poets-from-kenya

"Because by writing, such writers – especially those who were imprisoned because of their writing, and while in prison were denied writing materials – are at the same time defying the powers that be and making a very bold statement that there is no way that they can be stopped from expressing their views through writing. In other words, by doing so they continue to resist against the very system, which imprisoned and restricted them."

"Imprisonment failed to break me. In fact it made me stronger. I came out of prison with a stronger conviction than when I went in. I always say jokingly that I thank the government for sending me to prison, because while there I got to know myself better and what I was capable of. That is why I continued with political activism after my release."

"I do not regard myself as a poet. And I am not saying this out of modesty. People say I am, but I really am not. I think a poet is someone who writes poetry oftenly. I don’t. I do so only occasionally – once in a very long while. For instance, if somebody had written an article or two on a particular topic in history, would you call that person a historian? To me, a poet is somebody who is always at it – composing poetry regularly, which I don’t. People just decided to call me a poet because of this one book, Sauti ya Dhiki, which I wrote when I was in prison. Perhaps if I would not have been imprisoned, maybe I would not have written any poetry. I do not know. So I do not regard myself as a poet, but as somebody who happened to have scribbled a few poems."

"You see, when you go into retirement, you tend to be out of the limelight and so, winning this Africa Writes Lifetime Achievement Award gives me a sense of belonging."

"Both are creative, imaginative artistic expressions that use words and language to communicate: one is spoken, or verbal; the other one is written. So, there is a direct connection."

"Writing, and even becoming a published writer, is not necessarily going to make you famous or make you money: in fact, you may very well die poor! You need to be in love with writing; let the impetus come from deep within you; feel it in your bones and in the very depths of your soul. Allow the message to possess you to the extent that you cannot hold it back."

"Don’t be discouraged by rejection, especially from publishers who say your work is not quite right for them. Have faith in your ability and very importantly, focus on learning, growing and developing."

"The struggle for social justice badly needs the participation of young people. Global youth make up an estimated 1.3 billion of the world’s population and so they need to fight to ensure that they live in a just world."

"Learning about African orature and poetry is essential. Equally, Orature from the various global cultures of people of African origin, regardless of where they’re located, is a precious cultural heritage we cannot afford to ignore or neglect."

"The spoken word is only a tiny bit of orature: it is poetic oracy and oracy is what I define as the skillful use of linguistic-expression to create utterance that renders itself to performance."

"Writing can be a lifeline—especially when your existence has been denied, especially when you have been left on the margins, especially when your life and process of growth have been subjected to attempts at strangulation."

"I clearly remember my introduction to the African American heritage. I was in the school sanatorium with a bad attack of the flu when the headmistress came to see me, bringing copies of Richard Wright's Native Son, Black Boy and Trevor Huddleston's Naught For Your Comfort, I could not put any of the books down. Later on I looked for books by James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison. From then on I became a part-time student of African American Literature which was not offered on the colonial syllabus."

"Mugo is a poet with a mission in her society, which embraces the black race, the underprivileged class, and her specific female gender.She appears to speak for Africans and blacks, women, and the downtrodden."

"Professor Mugo is one of the leading lights of our department and the University, she also is quite influential in her native Kenya, whose own liberation struggles have figured prominently in her lifelong political activism."

"Orature narratives on justice and injustice turned into life lessons that matured into the realization that if I am going to claim humanity for myself, I must seek to humanize others by reaching out to them in solidarity."

"He is a comrade; he was a friend when my own people did not want me."

"I am a child of the universe, I have lived in almost all continents."

"I am so much enmeshed in my Luo family and community I am not afraid of writing from within it either."

"I had already worked out, long before, that Marjorie was an exceptional human being and, consequently, I contrived to record as much about her as I could, for posterity."