Kwani? Open Mic – Tuesday 6th October 2009
September 30, 2009
Kwani Trust is inviting you to Kwani? Open Mic on Tuesday 6th October 2009 7pm at Club Soundd, Hamilton House Kaunda Street
Entry: Ksh 100/- only.
Featured Poet: Grandmaster Masese;
MC: Our lovely Cindy Ogana
Grandmaster is a name he adopted early from his high school days since he was taking part in most of the school activities from sports to music to drama. So everybody thought he was like a master and that is when he added Grand before Master. So mostly he became the Grandmaster of poetry, music, drama and debating in school and most importantly the Obokano Master. He was born and brought up in Nyamira; North Kisii.
He later came to Nairobi and began the artistic journey as a writer, poet, dancer, musician and a comedian. He has written in The Standard’s Moments Magazine before it was scrapped off and the Taifa Leo, writing poetry, stories and features.
Since 2005 he worked and participated in the Kwani? Open mics as a musician and poet as well as the Summer Literary Seminars Nairobi taking a course in creative writing and the Kwani? Litfest last year doing a course in performance poetry. He has also been participating in the British Councils WaPi including performing for Prince Edward when he came to Kenya at the British council..
He is now working with Ghetto Radio as a comedian.
“Thanks for those who are supporting me and us…one love.I will see you around”
Open Mic slots are open from 6pm all are welcome to register.
Also get copies of Kwani? 05 part 1 at bookstores and get the best of Kenyan Writing.
KARIBUNI!
NB: Reduced prices on your favorite books.
Kwani? Open Mic – Tuesday 1st September 2009
August 27, 2009
Featured Poet: Kingwa Kamencu
Venue: Club Soundd
Time: 7 PM
Kingwa Kamencu is an award winning Kenyan writer and author of ‘To Grasp at a Star’. She writes widely in different genres. Her work has been published in ‘The Jambula Tree and other Stories’, ‘Sable Lit mag’ ( UK ) and by FEMRITE ( Uganda ) as well as in local dailies and magazines. She was a writer in residence in the 2008 Femrite Regional Women Writers Residence in Uganda and a participant of the 2008 Caine Prize writers workshop in South Africa . She will read from a poetry anthology she is working on, ‘My Soul Strives, my Body Craves’.
Her biggest influences in poetry are local poets Muthoni Garland, Bantu Mwaura, Shailja Patel, Tony Mochama, Ndanu Mungala, Njeri Wangari, Philo Ikonya, Khainga Okwembah, Jacob Oketch and Wanjiku Mwaurah among many other hugely talented others. Out of Kenya she has been influenced by Tupac Shakur, Bertolt Brecht, Leopold Senghor, Anna Akhmatova and Epictetan philosophies.
This will be an open mic reading cum going away poetry bash for Kingwa who leaves for Oxford University at the end of the month to pursue an MSc. in African Studies.
Open Mic slots are open from 6pm all are welcome to register.
Also get copies of Kwani? 05 part 1 Kwani? 05 part 2 and our latest Kwani-nis at bookstores and get the best of Kenyan Writing.
KARIBUNI
NB: We shall get something exciting to do.
Kwani? Poetry Open Mic – 4th August 2009
August 4, 2009
Kwani Trust is inviting you to Kwani? Poetry Open Mic on Tuesday 4th August 2009, 7pm at Club Soundd, Hamilton House Kaunda Street.
Entry ksh 100/- only.
Featured Poet: Edwin Mukabi
Stage Name:The Divine Bandit
Occupation:Student-Bachelor of Arts(UoN),Bachelor of Science-I.T(Jkuat)
Genre of Poetry:Love,Political,Life lessons……..
Most elaborate figures of style:Irony,Sarcasm,Rhyme and Alliteration
NB:
1. Offer on Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus still on. Buy one get the other free.
2. Kwani? 05, Part 2 will be on sale and two copies will be given away.
KARIBUNI
Poetry Open Mic- Tuesday 7th July
June 29, 2009
Kwani Trust is inviting you to Kwani? Open Mic on Tuesday 7th July 2009 7pm at Club Soundd, Hamilton House Kaunda Street Entry ksh 100/- only.
Featured Poet; Wanjiku Mwaurah
“Spontaneity is my middle name and being a dreamer is a strength I have.
I hail from central Kenya born was raised there!
Poetry…? I like thinking a lot… the special thing about my thinking is that I like thinking in short sentences. And the best way to put that down is through poetry. Poetry is a way of relaying a message through in short and precise and sometimes intense manner.
How did we get started…Poetry and I, go back a long way. As a kid, I would go for solo verses but there, I only experienced a prescribed form of the art, where I did as was asked and but not as I would have wanted. However, being on stage for poetry stopped for the four years I was in high school though I was composing poems, more of a way to express my self than for performance.
Premier show: It started as a favor for a friend who needed a poem for scrutiny and I performed for the people present and Wham!!! A Eureka kind of feeling engulfed me and I realized that I had to keep at it…. Or lose it (the talent) for life. Since then I normally have a poem for every occasion.
Inspiration: I get deep warm feeling that provokes me to write every time, from different things in life like an experience, a person I have met, a social vice or simply a good feeling from within. Also from neo-soul artists and other poets like Thea Monyee, Georgia me, among others who have contributed to an expansion in my poetic horizon. That also explains why I normally carry a note book with me… Coz I never know when the inspiration will strike.
Aspirations: I always dreamt of being an astronaut…There was something out of this world (literally and not literally) I felt, as I envisioned myself up on space. Now the dream has changed to an innate desire to express my self as eloquently as I can, through the spoken word! And that is just a comeback from my past which I am pursuing.
Achievements: There is an inner satisfaction that comes with being able to follow through with your dream and that is the first achievement I have. Others include sharing a platform with great poets like Pepe Haze, Wanjeri Gakuru, the Kenyan poet, and many more great poets, and doing the spoken word in motivational forums in the city.
Last word: There is so much simplicity in life if only we would learn to see it, revel in it and indulge in it!”
KARIBUNI
Poetry Anthology Launch; Postponed, Date to be confirmed.
Get Kwani? 05 part one from all leading bookstores and Uchumi Supermarket.
