Author: Jngunjiri

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News

Meja Mwangi’s book honoured

Meja Mwangi’s book The Last Plague, published by Kenya’s East African Educational Publishers (EAEP) has been included in the current issue of African Writing (AW), a bi-monthly online journal, under the Books Worth Reading column. This is a column that makes a case for potential African classics. This is a major honour for the book that addresses the issue of HIV/Aids.
The honour is not misplaced though. The book, which was published in 2000, won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature, Kenya’s biggest and most prestigious literary prize, in 2001. AW pays glowing tribute to Mwangi’s book by comparing it with Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s latest masterpiece Wizard of the Crow.

In his 449-page novel, THE LAST PLAGUE, Kenyan writer, Meja Mwangi, achieved two things: he wrote a restrained AIDS novel that was true to the apocalyptic character of the pandemic, and he wrote a classic of delirious humour. It is this combination of tragedy (that never quite loses its grasp on hope), deft satire, and unexpected humour that bushwhacks the reader at the most sombre moments, that makes this book compelling rereading, even seven years after its first publication.

Read the complete review on AW here
Meja Mwangi’s other book Kill me Quick, also by EAEP won the inaugural edition of Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 1974. During this year’s edition of Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature, his book The Boy Gift, also by EAEP, took third position in the youth category. The second position was taken by Ken Walibora with his book Innocence Long Lost, Published by Sasa Sema. The Overall winner was Kingwa Kamencu’s book To Grasp at a Star (EAEP)

Categories
Reviews

Literary Gangster: Smitta’s poetry book

Saturday, November 10 was a big day for Tony Mochama. He was launching his book What if I am a Literary Gangster? – a collection of poetry – at the Goethe Institute in Nairobi.
With such a defiant title, you almost guessed what is contained between the covers of the book. Well, one thing you are assured of is that this is not going to be your ordinary goody goody conventional poetry. You also know that such a book will not find its way to a classroom, as a school text – the guys at the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) would have recurring nightmares would such a thing happen (but I am sure they would love to read it in private.)
Having said that, let us now examine the logic behind the title. Apparently, the title was inspired by Dr Egara Kabaji, who teaches at the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, in Western Kenya. Writing in the Literary Discourse section, in the Sunday Standard, Dr Kabaji dismissed Tony Mochama as a “Literary Gangster, whose godfather is Binyavanga Wainaina.”
smitta.jpg
To some extent I agree with Dr Kabaji, but without the Binyavanga rider. To me Mochama is a literary gangster of a different type. The product of his “crime” is one that really appeals to my literary buds. And for sure he shoots from the hip.
Sample this:
When I run out of poetic tricks
I shall commit syntax
Ferry my body in a verse
And bury me, in the symmetry
Witness how he effortlessly plays around with the words syntax/sin, verse/hearse and symmetry/cemetery. That verse is picked from the poem titled The Poetry Police.
Now, Tony Mochama is not your everyday writer. To me, he is the very exemplification of the title wordsmith. At the Standard, where he writes, Mochama has about four columns, the most celebrated being Scene at, in the Pulse Magazine, which comes out every Friday.
As a journalist, I will tell you that maintaining just one column is hard enough. Writing four columns week in week out is a different thing altogether. And he still spares time to write poetry, and drink some Vodka, lots of Vodka!
Speaking of Pulse, I think I will not be contradicted when I say Mochama, who writes under the name Smitta Smitten, is the very pulse of that magazine. It is not very difficult to see his wicked and wacky sense of humour, in most sections of the magazine, even without seeing his byline.
I came to know Mochama in the late nineties. Then he had a terrible afro hairstyle and still he was a poet. His fans called him The Mad Poet – what else did you expect?
Later he would be a contributor in the earlier edition of Expression Today (ET), published by the Media Institute. He later wrote the arts for Daily Nation, but it was not until his former boss at ET David Makali dragged him to Standard, that his star really shone. At the Standard, Pulse to be precise, he was given the freedom, nay latitude, to bring his latent talent to the fore, and it has shone ever since.
Pulse in itself has been a revelation in Kenyan journalism. It dispensed with the status quo kind of journalism long practiced in the country and brought out an explosive mix of bold and exciting entertainment reporting that really appeals to the targetted audience, the youth.
Simply put, it has been a breath of fresh air.
And did I mention that Mochama was once denied entry into Russia? Perhaps the first African to enjoy that rare “honour”. What crime did you commit against the Russians Smitta?
Back to gangster poetry. Well, a lot has been said about poetry being difficult, elitist and that kind of stuff, but Mochama in his book brings it down to the level that it can be enjoyed by every person.
The topics are as varying as the world is big. In the poem titled Trading Places, the poet takes a mischievous shot at the social, political and economic differences between Africa and the West. It also addresses the double standards employed by the West when dealing with Africa.
But coming from Mochama, it has to be different. In his poem, the tables have been turned. Africa rules the world and the West comes begging for aid.
And Libya invaded America to
topple George Bush
“the tyrant,” and “restore
democracy and freedom to the long-suffering people of
United States of America!”
From war to freedom and love, to the philosophical musings of life and death, Tony Mochama addresses these topics with the same happy-go-lucky manner that is the hallmark of his writing. His poetry is full of mischief and is in many instances fired off from a cannon loaded with irony.
That the gangster is also capable of being soft, reveals another side of his pen not many are aware of, partculary in the piece, Whispers.
Laughter and your stories, lingers,
Like a silver cobweb clings
On a broken wall lit by silver moonlight
The poem is dedicated to the late Wahome Mutahi, another wordsmith, of the humour variety.
I was especially intrigued by his pieces on love and heartbreak. They are refreshingly real and could only come from someone who has been through such emotions and trust the Smitta to have gone through all those.
However, careful editing of the book would have taken care of some annoying typos occasionally appearing in the book. Maybe that has to do with the fact that it was published in Russia.
Well, a literary gangster? The “celebs” who are always on the receiving end of his pen every Friday would rather use the word terrorist.
The book is Published Brown Bear Insignia
What if I am a Literary Gangster is distributed by Suba Books and Periodicals based at Hazina Towers

Categories
Reviews

Book on Kalembe Ndile out

I have always been fascinated by the outgoing Kibwezi MP Kalembe Ndile, who is also an assistant minister in the Ministry of Tourism. His modest education aside, the politician has a way of putting his points across, that I think makes a lot of sense.
Take the case when he told off envoys attached to Kenya, when they were calling on President Kibaki to reappoint Samuel Kivuitu, whose tenure as the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) expires on December 2, for the sake of fairness in the December 27 elections.
“Mimi sijui Kivuitu wa Amerika, ama wa Uingereza,” – I don’t Know Kivuitu’s equivalent in the US and UK – he said. He went on tell the foreign envoys that Kenya is a sovereign state, and other countries should not interfere with the way it conducts its elections. He also added that it would be unheard of for a Kenyan envoy, say in the US, to tell President Bush who to elect as the head of their electoral body.
Now, if that is not common sense, tell me what is. At the risk of being accused of leaning against one political side at this crucial moment of the political campaigns, let me stick to the mandate of this blog. Books. Well, Kalembe, in spite of his modest education, has done what Kenyan politicians rarely do, and that is producing books.
Kalembe Ndile: My Squatters, My Struggles, My Dream, is a book written by journalist Peter Thatiah, and seeks to have the reading public know the politician better.
book1.jpgKalembe might not have written the book, owing to his well documented inadequacies, but it nevertheless provides Kenyans with much needed details that might not find their way into newspaper pages, and which allows us to better understand and appreciate our country. Leaders, or politicians for that matter, by virtue of their positions and interactions, tend to influence decisions, and thus can be reagarded as depositories of a country’s history.
The book tells of how Kalembe’s parents emigrated to western Uganda where his father was then working at the Kilembe Copper Mines. And it is from the mines that Kalembe got his name. Apparently, when they got back to Kenya he could not tire telling people,about that “wonderful” place in Uganda.
So the name was amended to Kalembe as Kilembe was found to be too big for his small stature then. Note that in most Bantu dialects, which Kalembe’s Kikamba belongs, the prefix ka denotes small while ki is associated with something big. After the murderous Amin regime kicked the Ndile family out of Uganda, they found themselves back to Kibwezi in Eastern Kenya to a life of squalor and landlessness.
It is under that life of squatterhood that young Kalembe found himself struggling to get education. According to the book he had to burn charcoal to pay his fees at Emali Secondary School.
Having been brought up under such dire conditions Kalembe cultivated an burning desire to fight for the rights of fellow squatters, who incidentally are the majority in Kibwezi constituency. And what a better way to articulate this than in an elective post, he reckoned. He contested Nguumo Civic Ward in the 1997 General Elections and won. He was also elected the chairman of Makueni County Council the same year.
His term as a councilor was informed by waging battles with well-heeled and well-connected individuals, in the then Kanu Government, against land grabbing, a thing that earned him many enemies, including stints in police custody. At some point Parliament spent quite a considerable amount of time discussing his tribulations in the hands of his tormentors.
Still, such drawbacks could not extinguish his burning ressolve to fight for the rights of squatters. And they reciprocated by giving him their support during the 2002 General Elections, when he was elected as the Kibwezi legislator. At some point Kalembe was accused, in Parliament of being a highway robber in an earlier life. The book has not shied away from that, as well as his well publicised altercation with the ODM-K presidential candidate Kalonzo Musyoka, when he was ejected from a cultural function in Mwingi district.
In the book, Kalembe reckons that event contributed to Kalonzo’s dwindling fortunes in opinion polls.
Although the coming up with the book is commendable, the fact that it is self-published explains the rather lucklustre cover design, binding and quality of paper used. Still Thatiah’s command of language almost makes up for the shorcomings in quality.
I also got the feeling that the author dwelt a bit too much on some details, that are outside the main story of Kalembe’s life. Those details are okay when one is writing a big book, as they provide the useful background information. But for small book like this one, it is just too much. The reader for example misses out on how Kalembe met and married his wife, a thing that should not miss out on a biography or an autobiography for that matter.
In most parts, the reader gets assailed with too much of the author’s opinion, what with his showy and pompous use of language, at the expense of the story at hand. And on that note, I would not be surprised if the book attracts a libel suit or two, from some parties who might feel aggrieved by what is contained in the book. Whether the book is a campaign tool for Kalembe, only time will tell.

Categories
Events

Dr Alembi honoured for children’s writing

David Mulwa was just emerging from the Literature Department bulding, at Kenyatta University (KU) where he teaches, when he came to an abrupt halt. It was as if he had seen a ghost. For a few brief seconds he stood there, his mouth wide open, as if trying to establish whether his eyes were lying to him. Clearly, they were not.
“Chris Lukorito Wanjala!” he exclaimed finally and rushed forward to hug the other man, and they remained in a tight embrace for a few more seconds. Dressed in a sharp grey pin-stripped suit, Prof Wanjala had just stepped out of his maroon Volvo, and for sure he was a sight for Mulwa’s sore eyes. While Mulwa teaches at Kenyatta University, Prof Wanjala teaches at the University of Nairobi, some 23 kilometers away.
On that day, Friday, November 3, 2007, Prof Wanjala admitted that many years had passed since he last set foot at KU. And for him to appear there now, it really must be a big day. True, it was a big day. The Igbo of Nigeria say that a toad does not jump in broad daylight for nothing. The two lecturers had barely finished exchanging niceties when Dr Ezekiel Alembi appeared on the scene.
Now, Dr Alembi is the chairman of KU’s Literature Department, and he was the reason Prof Wanjala was there. It was a big day for Dr Alembi. Sasa Sema Publications, an imprint of Longhorn Publishers, were honouring him for his contribution to children’s literature.
To be fair to him, Dr Alembi has penned over 39 children’s books! no mean feat by Kenyan standards. This lead to one student in the audience to ask when Dr Alembi finds time to sleep! When he took to the podium Prof Francis Imbuga, who was the chief guest remarked quite rightly that writing for children is not child’s play!
To elaborate on that point, Dr Alembi recounted an encounter with a person who so much took writing children’s stories for granted, that he said that he could write 15 children’s books in a week. That was five years back. To date, he has not written even one.
Er, before I forget, let me add that the event was not a purely literary affair. There were some entertainment too. Serious entertainment at that. Students from the university’s band kept all the guests thoroughly entertained with their masterly of musical instruments. The Salsa group also staged some eye-catching dancing. Cream Group was at hand for some well-choreographed dancing. A comedy group, I cant recall their name, tore our ribs with their improvised narrative on what was taking place at the event.
Talking of performances, perhaps the best perfomance, at least according to me, was when David Mulwa accompanied by Prof Kitula King’ei, with a box guitar, did some two zilizopendwa (Golden Oldies) numbers, Taxi Driver and Dereva Kombo. That was really something coming from the aging university dons.
Now back to the event. Dr Alembi told those gathered at the event that he was really humbled with the recognition, adding that it is not everyday that publishers in Kenya honour their writers. “It is even more heartening that they have decided to honour me while I am still alive. In most circumstances, such honours come after its recipients have died,” he explained.
Dr Catherine Ndungo, who heads the department of Gender and Development studies at the university, hailed Dr Alembi for bring literature to the level of children. She said that among other things, Dr Alembi argues that the interests, needs and responses of child readers must be taken into account. “That a concern with the intended audience is crucial to the critical appraisal of children’s literature,” she explained.
Prof Imbuga thanked Dr Alembi for being ” a conscious writer, dictating to his pen the thoughts that go to the vulnerably receptive minds of his young audience.”
Dr Alembi has written seven books for Longhorn publishers. They are; Jaramogi Oginga Odinga: Peoples’ Revolutionary, Elijah Masinde: Rebel with a Cause, Andisi and the Cat, Brave Girls, The Tortoise Song, Kwa Nini Ndovu Hali Nyama, Teaching Reading in Lower Primary. He has also co-authored the Keynote Primary English Course which is approved by the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) and widely used in Kenya and Tanzania. The occasion was also use to launch his latest book, A Dream on Wings.
“ It is Alembi’s zeal and energy that made us feel guilty that he is rarely
recognized. We are now working on two secondary school supplementary books
with him, and it’s just great to work with a man who wants to give his readers the
very best,” says Musyoki Muli, the Sasa Sema Publications Manager.
In September Dr Alembi was in Argentina, where he presented a paper tiltled Children’s Oral Poetry as a Channel for Transmitting Social Values at the International Society for Folg Narrative Research (ISFNR). Dr Alembi is ISFNR Vice-President for Africa. Dr Alembi is also the chairman of the National Kenya Schools and Colleges Drama Festival.

Categories
Personalities

Kingwa Kamencu, Kenya’s rising star

The author holds a copy of her book
The author holds a copy of her book
The author holds a copy of her book

As a first year Literature student at the University of Nairobi Kingwa Kamencu took up the challenge by the National Book Development Council of Kenya (NBDCK), to come up with a manuscript for a novella, and won the second prize and Ksh35,000.
That was in 2003. The same novella, now in the form of a book – To Grasp at a Star – won the youth category of the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature, Kenya’s most prestigious literary prize.
An elated Kingwa says winning the prize is enough testimony that her writing can actually compete with the best in the country. Looking back at the manuscript she wrote as a student, she says at the time she not quite sure it would be among the winners. “I nevertheless submitted the manuscript and hoped for the best,” she recalls.
“At that time in campus I decided to write so as to overcome the disappointment of losing in student leadership elections,” she says.
During the awards ceremony, she got to interact with many personalities in the literary world, some of whom she had only read about in her Literature class. However, one individual was to make all the difference.
In the gathering was Barrack Muluka, who was then the managing director of East Educational Publishers (EAEP). “I talked to him and he asked me to submit the manuscript for consideration at the company,” says Kingwa her face lighting up at the recollection.
She wasted no time. The event was held on a Friday evening and by Monday morning an excited Kingwa was knocking at EAEP’s offices in Westlands.
Then the good news came. She was informed that her manuscript had passed the publication test only that they wanted another novella of the same length. Luckily, for her she had written one.
Her dream of being a published author was finally realised when she was in third year. To Grasp at a Star was finally born. She says that after the book was published, there was so much excitement both from her family members and university colleagues.
“My university lecturers were very proud of me. They held a launch for me at the university and even adopted the book for use in children’s literature,” says the only girl in a family of boys.
That was just the beginning for what was to be exciting times ahead for the book. When the Kenya Publishers Association announced that they were introducing the Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize, in 2006, in honour of the late humourist, EAEP entered Kingwa’s book for the competition.
She was pleasantly surprised when her book took third position behind Stephen Mugambi’s book Wait for me Angela (Kenya Literature Bureau). Onduko bw’ Atebe’s book The Verdict of Death, also by EAEP took the overall prize.
During this year’s Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature Awards, To Grasp at a Star won the overall prize in the youth category, beating Ken Walibora’s book Innocence Long Lost (Sasa Sema) to second position. Meja Mwangi’s book Boy Gift came in third.
The judging panel led by Prof Emilia Illieva of Egerton University was full of praises of the book.
“Kingwa Kamencu tells immensely interesting stories of young female adults who, under the impact of illusive ideas of success and glamour, get caught up in dangerous situations that nearly jeopardise the bright future they so much deserve by virtue of their outstanding qualities,” said Emillia.
Kingwa, who now works as a writer at the Media Institute, finished her undergraduate studies in August last year, where she graduated with First Class Honours. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Literature, a scholarship she got from the university.
She has attended various courses on writing including British Councils’ Crossing Borders programme. She has also volunteered during the Kwani Trust organised Litfest held in December last year.
She however thinks that more needs to be done to improve the literary situation in the country. “Writers need to be more serious in their writing and publishers need to market their products more,” she says. “Otherwise we will keep moaning about a poor reading culture forever.”

Categories
Reviews

Anyang’ Nyong’o’s New Book

Former Planning Minister Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o launched his new book A Leap into the Future: A Vision for Kenya’s Socio-political and Economic Transformation, at the Grand Regency on Wednesday October 10.
A Leap into the Future is a collection of speeches, essays and articles compiled during Prof Nyongo’s tenure as minister in the Narc government, and soon after. In the book, the author examines the challenges of development of development, analyses how Pan-African and global partnerships could facilitate development.
Prof Nyong’o also projects his vision for socio-political and economic transformation of the Kenya society in a bid to formulate an economic strategy capable of transforming the country to First World development.
The book is published by African Research and Resource Forum, with WordAlive Publishers as the consultants. Prof Nyong’o, who is currently ODM Secretary General, believes that if Africa is to lift itself from the current situation of economic stagnation, then African countries have to learn from the East Asian countries.
The book is in the form of essays Prof Nyong’o, presented over a four-year period (2002-2006), including when he was Planning minister.
Politics aside, Prof Nyong’o is considered to be one of the toughest thinkers to have come out of the African continent, and A Leap into the Future proves just that. While being incisive and convincing his arguments betray the fact that sufficient research and thought went into their crafting.
The book contains information that the author believes if followed to the latter would transform Kenya into an economic success. Finance, governance and economic students will find the ideas packed in the book to be of invaluable help.
With admirable insights, Prof Nyong’o proceeds to shatter some long-held myths as to why African countries lag behind in development. He also takes on global bodies like the UN, which on paper are mandated to help end suffering in the continent, but are instead pursuing policies that continuously subjugate the continent, while miring it in debt.
He however does not lose sight the fact that African leaders are to blame for the economic mess African countries find themselves in. The common denominator in all the essays is the fact that good governance is key to faster development.
And for good governance to be there, then a country’s politics have to be put in order. And on the local front, he gives a valuable peek into what went into the crafting the now famous MoU, which was disregarded by the Kibaki, once the Narc Government came into power in following the historic 2002 General Election.
On the subject of corruption, Prof Nyong’o sheds some light into what some figures in the Kibaki Government refer to as “The Scandal that never was” – Anglo Leasing.

Categories
Issues

Book Fair: lessons learnt

With this year’s Book Fair over and done with, there are a few things that organisers and the book industry in general need to take into consideration. Granted that the Fair, which was in its tenth year, was relatively successful, there are lingering feelings that it would have been much better.
Anyone visiting this year’s edition of the Book fair at the Sarit Centre, in Westlands, must have noted the increase in the number of stands, which is a good thing for the industry. It shows that the book industry is expanding. However, with this expansion comes the issue of space. Any casual observer at the Fair must have noticed that the stands were actually cramped.
This came out clearly particularly on the days there was increased traffic. With so much traffic, moving around the exhibition hall became quite labourious, and this is not a good thing for the various exhibitors, some of whom felt that visitors did not spend quality time at their stands. Thus, they ended up not reaping the maximum benefits of the increased traffic.
Secondly, as a result of the increase in the number of exhibitors this year, there were some stands that were relegated to the hall at the back. These ones must have felt shortchanged as not every visitor to the place was aware that they were there in the first place. I for one had not noted that there were additional stands at the back until someone dragged me back there.
This situation is now asking serious questions as to whether the Sarit Centre Expo Centre is too small for the book exhibitors. Is it time for publishers to shop for a different venue? This is a question only publishers can answer.
There also have been concerns to the effect that the Fair would do well if it was to held in a more central place, where most people can access easily. The answer to such a venue naturally falls on KICC. But will publishers, known for their aversion to part with money, afford the fees, a revamped and professionalised KICC demands?
Still, publishers have to grapple with the concern that the Nairobi International Book Fair is not properly marketed. Kenyans are yet to see the kind of publicity blitz that usually accompanies fairs like the Motor Show, Homes Expo, among others, being lavished on the Book Fair. Apart from diehard book lovers, a majority of Nairobians would most likely tell you that they have never heard of the Book Fair.
Perhaps due to the fact that most of their money comes from text book publishing, the most part of marketing for the Fair is concentrated in schools. Publishers, as a matter of priority, need to move out of their over reliance on text book publishing and start paying more attetion to general publishing. That way they will be able to attract more of the general public to the Fair.
It is also worthy noting that publishers do not engage in aggressive marketing of their products (read books). It is no wonder that they keep whining about the poor reading habits of Kenyans, when they are not creating enough hype on their books. The Kalenjin People’s Egypt Origin Legend Revisited: Was Isis Asiis?, a historical book published by Longhorn Kenya, is a case in point.
Having read the book, Philip Ochieng wondered why nothing was being done to publicise the book. In his Sunday Nation column published on August 5 2007, he posed the following question “Why was a book of such significance to Africa published quetly in an African city and sneaked into its bookshops without a single word of publicity?”
The marketing aspect begs another question. Should the promotion and marketing of the Nairobi International Book Fair be placed in the hands of professional marketers in future? Over to you publishers.
The other aspect that begs attention regarding the Book Fair has to do with international publishers. For a Fair that boast of its international status, one would expect to find a fair number of international exhibitors. Sadly this is not the case with the NIBF. One of the core roles of book fairs is the rights trading, and that is where international publishers come in. That, in our case, means that very few of our publishers get to sell or buy international rights.
And this does not mean that there no books being published here that would interest audiences in other parts of the world. On the contrary there are many books published locally that would be of immense interest out there, but the publishers are not doing much to have them known. Who else can they blame other than themselves?
The same thing applies to award winning books. The very fact that a certain book has won an award – any award – is enough reason for it to be promoted as widely as possible. But sadly our award winning books rarely get the attention they deserve on the international front.
Perhaps the only Kenyan book that received worldwide attention courtesy of winning an award is Margaret Ogola’s book The River and the Source, (Focus Publishers) which bagged the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 1995. Today there are several international editions of the book doing rounds globally, including translations. However, that credit goes to the Commonwealth Writers Prize, which the book won the same year. It is organisers of the Commonwealth Prize who are the reason the book enjoys such international stature.
Speaking of prizes, lack of enough marketing also afflicts The Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature, which is the premier books award in the country. Were the organisers of the award – The Kenya Publishers Association – to market it more aggresivelly then the winners would not be the obscure lot they are today.
Again the prize money awarded to the winners, KSh40,000 (US$597), is not motivating enough. More importantly, the controversies characterised in the judging of the books is one the award can do well without.
The second Wahome Mutahi Prize for Literature will be held at the end of next year’s book fair, and I am afraid the same depressing award money, if not less, will be dished out to the winners. Isn’t the memory of Wahome Mutahi aka Whispers worthy much more than that?