Items by kwani

Kwani Trust

• Farafina - web preview

  Posted: May 15, 2008, 9:14 pm by Kwani

  FARAFINA, the Nigerian litmag dear to all of us at Kwani?, have launched a new issue with guest editor Chimamanda Adichie. The theme is ‘America,’ and those clever Nigerians have been kind enough to offer us a moving-pictures preview on youtube. Check it out here.

• Fashion For Peace - May 24 Gala Event

  Posted: May 15, 2008, 4:38 pm by Kwani

  The most glamorous event of the year will take place in Kenya on May 24th, 2008 in the Nairobi National Park when FAFA (Festival of African Fashion and Arts), in collaboration with the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB), hosts Fashion for Peace, a fashion show and gala dinner which brings together some of Africa’s world-famous fashion [...]

• Fellowship - Call for applications

  Posted: May 15, 2008, 4:05 pm by Kwani

  The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) is pleased to announce the availability of two new Research Fellowships. The Fellowships will provide the opportunity to spend 2-4 weeks in Washington, DC to conduct research on the legal framework for civil society in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Fellows must be able to travel between August and September 2008. For more [...]

• Two Pieces from April’s Sunday Salon

  Posted: May 14, 2008, 3:48 pm by Kwani

  The following stories were read by their authors at the previous Sunday Salon. Dissecting Obama, by Neema Mawiyoo Barack Obama began to exist for me the moment he was elected Senator of Illinois in November 2004 while I was a sophomore in university. I did not hear the news on television; it is one of the habits [...]

• WAJIBU - Magazine Release

  Posted: May 14, 2008, 2:52 pm by Kwani

  WAJIBU, in this first double first issue of the year, focuses exclusively on the election and its aftermath. It brings you not simply the events of that period as lived by many Kenyans but also the reflections of thoughtful writers (many of them young but established) on the underlying reasons for this outbreak of violence. At the same [...]

• Sunday Salon - May 18, 2008

  Posted: May 12, 2008, 9:58 pm by Kwani

  Sunday Salon Nairobi…A Prose Reading Series Alison Ojany Owuor Kinyanjui Kombani Naliaka Wafula Tony Mochama Four readers, four unique voices In a tranquil outdoor setting 7-9pm Sunday 18th May Kengeles, Lavington Green Entry Only KSh. 300 ABOUT THE WRITERS Alison Owuor Alison Ojany Owuor is a young published poet who has presented her work in different public forums. She got her voters card and also graduated from college [...]

• Open Mic Feature in the Daily Metro

  Posted: May 12, 2008, 3:37 pm by Kwani

  A full page spread by Muchiri Karanja profiles the latest Kwani? Open Mic night, held on May 6 at Club Soundd.

• Karavan - Publication of the Swedish Arts Council

  Posted: May 12, 2008, 3:32 pm by Kwani

  The latest issue of Sweden’s quarterly review of global arts, Karavan, opens with a lengthy feature on Kwani?, its mission and its writers. The piece is followed with a detailed profile of our founding editor, Binyavanga Wainaina.

• “AFRICAN SOCIALISM AND ITS APPLICATION TO PLANNING IN KENYA” - Then…and now?

  Posted: May 10, 2008, 11:23 pm by Kwani

  The following excerpts are taken from the government’s Sessional Paper Number 10, published in 1965 and co-authored by Mwai Kibaki. Statement by the President: Since attainment of our Independence just over eighteen months ago, the Government has been deciding the measures that will ensure rapid economic development and social progress for all our citizens… All along the [...]

• Call for articles about reading - Storymoja

  Posted: May 9, 2008, 10:29 am by Kwani

  Dear Writers, We at Storymoja, in our campaign to revitalize the reading culture in Kenya, are planning to blast the media with reasons why we should all read. I am collecting those reasons (read articles) and would really appreciate your input. The issues that are of most interest to us are listed below. -The importance of [...]

• Decades of Development…or Decay? - James Kibera

  Posted: May 7, 2008, 6:56 pm by Kwani

  Kenya at the Crossroads Again I received today my very own copy of African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya (sometimes referred to as Sessional Paper Number 10). No 10 was obtained at the princely sum of 55 shillings, up from 50 shillings, and the day passed quickly reading it and other little [...]

• Call For Submissions

  Posted: May 6, 2008, 1:47 pm by Kwani

  Emerging Voices of African Short Fiction & Poetry 2008 We invite all unpublished and well-established authors to submit their original work. Original work in English and any of the indigenous African languages (Swahili, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, Swati, Vend, Tsonga, Ndebele, Yoruba, Hausa, Ibo, Kiswahili, Gikuyu, Amharic,Tigrinya, Tigre, Arabic, etc) will be considered. Please include translations in English). Fiction: Submit one [...]

• Kwani? Open Mic - May 6

  Posted: May 2, 2008, 6:18 pm by Kwani

  Kwani? Poetry Open Mic Presents Dennis Inkwa With MC Cindy Ogana 7-10pm, 6th May Club Soundd Kaunda Street Entry Only KSh100 Limited Open Mic slots are available on a strictly first-come first-serve basis during the sound check between 5 & 6 pm on the day.

• Problems Facing Our Socialism - Barak H. Obama

  Posted: May 2, 2008, 6:06 pm by Kwani

  The following critique, originally published in the East Africa Journal in 1965, was written by Barak H. Obama, father of the current US Democratic frontrunner, in response to the Kenyan government’s ‘Sessional Paper No. 10,’ which had been published earlier that year. The author of the Sessional Paper was Mwai Kibaki. Obama senior was working [...]

• Kibaki’s Development Decade?

  Posted: May 2, 2008, 5:52 pm by Kwani

  The following defense of president Kibaki’s economic policy was published on the State House website on November 8, 2005. http://statehousekenya.go.ke/commentary/commentary081105.htm President Kibaki presided over the development decade Since the government published a report showing the various poverty levels in the country, there have been various attempts by politicians and scribes to blame the Sessional paper No [...]

• Storymania - May 4, at Das

  Posted: April 30, 2008, 3:19 pm by Kwani

  Do you remember that time when… You… err… you know? Pale paled for the
  first time?
  The time when you made a decision on a subject our parents evade, our
  teachers ignore and our peers claim to know all about.

  The time you decided, if, when and with whom.
  This is the one thing that one can’t do alone. Okay, I’ve heard that,
  sometimes in extremely difficult circumstances you can, but then that’s a
  whole different story…

  Sex is the closest experience of heaven mankind have, its a very
  pleasurable act that routinely serves for procreation, as a bargaining line
  and blackmail tool and also a weapon of mass discussion.

  Long ago our old fashioned elders designed a deliberate and clear system
  of initiating us to the important first sexual experience, but of course we
  ditched it.

  So what have we replaced it with?

  How was your first sexual experience - was it painstakingly planned in an
  exotic place, candle light dinner and intimate foreplay? Was it like mine,
  a kissing session gone haywire and you were shocked to realize you did it
  without your own consent?

  Who was it you honoured, do you still remember their names? Ok you are
  nice, you married them, but for those of us who aren’t sooooo nice it was
  probably in a dingy estate corner playing cha kimama.

  Kindly permit me to say this, we all love sex, we are all products of
  sex, in fact seeing a person is also (by wild extension) seeing two people in
  the act!

  Who will tell our stories?

  On the 4th May 2008 from 2pm till 5.30pm at the Das restaurant in
  Westlands, Nairobi. Das is on woodvale groove opposite Bandari Plaza and near
  Crooked Q in westlands.
  A forum has been designed especially for you to share without fear, or
  inhibitions, the place to tell it like it is. It’s a celebration of
  Kenyans stories, our stories. It’s going to be wild, untamed.

  After an explosive story telling session led by Nairobi storyteller of
  the year 2007, Valentine Njoroge will question Dayo Forster on her story,
  READING THE CEILING that talks about a young Woman’s first sex experience
  and four different ramifications of that decision. Afterwards there will be
  an open mic session for all of us to take part in and share.

  Register now for the open mic!

  Entry is 100/=

  Spread the word like bush fire, coz this will be your hottest
  storytelling experience yet.

  Buy your tickets now! Confirm attendance

  Please for any queries do not hesitate to contact Millie on
  0720 722 991 OR
  millie@storymojaafrica.co.ke or atienodok@yahoo.com

  Regards,

  Millie Dok
  Events Coordinator,
  Storymoja Africa.

• Author’s Seminar: ‘Word From Africa’

  Posted: April 30, 2008, 3:14 am by Kwani

  Do you have what it takes to be a published author?

  Ellah Allfrey is senior editor at Jonathan Cape, one of Britain’s foremost literary imprints in one of the largest publishing houses, Random House, and David Godwin, one of Britain’s top literary agents, whose clients include prize-winning African authors. They’ll tell you what is going on in African literature today and offer tips and advice on how to get your manuscripts to them.
  At The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1, Saturday ton 31 May, 18.45-19.45pm
  Places are limited, so if you are interested in attending this seminar, please submit the following 3 items by 15 May.
  1. Short biographical information. Maximum 100 words
  2. Synopsis of manuscript you are working on (fiction or memoir only. No poetry or non-fiction)
  3. Excerpt from manuscript. 1000 words.
  (Please submit your synopsis and ms in Times or Times New Roman font, double spaced, numbered pages, name on each page.)
  If you are successful, you will be informed by Tuesday 27 May. Please send to info@sablelitmag.org. You will receive an email acknowledgment that your application for attendance has been received.
  This seminar is part of the Word from Africa season, presented by Africa Beyond in collaboration with Sable LitMag.

  Ellah Wakatama Allfrey is senior editor at Jonathan Cape. Her authors include Segun Afolabi, Biyi Bandele and Dinaw Mengestu.

  David Godwin started his publishing career with Routledge in 1973 as their Editorial Director. He moved on after ten years, to become the Editorial Director at William Heinemann from, then became Managing director at Secker and Warburg, and Managing Director at Jonathan Cape before becoming a literary agent. He started at Gillon Aitken Associates in 1993, and left there a year later to start his own company, David Godwin Associates in 1994. They represent about 130 clients including many prize winners such as Arundhati Roy. They also represent African and Caribbean authors including, Helon Habila, Aminatta Forna, Nii Ayikwei Parkes and Jacob Ross.

  For details of the Word from Africa programme on 31 May visit
  www.myspace.com/sablelitmag
  or
  www.africabeyond.org

• “AFRICALLS” - Multimedia Coming to a Laptop Near You

  Posted: April 29, 2008, 12:16 pm by Kwani

  AFRICALLS? is a documentary film, a book, and an exhibition that shows the work of five artists and two production centers of contemporary art in seven African cities. It shows their interests and the urban context from which they create their works. AFRICALLS? explores the key aspects of these artists’ personalities and creative processes, going beyond the art object they make in Dakar, Douala, Cape Town, Rabat, Luanda, Nairobi and Maputo. AFRICALLS is an audiovisual journey to today’s art of an urban Africa: cosmopolitan and unknown, contemporary and global.

• Congratulations Martin Kimani!

  Posted: April 29, 2008, 11:58 am by Kwani

  Kwani? is proud to announce that one of our writers, Martin Kimani, has been selected for the African Leadership Initiative fellowship. This is a cross-disciplinary initiative that brings together the best and brightest young leaders from across the continent to promote their own work and encourage the diffusion of their ideas across professional boundaries.
  Way to go Martin.

  For more information, visit:
  http://www.aspeninstitute.org/site/c.huLWJeMRKpH/b.612147/
  and
  [www.nationmedia.com]

• Binyavanga Wainaina Hits North America’s Litfest Scene

  Posted: April 29, 2008, 11:31 am by Kwani

  Having just shared the stage with Chinua Achebe for a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Things Fall Apart at New York’s Bard College, Kwani? founding editor Binyavanga Wainaina is set to represent Kenya at two more prestigious literary festivals.
  On Wednesday, April 30, Wainaina will be speaking at the PEN ‘World Voices’ Festival of International Literature in New York City. This preeminent festival describes itself as “an attempt to enrich and sustain global dialogue,” and involves some of the world’s best writers from several countries.
  Next, on Sunday, April 4, Wainaina will lead a discussion on African writing at Quebec’s Blue Metropolis litfest, “the world’s first multi-lingual literary festival,” where this year’s theme is travel writing.
  And on September 17, after coming home to preside over Kwani’s own litfest during the first two weeks of August, Wainaina will be delivering the keynote address at the University of Toronto’s “Things Fall Apart at 50″ conference.

• Call for Submissions

  Posted: April 28, 2008, 6:38 pm by Kwani

  Wasafiri is preparing Issue 60: Literature For Children And Young Adults edited by Beverley Naidoo and Shereen Pandit.
  Writers who are interested in contributing, please send unpublished short stories and poems to wasafiri@open.ac.uk before 31 July 2008.

• Call For Papers

  Posted: April 28, 2008, 6:29 pm by Kwani

  Things Fall Apart & the Next Half-Century of African Literature (A 50th Anniversary Conference)

  5 September 2008, University of Nottingham, UK

  Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is the biggest selling African novel, having been translated into more than 50 languages. Its publication in 1958 was the epochal event in African literature, leading to a transformation in the literary landscape. On the fiftieth anniversary of its publication, it is appropriate to appraise the impact and heritage of the book, as well as the direction of African Literature in the next half-century.

  We invite proposals for panels and papers exploring this theme. We encourage papers exploring the universal reach of the book, its study and reception across cultural and disciplinary borders, its connection to current literary productions and its potential impact on future writings. African Writing magazine will publish selected proceedings from the conference.

  Titles and 250-word abstracts of proposed 20 minute papers should be sent (with a one-paragraph bio) not later than 30 May 2008 to the following:

  Dr. M. M. Daly
  Associate Professor
  Department of Cultural Studies
  University of Nottingham
  University Park
  Nottingham
  United Kingdom
  NG7 2RD
  macdonald.daly@nottingham.ac.uk

• Reading Stages Workshop

  Posted: April 22, 2008, 12:15 pm by Kwani

  Goethe-Institut, in association with Kwani Trust, will run a two-day workshop
  intended to provide young creative writers and writing enthusiasts
  interested in establishing and running reading stages in Nairobi and around
  the country with the tools to do so. The workshop will be held on June 5th
  – 6th and will culminate in a free public performance on June 7th.

  To participate in this workshop, please submit 1) a letter of interest and
  2) up to 3 poems or 1000 words of prose to workshop@kwani.org. You may
  alternatively post your application to P.O. Box 2895, 00100 Nairobi for
  review. Selection for participation in the workshop will be based on the
  quality of the work submitted and the applicant’s communicated interest in
  or efforts made to propagate new literary forums and communities in Nairobi
  and around the country. We ask that applicants discuss what their vision is
  for a new forum and articulate the reasoning for bringing one to
  their chosen community. While we expect that many applicants will
  themselves be writers, we equally invite literary enthusiasts to apply.

  The deadline for submissions is May 7, 2008. Entries sent after this date
  will not be accepted. Selected participants will be contacted by May 14,
  2008. Questions and concerns may also be directed to the above addresses.

  We look forward to hearing from you!

• KENYA BURNING - Photo Exhibit at the GoDown Arts Center

  Posted: April 16, 2008, 12:35 am by Kwani

  A photographic exhibition of the Kenya elections 2007 and post-elections 2008

  During the Kenya Elections 2007 and after, amateur and
  professional photographers alike captured powerful scenes of
  the campaigning, voting and ensuing violence and destruction.
  The exhibition tells this story through over 100 compelling
  images, presenting an opportunity for us all to remember and
  reflect.

  Exhibition opens 19th April, 2pm.
  Venue – The GoDown Arts Centre,
  Dunga Road, near Car&General.
  Runs Monday to Friday 9am-5pm
  and Saturdays 10am-4pm.
  Closes 10th May, 2008.

  Photography by:

  Yasuyoshi Chiba
  Allan Gichigi
  Georgina Goodwin
  Anne Holmes
  Maina Kariuki
  Charles Kimani
  Arno Kopecky
  Thomas Mukoya
  Boniface Mwangi
  Tom Otieno

• Sunday Salon - April 20

  Posted: April 16, 2008, 10:55 pm by Kwani

  A Prose Reading Series Featuring:

  MILLICENT MUTHONI

  NEEMA NGWATILO MAWIYOO

  ARNO KOPECKY

  KINGWA KAMENCU

  Four readers, four unique voices

  In a tranquil outdoor setting

  7-9pm, Sunday 20th April

  Kengeles, Lavington Green

  Entry Only KSh. 300

  About the Writers:

  Millicent Muthoni is a trained architect turned journalist in real estate and a columnist with the Standard. Her short story was published in the Caine Prize anthology, Jambula Tree and other Stories, 2007

  Arno Kopecky is a freelance journalist and travel writer from Vancouver, Canada. Currently based in Nairobi, he is an editor at Kwani?.

  Kingwa Kamencu is a journalist writing for the Media Institute’s magazine- Expression Today (ET) and a contributor with ‘The Standard’ newspaper. He first book, To Grasp at A Star was published by East African Education publishers and has since won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for fiction in 2007

  Neema Ngwatilo Mawiyoo grew up singing in church in Nairobi, Kenya, but it was while at university that Ngwatilo’s relationship with music took a definitive turn. She embarked on a quest for self that took her to Johannesburg, South Africa to study the role of Kwaito music in shaping post-apartheid urban youth identity. There Ngwatilo found the stuff of poems spewing out of impassioned exchanges with friends, thick in the air at a particular Jozi reading, and alone with her on the road between Venda and Johannesburg. There was little to do but hold on.( http://www.myspace.com/ngwatilo )

• Human Rights Watch seeking Africa Executive Director

  Posted: April 10, 2008, 9:05 pm by Kwani

  Human Rights Watch (”HRW”) is seeking a highly-qualified, senior-level
  professional to head its Africa Division.

  Description: The Executive Director of HRW’s Africa Division is
  responsible for the development and implementation of strategies for
  HRW’s work in Africa and ensuring the setting of programmatic
  priorities, including response to emergencies. S/he is responsible for
  overseeing the division’s research on human rights violations and for
  developing effective advocacy and communications strategies for maximum
  impact. S/he represents the organization frequently before the
  international media and meets with government and other high-level
  officials and coordinates with key colleagues, both within HRW and
  externally with allied organizations and local NGOs. S/he manages staff
  based in three continents, including Africa, supporting their
  development and overseeing security in the field. The Executive Director
  is also responsible for fundraising, identifying and recruiting donors,
  and drafting funding proposals. She or he preferably will be based in
  the organization’s New York City headquarters or another major HRW
  office, but other locations, including a key capital in Africa, may be
  considered. This position requires frequent international travel.

  Qualifications: The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated, creative,
  strategic thinker with substantive, senior-level experience working on
  human rights issues in Africa and the capacity to serve as an effective
  advocate and activist. S/he will have excellent leadership, management
  and organizational skills, including the demonstrated ability to lead a
  team of talented professionals in multiple global locations. She or he
  will be able to juggle multiple tasks and work collegially in a
  demanding, diverse, and fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate will
  have excellent oral and written communications skills in English and
  ideally another relevant language, keen political judgment, proven
  initiative and follow-through, the ability to work quickly and well
  under pressure, and a commitment to human rights. An advanced degree in
  law, international relations, African studies, public policy, or a
  related field is desired, as is familiarity with international human
  rights law.

  Salary and Benefits: HRW seeks exceptional applicants and offers
  competitive compensation and generous employer-paid benefits. HRW will
  pay reasonable relocation expenses and will assist employees in
  obtaining necessary work authorization, if required. Citizens of all
  nationalities are encouraged to apply.

  PLEASE APPLY IMMEDIATELY by emailing in a single submission: a letter of
  interest describing your experience, your resume, names or letters of
  reference, and a brief writing sample (unedited by others) no later than
  April 1, 2008 to program@hrw.org. Please use “Executive Director,
  Africa Division” as the subject of your email. Only complete
  applications will be reviewed. It is preferred that all materials be
  submitted via email. If emailing is not possible, send materials
  (please do not split a submission between email and regular post) to:

  Human Rights Watch

  Attn: Search Committee (Executive Director, Africa Division)

  350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor

  New York, NY 10118-3299

  Fax: (212) 736-1300

• Internship Opportunity - GenerationKenya.com

  Posted: April 9, 2008, 2:44 am by Kwani

  GenerationKenya.com is seeking a full time intern to start immediately. This is a brand new website dedicated to telling Kenyan stories through literary narrative and artistic photography. The prospective intern must:

  Be fully computer literate
  Be able to write pitch proposals and budget outlays with a professional flair, keeping in mind time lines.
  Work well under pressure
  Have good administration skills (excellent record keeping, imprest, reports, contact databases etc)
  Be well groomed and able to work as a team.
  Have an interest in photography or creative writing
  Know basic accounting
  Be able to work unsupervised

  Please email your CV and a brief cover letter to: melissa.wainaina@generationkenya.co.ke
  *please write ‘internship’ as your subject heading*

• Calling out: ‘Reading Stages’ workshop

  Posted: April 2, 2008, 11:47 pm by Kwani

  Goethe-Institute in association with Kwani Trust will run a two-day workshop
  intended to provide young creative writers and writing enthusiasts
  interested in establishing and running reading stages in Nairobi and around
  the country with the tools to do so. The workshop will be held on June 5th
  – 6th and will culminate in a free public performance on June 7th.

  To participate in this workshop, please submit 1) a letter of interest and
  2) up to 3 poems or 1000 words of prose to workshop@kwani.org. You may
  alternatively post your application to P.O. Box 2895, 00100 Nairobi for
  review. Selection for participation in the workshop will be based on the
  quality of the work submitted and the applicant’s communicated interest in
  or efforts made to propagate new literary forums and communities in Nairobi
  and around the country. We ask that applicants discuss what their vision is
  for a new forum and articulate the reasoning for bringing one to
  their chosen community. While we expect that many applicants will
  themselves be writers, we equally invite literary enthusiasts to apply.

  The deadline for submissions is May 7, 2008. Entries sent after this date
  will not be accepted. Selected participants will be contacted by May 14,
  2008. Questions and concerns may also be directed to the above addresses.

  We look forward to hearing from you.

• Politicised Funerals - Stephen Partington

  Posted: April 2, 2008, 4:24 pm by Kwani

  Pity our waheshimiwa,
  haggling over corpses
  like a parody, a farcical enactment
  of great Brutus and Mark Antony.

  Pity them, the pinstripe dogs
  who chew upon the bodies of the dead.
  It’s such a growling way
  to offer your condolences
  to family and friends.

  Is it their pay that makes them rabid?

  Come, let’s pity them.
  For, see, they cannot grieve,
  not for their allies nor their enemies.

  In death, we all are meat:
  come see our leaders
  rip and spit and tear and eat.

  The mourners see it, take a peek:
  the bored-stiff chap inside the coffin’s
  gone and voted with his feet.

  Stephen Derwent Partington is a teacher and writer based near Machakos. He has previously published a poetry collection, SMS & Face to Face, in Kenya. His poetry and academic prose has appeared in various respectable publications, and he is at present a contributing member of the group, Concerned Kenyan Writers for Justice.

• Zimbabwe Votes - An Interview With Zenzele Ndebele

  Posted: March 28, 2008, 10:29 am by Kwani

  (Zenzele Ndebele is a Zimbabwean journalist, managing editor of zimpatriot.com, and the creator of Gukurahundi: A Moment of Madness, a documentary about Robert Mugabe’s military campaign against the Ndebele people of southern Zimbabwe. Zenzele snuck across the border to debut his film in Johannesburg last November; on returning home, police threats of violence and incarceration forced him into hiding for several weeks. Kwani? caught up with him for an online interview about Saturday’s presidential election.) (more…)

• Kwani? Open Mic - April 1, 2008

  Posted: March 27, 2008, 11:58 am by Kwani

  Presenting:

  Black Skillz
  With
  Live Neo Soul Music
  by Anto

  7-10pm, 1st April
  Club Soundd
  Kaunda Street
  Entry Only KSh100

  Limited Open Mic slots are available on a strictly first-come
  first-serve basis during the sound check between 5 & 6 pm on the day.

• How to Write About Africa by Binyavanga Wainaina

  Posted: March 24, 2008, 1:33 pm by Kwani

  Author: Binyavanga Wainaina
  Series: Kwanini

  This trio of sharp-witted essays takes irony to a new level. In How to Write About Africa, Wainaina dissects the African clichés and preconceptions dear to western writers and readers with a ruthless precision. (more…)

• You in America by Chimamanda Adichie

  Posted: March 24, 2008, 1:29 pm by Kwani

  Author: Chimamanda Adichie
  Series: Kwanini

  This is a love story disguised as a travelogue, the tale of a young Nigerian woman who wins a lottery whose prize is a green card to America. Does everyone there own a big house, a big car, and a gun? Not quite, though it turns out there are worse things than guns. Chimamanda Adichie takes us effortlessly from the shanties of Lagos to downtown Connecticut, where love – uninvited but not unwelcome – turns up to eat at a restaurant.

• Weight of Whispers by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor

  Posted: March 24, 2008, 1:12 pm by Kwani

  Author: Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
  Series: Kwanini
  Awards: 2003 Caine Prize

  Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor followed Wainaina’s example by winning the 2003 Caine Prize with her evocative tale of a Rwandan aristocrat who fled to Kenya in the wake of the 1994 genocide. The characters in Weight of Whispers come draped in history, wrapping the world’s dramas around their own as they struggle to adjust to their lengthy fall from grace. In this story of exile and death, Owuor draws us masterfully into a quest for light, and life.

• Discovering Home by Binyavanga Wainaina

  Posted: March 23, 2008, 2:53 pm by Kwani

  
  Author: Binyavanga Wainaina
  Series: Kwanini
  Awards: Winner of the 2002 Caine Prize for African fiction

  Winner of the 2002 Caine Prize for African fiction, Discovering Home tells the Kenyan version of that universal story: returning home and seeing it for the first time. By turns compassionate and bitingly ironic, this Kwanini takes readers on a whirlwind journey from Rift Valley to Maasailand and beyond. Along the way, the social geography underlying family relations, political contacts, the Ndombolo dance and the Sunday sermon are revealed in all their solemn hilarity.

• Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie

  Posted: March 23, 2008, 2:43 pm by Kwani

  
  Author: Chimamanda Adichie
  Series: Kwani

  Chimamanda Adichie was 25 years old when she wrote her debut novel, which isn’t in itself a reason to read it. But it does add to the wonder evoked by such a gripping narration of the many forms oppression can take. Purple Hibiscus follows a young woman’s liberation from her tyrannical father; it is a drama within a drama, placed in the Nigerian context of western colonial influence and a powerful Christianity bent on stamping out the last traces of native religion.

• Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie

  Posted: March 23, 2008, 2:33 pm by Kwani

  
  Author: Chimamanda Adichie
  Series: Kwani

  In 1967, most African nations were caught up in the euphoria of the independence movement that had recently swept the continent. But when Nigeria’s Igbo people declared their independence from the mother state, the country became one of the first in post-colonial Africa to go to war with itself. (more…)

• Kizuizini by Joseph Muthee

  Posted: March 23, 2008, 2:21 pm by Kwani

  
  Author: Joseph Muthee
  Series: Kwani

  In 1954, at the height of the Special Emergency that preceded Kenyan independence, Joseph Muthee was sent to prison by his colonial boss on suspicion of being a Mau Mau rebel. Kizuizini is his autobiographical account of the five years he spent in detention, half a decade of continuous transfer from one harsh jail to another. It is also a chronicle of the Mau Mau themselves – what they fought for, where they hid, and who betrayed them. Writing in Swahili from his farm in central Kenya, the now-80-year-old Muthee has provided a rare glimpse into his country’s turbulent birth.

• Kwani? 04

  Posted: March 23, 2008, 2:01 pm by Kwani

  Following the great tradition set by its three predecessors, Kwani? 04 presents a wail of new voices in literary concert with the not so new. The now established talents - Binyavanga Wainaina, Muthoni Garland, Doreen Baingana- share these pages with the fast risers: Billy Kahora, Mukoma wa Ngugi and Shalini Gidoomal. (more…)

• Kwani? 03

  Posted: March 23, 2008, 1:54 pm by Kwani

  The recently published kwani? 03 has been described by critics and kwani? lovers alike as the best of the series and an indicator of how Kenya’s most popular journal has grown. In all aspects – editing, design, layout and breadth of material, kwani? 03 introduces a new chapter to the creative writing scene. Themed on the seventies, the cover uses the visual arts to make the written word as interesting and interactive as possible. Established writers M. G. Vassanji and Zimbabwe’s Charles Mungoshi grace its pages, among several other new writers published, for the first time, in kwani? 03. Creative non-fiction with social commentary also appears in the new issue, marking a new phase for kwani?.

We Write Therefore We Live

• OFFICIAL bLOG GOES LIVE

  Posted: January 10, 2008, 3:41 pm by kwani

  WE ARE NOW LIVE AT: www.kwani.org/blog visit us for opinions on the Kenyan Post-election crisis

• POETRY COMPETITION

  Posted: September 6, 2007, 7:51 pm by kwani

  A 1,000 dollars… yes, One thousand real USDs for your poetry. How neat? Read all about Kwani Trust’s latest poetry competition here…

• KWANI?

  Posted: August 1, 2007, 2:16 pm by kwani

  “I am not saying dead wood is dead but look to the internet from where Kenya’s next literary stars will rise..!” [...]

• The Official Kwani Trust Blog

  Posted: July 23, 2007, 5:16 pm by kwani

  This is the official blog for Kwani Trust, publishers of Kwani? a magazine that features the most exciting new writing from Kenya alongside that of internationally renown writers from Africa and beyond. Transmission Begins soon…

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Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes