one of those. She strikes her pen with a sublime swish, and nothing remains the same.

Photo taken at a literary festival in Kenya, in 2013

Beverley-R and Warsan-L

Her chapbook poetry collection, 'Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth,' is a genuine interaction of the intimacy of women's individual turmoil in conflict situations, displacement, families, and the questions about women's bodies that never seem to have the right answer.

The simple connection with images like in, 'Questions for Miriam Makeba,' 

Did you ever tell people that songs weren't 

the same as a warm body, a soft mouth?

..

Did you know of the girls who sang into their fists

mimicking your brilliance?

...

This homage to Miriam Makeba is in itself a song, a conversation with the musical icon, who, in the poem, is not a wife, mother or sister, but is a singer. She is defined by her brilliance and not by her reproductive ability.

Warsan is bold and bodacious and her observation is sharp, as she peels off layers of pretense and hypocrisy to celebrate the realness of women.

In the poem, 'Maymunn's Mouth,' we read of  the subtle changes that overcome us when we relocate to another place. It begins with the way we speak, the way we dress, and then we begin to think that our old traditions and loves should be replaced by the new.

And yet it is not as simple as forgetting and adjusting, because there are memories, families and friends involved in this entire process.

The title of the collection itself, is mind-blowing, reflection of ho the world has actually turned on its head. There is no justification in situations of war; no justification at all, when children and women suffer unbearable torment.

Published by Flipped Eye publishing in 2011, copies are available on Amazon.

Reviewed by Beverley N Nsengiyunva

Poets Talk: 5 Questions with Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva

Konya Shamsrumi: If any of your poems could literally save a person’s life, which poem would it be and can you describe the person whose life you think it would have saved?

Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva: It would be the poem, Al Qaeda, written and published in my first poetry collection “Unjumping” which emerged first runner-up in the 2010 international erbacce-press competition. It describes the situation of rigorous security checks at an airport and the inconvenience many feel. This, the poem does, using the metaphor of an erotic circumstance to convey the experience. The poem saves people in the metaphorical sense, that if offers an escape from life’s turmoils.

Konya Shamsrumi: What does Africa mean to you, as potential or reality?

Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva: It means every day of the 41 years that I have lived; both on the continent and outside the continent.

Konya Shamsrumi: Could you share with us one poem you’ve been most impressed or fascinated by? Tell us why and share favourite lines from it.

Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva: This poem by Emily Dickinson is one of my favourite poems in the entire world. It’s timeless, written to highlight our tendency as humans to croak about ourselves, announcing our presence and achievements to audiences that suck us in, just like bog. It’s a tedious task, which all of us have fallen to.

I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us — don’t tell!
They’d banish — you know!

How dreary to be somebody!
How public like a frog
To tell one’s name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

---

Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva is a passionate poet, tireless mother, exuberant long-distance swimmer and lover of travelling and nature. She has two poetry collections to her name. The first is Unjumping, published in 2010, by erbacce-press, when she emerged first-runner up in their annual poetry competition. The second, published in 2017, is called Dress Me In Disobedience, highlighting Beverley’s interpersonal relationship with church, sex and politics.

Beverley is the Founding Director of the Beverley Nambozo Poetry Award for Ugandan women, the Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation, where she spearheads the promotion of African poetry. She is also the Founding President of Bukoto Toastmasters Club,that conducts training in public speaking and leadership.

With a Masters of Fine Art Degree in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, obtained in 2012, she has completed her novel manuscript. Her hobbies are travelling, swimming and collecting foreign currencies.

An interview I conducted with Konya Shamsumri about ten years ago. 

Here's the link. 5 questions

Get A Mentor Who Meets Your Mojo

Do you want a mentor who meets your mojo?

A mentor who seizes the day with you and if you'd like to fly a rocket, is willing to advise you on the best online deals.

Those are the worthwhile mentors, the one who listens, offers appropriate advice and does not take offence when you soar beyond possibilities. 

That is another reason why mentors who have known you from school, your childhood or when you were starting out in your career, are probably not the best fit.

 

There are certain individuals who have known me from childhood, because our families were friends and when we meet they give off an embrace of care, understanding my individuality and passion and light up when I share my goals. And yet, they always conclude by telling everyone who cares to listen how they knew me from childhood as the girl who used to play hide and seek with long curly hair. 

In their mind, their vision does not go beyond little sister or cute childhood neighbour. No matter the accolades or distinguishable moments in my life, their myopic vision remains stunted. I therefore made up my mind that my mentors will be those who have met me closer to my stage of actualization.

There are also mentors, whose very lives will become disrupted, when they sense that your success is overriding theirs. Their nostrils flare and their  commonsense dissipates like a puff of smoke. They make you second guess your abilities because you have exceeded beyond their understanding. Much as they'd like to take credit for all your success, deep down both of you know that the only part they played was to make you second guess yourself every step of the way.

And yet we still call them our mentors because they happen to be in the same profession as we are and because we happen to know the same people.

It is far better to get a personal coach whom you pay to unearth your limitless potential and to guide you on a path of singular success and experience. This coach will most likely give you more than you paid for. They have studied the manner of self-development and they have mastered the journey of self-awareness.

And then pay for a mastermind. A class whose focus is to nurture, meet a goal, build a business or create a strategic plan.

Mentorship is wonderful if the mentor is cognizant of  their own limitations and your own capacity. If you find a group or an individual, congratulations!

 Coaching and mastermind classes will elevate you to excellence. Go for that, too.

Marial Awendit Strikes Gold, Again

 Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation, stretching its poetic arm across Africa, in 2018, celebrated their fourth poetry festival in Mbale and Sipi Falls, Eastern Uganda. It was there that the highly gifted South Sudanese poet, Marial Awendit, was awarded the $700 prize. His poetry, a gift of the ages, has since been published by Babishai, in a poetry collection, titled, 'The Night Does Not Drown, Us.'

Again, the unstoppable Marial strikes gold. In November 20203 at the African Writers Conference in Ghana, Marial was awarded first prize in the poetry category for his poem, The Nilotic Coddiwomple.

At The African Writers Conference, discussions around Artificial Intelligence and their interaction with creative writing came up. Marial strongly feels that,

"How will A.I be of practical help for the cattle rustlers in South Sudan? The reality is far removed."

Marial further went on to praise Babishai for the elevation that the prize gave him. 

"Babishai helped to elevate me into the limelight. My poetry is being taught at The University of Venda and many South Sudanese writers have been in touch with me."

The Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation continues to support the work of African poets through publishing, training and poetry events.