“The Kenya I Know” Poetry Call-Out

Following multiple conversations on “The Kenya We Want,” and our recent “The Kenya I Live In” short story competition, The Kwani Trust would like to invite writers to submit poems that explore the multiple realities we live in, the moments that define our public and personal lives, be they located in our parents, our childhood; high school and/or college, our adventures accessing and conquering (or not) workplaces, what parenthood begins to look like; the things that change, the things that remain the same.

We’re looking for disarming poems written in song and dance, in colour or in black and white, in noise and silence, innocence or guilt –truths and lies as told by a new generation, spurred by new imaginations, revealed by new narratives and expressions.

Selected poems will appear in the upcoming Kwani? 06.

Submission Guidelines for poems on ‘The Kenya I Know.”
• Up to 5 poems per submission.
• Kwani? 6 is about a certain generation, and therefore only invites entries from writers born after September 12th, 1978.
• The work can be in English, Kiswahili or Sheng’. Kwani accept submissions which have been previously published in magazines and other spaces, but not in a full-length book collection, unless solicited.
• Do not make multiple submissions, or forward edits of your submission. Only shortlisted writers will be contacted.
• Authors of accepted work will receive two thousand shillings.
• Please send submissions by email, attached as a WORD doc (not docx) to mypoetrykwani@gmail.com or by post as a typescript (no handwritten scripts please) to P.O. Box 2895-00100 Nairobi

Formatting Guidelines

• On the Coversheet: Indicate the Name of author, Contact address, telephone number, date of birth and email address.
• Use plain fonts (e.g. Times New Roman, Garamond, Ariel, Calibri) at least 12 point.
• Only one poem per page.
• Include poem title, page number, and name of author on every page.

Submission Deadline: March 26, 2010