Kwani Trust

• Sunday Salon - July 20

  Posted: June 30, 2008, 12:21 am by Kwani

  Sunday Salon, Nairobi A Prose Reading Series NEW YORK - NAIROBI - CHICAGO http://www.sundaysalon.com Makena Ringera Al Kags Peter Chepkonga Gitura Kamau Four readers, four unique voices, in a tranquil outdoor setting An evening of entertainment for discerning lovers of the written word. With live neo-soul music by “ANTO” 7-9pm, Sunday 20th July Kengeles, Lavington Green Entry Only KSh300 Free entry before 6.30pm Free entry for all Sunday Salon [...]

• Open Mic - Tuesday, July 1

  Posted: June 17, 2008, 11:49 pm by Kwani

  Next month’s kwani? Poetry Open Mic will feature Khainga O’okwemba, whose poetry is “swift and agile”, delivered by a resoundingly rich, deep and clear baritone voice filled with calm confidence. Hosted by Cindy Ogana, the event, held every first Tuesday of the month, will also feature regular musician Anto, whose funkalicious neo soul is guaranteed [...]

• “Remembering Kenya” - Panel Discussion at the Goethe Institut, Wednesday June 18

  Posted: June 17, 2008, 2:34 pm by Kwani

  “Remembering Kenya: Identities, Culture and Freedom,” is public discussion series brought to you by the Goethe Institut in partnership with the Ford Foundation and Generation Kenya. The series is an attempt to have academics re-engage more robustly with the rest of the nation. It is dedicated to the necessity of freedom of thought and will [...]

• Vain Jango - spoken and written

  Posted: June 16, 2008, 12:42 am by Kwani

  A spoken version of Vain Jango, the Kwani? 01 classic, is now available here, for free; we’ve also reproduced the print version below, in case you’re the kind of person who likes to read along. Vain Jango Letter The other Sato I was chilling in Cactus. My skinny butt was perched precariously on a bar stool [...]

• Another Fine Salon

  Posted: June 16, 2008, 11:55 pm by Kwani

  Thanks to all who showed up for this month’s installment of Sunday Salon - the house was packed like never before, and the performers all rose to the occasion. Possibly our best night yet - but don’t take our word for it; check out what this Kenyan Poet had to say…

• “Orange Peals” - Call out for poetry

  Posted: June 16, 2008, 11:41 pm by Kwani

  This is a call out to all poets around the word: Submissions are invited for the 7th E-book of the Quarterly Colour Series of Poetry. Orange Peals, ‘a sense of the light-hearted,’ is the seventh e-book after Gray Spots, Blue Smudges, Red Streaks, Green Piece, Brown Steps and Indigo Smoothies. So far we have thought [...]

• Chronicle of an Election Foretold - by Zenzele Ndebele

  Posted: June 16, 2008, 6:38 pm by Kwani

  In the March election, many Zimbabweans thought they were going to deal with the Mugabe-led Government once and for all. The majority of us voted for change. ZANU PF lost the election, but unfortunately, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change didn’t quite manage to win: With Robert Mugabe pulling 43.7% of the vote and [...]

• Watching ZBC, by Philo Ikonya

  Posted: June 16, 2008, 4:48 pm by Kwani

  Kenyan writer Philo Ikonya recently returned from a fact finding-mission to Zimbabwe, organized by an international body of media organizations. This is her story. Watching Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is a lesson in how to enlist state machinery to the service of a political campaign. Even the business updates are cast as advertisements for Robert Mugabe’s ruling [...]

• Statement of the Zimbabwe Fact Finding Mission of African Media Organisations: 13 June 2008. Harare, Zimbabwe

  Posted: June 16, 2008, 3:29 pm by Kwani

  From June 8 to13 a Mission made up of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ Africa Office based in Senegal), Southern Africa Editors’ Forum (SAEF), Southern Africa Journalists Association (SAJA), the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Office and the Network of African Freedom of Expression Organisations (NAFEO) visited Zimbabwe on a fact finding [...]

• Wanted - Graphic Designer for Kwani?

  Posted: June 14, 2008, 6:52 pm by Kwani

  Job Title: Graphic Design Intern / Assistant Reports to: Arts Director, Kwani? & Special Projects Editor & the Managing Editor Reporting to this position: N/A This is a generic job description which is intended to describe a range of duties at Graphic Design Intern level across Kwani Trust. The scope of the duties are not intended to [...]

• URGENT - Proofreader needed IMMEDIATELY

  Posted: June 12, 2008, 2:29 pm by Kwani

  Kwani Trust immediately requires a proofreader to work on large amounts of fiction, essays, creative non-fiction and interviews that are already edited but require a final ‘eye’ before publishing to ensure nothing has been missed by the copy editor. The proofreader would carefully check the ‘proofs’ (which show how the final pages will be laid out), [...]

• Kenya International Film Festival - Calling all Films!

  Posted: June 11, 2008, 12:04 am by Kwani

  THE THIRD EDITION OF KENYA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (KIFF -2008) When: October 22nd to November 1st 2008. Theme: “celebrating our cultural diversity” Film in Kenya will soon become synonymous with all things beautiful. For our time-honoured traditions to thrive, create an industry with environmental sustainability. The flora and fauna of Kenya are the environmental instruments of our films. [...]

• Poets Ignite Wasanii Restaurant, KNT - Thursday, June 12

  Posted: June 10, 2008, 2:22 pm by Kwani

  Dennis Dancan Mosiere, aka Grandmaster Masese, a Kwani favourite at Open Mic and many other lyrical events, has taken the reigns of a Toronto-based initiative called Ignite Poets and brought it home to Nairobi. Ignite Poets uses poetry to inspire youth, allowing them to work together and collaborate for worthy causes. The first Kenyan showcase [...]

• Kibera Noir - an excerpt, by Arno Kopecky

  Posted: June 9, 2008, 12:25 am by Kwani

  Kibera Noir, another of our election dispatches, tells the story of what happened in Kibera on the night of December 30, 2007, after Mwai Kibaki was sworn in at State House. The following excerpt takes up the story moments after the writer and his photographer companion, Chris Ojow, emerged from the flames. Having stumbled our way [...]

• The Home Run - an excerpt, by Peter Chepkonga

  Posted: June 9, 2008, 11:53 pm by Kwani

  Another excerpt from our series of dispatches on the election, The Home Run chronicles the parliamentary race in Eldoret. Elijah Lagat ‘Mheshimiwa’ – Honourable, as they call him – began running simply to lose weight and not necessarily to compete at the highest level of the sport. As a young man, a physician told him that [...]

• Kangemi’s Fly On The Wall - by Stanley Gazemba

  Posted: June 6, 2008, 3:39 pm by Kwani

  This story is another installation in our series of electoral dispatches. More are forthcoming, both on kwani.org and in the print edition of Kwani 05, which will be launched at the Kwani Litfest in August. Lodged in between Loresho to the north, Westlands to the east, Lavington across yonder to the south and Mountainview, Kangemi is [...]

• Pigia Dada continued - by Kingwa Kamencu

  Posted: June 6, 2008, 2:59 pm by Kwani

  Another excerpt, following on the one posted last week, from Kingwa’s elections dispatch: The voting day dawns bright and sunny. Very few matatus are in operation in the town centre, they come in to the city in ones and twos. All shops are locked, even major supermarkets, restaurants and shops. From a sign on the window [...]

• Storymoja Book Club - Dreams of My Father, 5 June

  Posted: June 3, 2008, 7:01 pm by Kwani

  How do challenges shape a leader? How does adversity give rise to an icon? How does a Kenyan background, a white upbringing and an Indonesian childhood shape the next presidency of the United States? At the inaugural Storymoja Book Club, our special guest, P.L.O Lumumba, will lead the discussion about how a self proclaimed ‘skinny kid with a funny [...]

• Amnesty, and Acceptable Loss - by Al Kags

  Posted: June 3, 2008, 5:19 pm by Kwani

  There are two trains of thought on the awarding of blanket amnesty to the many Kenyans who are suspected and stand accused of reckless riot without regard for life and property. One train of thought, as ably expressed by Martha Karua (the only PNU voice I have heard consistently on the subject), is that the law is blind [...]

• Sunday Salon - June 15

  Posted: June 3, 2008, 4:35 pm by Kwani

  Sunday Salon Nairobi A Prose Reading Series Saga McOdongo Samuel Munene Susan Njeru Ken Kamoche Four readers Four unique voices In a tranquil outdoor setting 7-9pm Sunday 15h June Kengeles, Lavington Green Entry Only KSh. 300 ABOUT THE WRITERS Saga McOdongo Judy Akinyi, aka Saga McOdongo, was a teacher at the Kenya Polytechnic until 2001 when she was introduced to drug trafficking by one of the most feared operators [...]

• ‘After the Vote’ - reviewed

  Posted: June 3, 2008, 3:23 pm by Kwani

  Our newly released Kwani-ni?, After the Vote, has received a glowing review in this week’s East African Magazine. “After the Vote is an eye-opener in these times where the focus has shifted from the violence and its causes to the constant howling of politicians and the public that looks on transfixed…” read the full review [...]

• Kwani Litfest! August 1-15, 2008

  Posted: June 3, 2008, 2:29 pm by Kwani

  Following the success of 2006, Kwani Litfest (KLF) 2008 is set to bring an even brighter cast of literary icons and events to Kenya during the first two weeks of August for a world-class celebration of African stories. From literary safaris a la Hemmingway to sailboat excursions on the Indian Ocean, plus the usual dose [...]

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Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

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The end of the fish cakes