Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyumva and BNP Poetry: Inspiring Poetry in Africa

 A Morning of Poetry

Recently we were lucky to be part of a morning of love poetry organized by Beverly Nambozo in Kampala. Under a shade, with vrooms of distant boda bodas in the distance, we set off on a magical morning journey of poetry. A number of poets read their poetry about the theme of  'love romance nebigenderako' which in luganda could be loosely translated as ' love romance and the extras that go with it'. The poetry book A Thousand Voices Rising was on sale and i got myself a copy.
Good choice i made.  I have been able to read it between traffic jams, before going to sleep and when in line for the many things i chase down Kampala's busy streets.  The book is full of poetry from all over Africa and the diaspora. Beautiful, engaging, fresh. Like a rose in full bloom.

A Blossoming Rose.

 I was captivated by the new and not so new poetic voices coming out of Africa that were featured in there.  Poetry has been a bit of underground for so long in most of East Africa. but so have books in general. This is hopefully changing before our very eyes.  Publishers in East Africa have been accused of being more focused on textbooks as a Kenyan writer said recently.  The now vibrant scene of poetry in Uganda was given a big prod by the Lantern Meet of Poets, a group of young poets in Uganda but generally the scene has been  quite laying a little low. The publishing of poetry especially has not been as alive as in some Latin American and Persian speaking countries.   Though the tradition of oral poetry can be found among most ethnic groups in Uganda eg the baGanda, baSoga, baHima, banyaRwanda and baKiga ethic groups, a lot of this great poetry has not been widely distributed in the written word.

BNP Poetry and Beverly Nambozo ( Vice Versa)

Beverly Nambozo's push therefore to encourage the submission of poetry and the publication of poetry such as in the A Thousand Voices Rising book of which she is the editor,  is really admirable. She s an inpiration and  encouragement to many aspiring  and established poets. For this particular poetry morning,  she brought together poets, singers and spoken word artists that made that morning memorable and beautiful for all who were there. Her coordination and wonderful set up of this meeting for a mid morning reading of poetry about ' love, romance nebigenderako' was brilliant. She is also organizing a poetry award for unpublished poetry, the BNP Poetry Award competition running up to May 2015. Her  dedication and work is a gift to the many poets in Uganda and a  bright hope for the future of poetry in Uganda and Africa.

Susan Kiguli: A Wonderfully Great Writer

Ugandan writer and poet Susan Kiguli wrote a great anthology of poems  titled 'The African Saga'.
Published by Femrite (1998).

This great book of poems,  i hope will be required reading for Literature throughout Uganda schools soon (if it has not been already). The book resounds with such beauty, there is resonating truth, warmth and hushed drama in her many and varied poems.  Poems about love, the longings of men and women,  about war, about Amin and the struggle to understand who we are as Africans. Poems about just being African.   The African Saga should be on everyone's shelf  and desk. The book is preferably read while reclining with a cup of tea and a couple of samosas on a quiet evening.

What a refreshing array of poems from one of our very own and a  truly great writer. Susan Kiguli is refreshing in her writing and ability to communicate so well about the beauty and tears, the triumphs and the paradoxes associated with living in Africa.

Author Susan Kiguli; A Ugandan Great Writer

 Her book is available at Femrite Offices and in many bookshops in Uganda and can also be bought online at www.amazon.com.

Susan Kiguli is inspiring  the present and next generation of writers. 

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Needed; Book Readers and Publishers in Uganda

We attended a book fair  held on the 14th March 2014 at the Uganda Manufacturer's Association  Show Grounds in Lugogo, Kampala, Uganda.
The book fair was a quiet affair attended by not more than 200 people in the time I was there. The publishers who made their appearance included Moran Publishers, Fountain Publishers, Vision, Femrite and a lot of newer publishing groups like MK and Longhorn. The effort made was very commendable; by the organizers and the publishers who bought stalls. They deserve great thanks. The future of book publishing in Uganda looks bright but could be brighter. More numbers at the book fair would have made us more sure about that.

The Ugandan community needs more readers and more people who can share their resources by helping people and children especially to read. The city lacks libraries.  It is a glaring absence. The one or two public libraries available cannot even attempt to cater to the population of two million plus people in Kampala.   An organization called Children International Uganda is doing something extra for book reading and had a booth at the show. They have box libraries and support different people to host small reading groups mainly for children. It is a great idea that will hopefully expose more children ( and adults) to book reading beyond the curriculum textbooks and  will increase the book reading culture in Uganda. We need it, all societies need a book writing and book reading culture. We hope that at Noonya Books we will contribute to that movement; towards more reading and more reading material accessibility for our communities.

Best,

Noonya Books

Are You Living in Uganda? Are You A Mukoowu (Tired One)?

Hi there! Thank you for visiting our blog. It has been a long time since I posted something so here we go.

A Harvest of Mangoes. Definitely not tired of Mangoes!

 I hope those of you living in Kampala have eaten quite enough of the mangos since the season is really on. You may also have heard the Song Bakoowu by Walukagga.  If you haven't eaten more than seven mangos would you just do yourself a favor and buy/pick  some these last two weeks of June?
There is nothing as sweet as a Uganda mango, or guava...and dont get me started on the pineapples. Those living outside Uganda will one day have a taste of the delicious Ugandan mango.  I am definitely not  mukoowu (tired) of the mangos. I hope that you are not mukoowu (tired) of them too.

 Recently there has been a lot in Kampala society, in the media and news about Kukoowa (to get tired), Bakoowu (tired people) and Mukoowu ( a tired person)  which all in Lugandan slang would mean that the person(s) are; fed up, tired, exhausted,fatigued in one word.  Truly that guy Walukagga is an artist with his hand on the pulse of Kampala society in the same line as Paulo Kafeero, Bobbie Wine (when he is original), Basudde and may even come close to Elly Wamala. He does hit the nail on the head with this 'Bakoowu' song.   His song is echoed by an article in the New Vision newspaper the week of the 18th June written by a psychiatrist;  Dr Odokonyero about the tiredness (bukoowu) of working parents and school-going-rote-learning children in Kampala and I agreed. I even cheered.  We all need to rest and get off the foolish road of the rat race. Right now. Easier said than done but necessary.

 I wish that popular bakoowu song had mentioned something about the suffering group of children in especially boarding and 'top' Ugandan schools who are likely to become bakoowu soon because of this but may be that will be Walukagga's next song. He sang a great song anyway. Right on the point and he did not have that terrible  |diggidiggi|  |diggidiggi| beat that is the template for all luganda songs lately especially of the whining songs sung by every so called 'celeb' or 'announcer' who thinks that because they are comedians,  good speakers and can make people laugh, it also means they can also sing/ make music for a living.   Philly Lutaaya must be turning in his grave at the bakoowu songs spouting out of  all Luwum street's unlighted arcades and have clogged  Kampalan ears lately. All music lovers unite against this |diggidiggi|  |diggidiggi|  none-music. Wagikoowa?

I dont agree entirely with some people's  conclusion about the cause of the ' bukoowu' in this new song; I truly think  it goes beyond the political. 

Work of a Mukoowu; Trash in drainage in Kisaasi Ntinda.

 The government is not responsible for all the rude people you meet at every turn (where did they all come from?), for all the bakoowu people who dump their trash on the roadside...in the drainage that is supposed to keep the roads more useful longer... or for the foul smell you bump into near Kalerwe market round about. They have their bit too, you could say, but so do you and I.



Oh! definitely the marabou storks near Kalerwe market must be 'bikoowu' because I mean,  how can you not be if you are a scavenger bird and you have all that work to do to clean up the mess and the causes of the foul smell at Kalerwe market? The water at the side of that Kalerwe-Bypass junction must be full of a gazillion bacteria. Some new species may even be discovered there. Definitely the  marabou storks at Kalerwe market are 'bikoowu'. Not from politics.
There is a lot that could try to kukooya (tire ) you anywhere in the world. My opinion is that less of these 'bikooya' are found in some parts of Ntinda and the rural areas but they are starting to creep in.  In the shape of loud discos and loudspeakers, kaveera with trash dropped at a neighbours house,  narrow roads and the red pepper newspaper sold at the bus/taxi stops in full view of  children as they get on and off public transport. Dont let the 'bukoowu'  creep into your village or your life. Get up. Smile. Work hard. Dont Give Up. I met some cheerful guys selling the lovely pineapples in Wobulenzi Town on Luwero Road.

Ali and his friends (below) allowed me to take a picture of them when i told them I was writing this article about 'bakoowu' and wanted to show a picture of people in Uganda who i thought are definitely not bakoowu. They obliged.

Ali and Friends: Pineapple traders at Wobulenzi. 'Not bakoowu'.

Hallo from Wobulenzi. Lovely Sweet Ugandan Pineapple

Please make sure that you are not a 'mukoowu' and that you do not 'kukooya' others. Bye for now. Nkooye:)   Drop us a line with suggestions on how to deal with this 'bukoowu' at noonyabooks@gmail.com.
Please visit us our little shop at Noonya Books Ntinda Capital Shoppers City Shop 32.

A Little House on a Hill



  House on a Hill  in Uganda.            Photo Credit:Noonya (U)Ltd

I came across this little house far away. Somewhere deep in the heart of Uganda. It is pink and had a blue door. It was one of the loveliest places I had ever seen. I still wonder; I hope the lives lived within this house are as lovely as the simple exterior, that this house perched on a hill is filled with laughter and the lives lived in here are breathless with hope.

Get Ready. The Mangos are Coming.

Hallo from Kampala. The rains have come, the chickens are scratching and life goes on.  Farmers are out there clearing, sowing their seed, planting, hoping for a bountiful harvest. A lot is happening. Lots of work, lots of rain and hopefully in a few weeks...  lots of mangoes. Season gurus predict a bumper harvest of mangoes in Kampala. They say a big harvest follows a long drought such as the one we just had. I hope they are right.
The mango-rightness sensors that reside in the lower corner of mine and some mango savvy  persons' ears and can feel whether the mango is ripe or not, can tell whether it fell ripe from the tree or it was ripened under ashes, also hope the gurus are correct.

On the way to our bookshop in Ntinda today, I saw a tree laden with still green mangos. Some men and boys were trying to hit some of the few hanging low enough to reach. I felt like eating one of those raw mangos; cut up with paprika and salt.  Yummm.
My neighbour has fat purple ones the size of  a small footballs hanging out of his trees. His mangos are not ripe yet.  In the past, he has run races with little children in our village who have taken a liking to his garden right around this time. A little girl named Molly ( not her real name!)  has been caught trying to make three of the happy mangos her own without growing them herself. 

Another Day in Paradise

Paradise Is Waiting...For You

Early morning view from Sunrise Hotel, Fort Portal, Uganda

When we think of paradise, what do we think of? A place of peace, tranquility and of course love? Some would think of beautiful scents, fresh air and taking deep satisfying breaths. For others, a cappuccino, yet others, a cup of hot chocolate. A cup of warm milk? A glass of wine with goat muchomo. A family meal around the table. A calm lake in the warm evening. Oft times people have indeed said  ' This is Paradise'.

In many ways, we would like to live in a paradise, we long for it and look forward to it.  Paradise is coming but what about now? For now, we can try and create earthly paradise around us and in the places we live; by not building in the gazetted swamp and forest land even when we have the council, power and money in our hands. By planting more trees and flowers even when the dogs dig them up and only one rose bush out of five survive Kampala's hot sun. By not throwing trash out of moving taxis, not leaving bags of trash on the road! By cleaning our rooms and offices and sitting down to read to our children. By actually talking to our children and spouses and letting them talk... We can make lives better by reducing our plastic trail; buying groceries in one kikapu or two. By Voting with a conscience and as a parliamentarian, setting a law against the burning of plastics and tyres, indiscriminate release of factory waste, hospital wastes and diesel oils. Making sure that we have working government hospitals with well paid doctors  and nurses before making a law to  buy a new SUV and sleeping comfortably knowing that if you are sick you will be flown to Nairobi for care while the rest of the people who voted you die on Mulago's floors after being knocked down by a reckless lawless boda-boda and transported to hospital on the back of a police pick up truck rther than an ambulance.  You create paradise when as a magistrate, newly graduated and promoted,  you refuse to set confessed child defilers free because it is too bothersome to ask some tired and underpaid policeman to do the correct investigations. Maybe this and other cases will come back to haunt you in your ?paradise.
So I would say to all of us, on a given day, prepare yourself a hot katogo* and invite a friend or a relative to share it. Be kind to all those in need of succour, starting with your nearest and dearest; your spouse, children,  mother, father, the lonely and poor...Love does begin at home, it will spill over to the others.

Sunrise In Ntinda, Kampala Uganda

When we consciously make the effort to do some of these things and more similar, we bring a hint of heaven on earth around us. Paradise is waiting, for you.


muchomo; roast meat; tasty , grilled over charcoal in kampala style, can be bought off the road or made at home
katogo; a mix of boiled cassava pieces with beans (commonly), tomatoes (more commonly), or meat (rarely). Cheap and easy to cook.
kikapu; a bag made of  dried palm leaves

Where Have all the Pink Geckos Gone?

Where Have all the Pink Geckos Gone?

Have you read the Book titled; Down Under by Bill Bryson?
If you have not done so, borrow a copy or buy one; read and have a good laugh.
It is full of the most hilarious and penetrating observations ever, about travel through Australia and a number of encounters with the flora and fauna there; including lizards, komodo dragons and geckos.
.
Talking of geckos, I know most people in Uganda have had an encounter or two with geckos of all types. There are quite many about. The brown ones you are sure to find behind a potted plant. The blue and green big ones that live on our walls. When I was growing up they told us that if the blue nodding head gecko ever bit you you would not survive. I dont know anyone who was ever been bitten by one. A man recently told me that if you get bitten by one of those blue-green ones; the only one person that can undo its teeth from your skin is the uncle of your uncle's aunt. Really.

Other geckos live in windowsills, or sneak into bedrooms, hiding under the bed,  scuttling out as you sweep. The quiet geckos find a home in the back of the curtain, falling out to the floor,to your slight shock as you clean. You will note however that many people do not want to kill geckos, even though they scream about them.I have never heard anyone bringing in pesticides to kill geckos. What is this I wonder? Where do all the geckos go? 

Have you had the shocking shouting experience of a gecko falling on you? The pink type of gecko that is becoming rarer these days and used to go tick, tick tick with its tail from the ceiling in the middle of the night? It makes a noise with its tail surprisingly loud for its size.  A friend of mine used to shout and scream and would not go to bed in our boarding school for fear of geckos but would not hesitate to cut a frog. One day a gecko fell on her. You can imagine...She later said gecko's feet are cold.

Scientists say geckos like the pink ones have suction pockets on their feet to help them walk upside down on ceilings, like Spider man. Imagine cold suction pocket gecko feet on your skin for a second..."Not so scaredy.... Screaaam..."

I am seeing less of the little old pink geckos in Kampala these days. Geckos in Kampala may be changing due to the extreme smog and pollution from all the second hand cars and myriad boda bodas imported to run and cough uncontrolled poisonous  gases all over our beautiful seven hills (Kampala City Council's Musisi and Lukwago take note). Suddenly I dont see the pink ones a lot, I see more of  the grey ones that seem to love the light and gather round the bulbs outside. Are the little pink geckos soon becoming moths? Have you noticed that they seem to be getting rougher skin and congregating around light bulbs more of late? We may be the silent witnesses to the rapid evolution of the Ugandan pink gecko.

I will keep you posted.

Welcome to Noonya Books Blog

Thank you for visiting the Noonya Books blog in Uganda, East Africa.
We love books and  life in general. Noonya Books is a small bookstore in Ntinda, a small town in Kampala . We specialize in quality reading material for children and adults; autobiographies, textbooks,  stories, novels both classical and modern writers from all over the world. We will be featuring many Uganda writers and story tellers at our shop. We hope that we will be able to attract many folks who love a good story and be able to bring these stories to many more people in and around Uganda and that we will bring Ugandan stories to the world.
The Noonya Books Blog is about Life as we see it as we move (by foot, car, boda-boda or taxi ) to and from our bookshop in Ntinda. It is about the different books we read and what they seem to teach us about that we can share with you. About good books we have read.  We plan to share with you interesting and informative blogging about books and reading based right here in Kampala, Uganda.

For those who love a good story, who love discussion, reading and observing nature and life; this is the blog for you. 

Welcome to the Noonya Books Blog. Come visit our bookshop at the Medical School Canteen in Mulago and buy borrow or read a book. Tell us about what you think and what you are reading too in our comments section. 

Please tell others about this blogging space.



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