Stories in the Toilet


The room is filled to capacity. Men and women of various ages and backgrounds have gathered this early Saturday morning with a common purpose in mind. A burning desire to write…and to write well! The Creative’s Academy at Daystar University’s Valley Road campus is in full session.

The frantic movement of pens, keen eyes trained on the guest speakers, peals of laughter every now and then. These are some of the sights and sounds emanating from the room.  The participants look normal…your every day regular guy or girl…but trapped in these minds are stories and narratives of the future..dying to escape these intelligent minds. Stories that will burst forth in splendor. Stories that will demonstrate the mastery of the written word…stories that will touch individuals and capture the attention of nations. In this room are East Africa’s next literary stars. Literary giants of their time! Master wordsmiths!

This is my first session and within the initial 10 minutes , I am filled with a sense of belonging. I am in the right place! I stare in awe at the guests. Beginning with Yvonne Adhiambo Oduor, winner of the Caine prize for African Writing 2003 and author of the recently release “Dust”. A beautiful woman. A sophisticated woman. A most brilliant one! This is more so evident when she utters her first words. She has me completely drawn in and captivated. Oh how great it is breath in the same air with such as she! I breath in more deeply, hoping to draw in some of the excellence emanating from her every pore. She seems to love the word Tyranny. Tyranny of the white page. Tyranny of this…tyranny of that. I forgive her. I love the word too. The tyranny of tyranny it is. She utters the golden words I so eagerly came for…yet did not even know. “Get out of the way of your story”. “Who me?”. “Yes. YOU!”

Alex Nderitu poet, author, creative genius is next in line. He is dressed in a black suit. That tells me…he is ready for business. The business of writing! He holds in his hands a collection of poems titled “The moon is made of green cheese”. He makes me want to visit the moon to see this green cheese he talks about or at best, to buy the book. More importantly though, he reminds me that titles matter. Titles are everything. Titles will get someone to buy the book even though they might be unsure of the weird African-sounding name at the bottom of the book cover. Kiss, Commander, Promise. That is another of his story titles. Am filled with nostalgia as I remember a childhood game of similar title.


From Left to Right: Tony Mochama, Yvonne Oduor, Kinyajui Kombani (Author & Organizer) and Alex Nderitu. Photo courtesy of Kinyanjui Kombani

There is a Kaleidoscope in the room. I look into it and a world full of colour bursts forth in the form of Tony Mochama, recipient of the 2013 Miles Moorland Scholarship asnd 2013 Burt Award for Literature. He is an enigma of sorts. An erratic one (in the most wonderful way). He speaks of Venice & Russia as if they were common place experiences. He too holds in his hand one of his books “The road to Eldoret”. He is the very definition of ingenious. I soak in all his words. He makes us laugh in the midst of dropping gems of wisdom…sometimes delivered in colourful language, bringing the point home hard and fast. We live in a country full of good manure for stories..he says. The stories are right in front of our noses..he says. We need not look too far. That eliminates all those excuses we have for not writing. The stories await us..in our living rooms, over at the neighbors’ house, in the streets of Nairobi, in the chama meetings we attend…even in the toilet. We need only to open our eyes a little wider.


At the end of the session…I am truly & genuinely inspired. I learn that other than reading…being in the presence of other writers was even better inspiration. I learn that my dream is possible. It is within reach. Yvonne’s words echo in my ears “Be submissive to the Art”.  I walk away knowing that this seemingly insignificant session will birth many writers…many stories…many awards. The seeds of excellence have been planted. They will surely grow!!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PROJECT FOXY: Awakening the Giant

Image
The giant is me and no other.  For years, I have done one thing successfully….year in and year out. I have added more and more weight to my frame. Compared to my former self…I am indeed a giant. I know precisely when it started. I know precisely why it started. It is not a complex reason or one that is even justifiable.  I met and started dating this guy in 2001. His name was John and when I fell in love with him…I fell HARD. We met at an IT Conference. He was one of the panelist and I remember spending most of the time staring at him. When the conference was over, I walked up to him and asked him a question that could have been answered by any other panelist. In fact, he even referred me to someone else. It didn’t matter though…I walked out with a smile having told him where I worked and exchanged email addresses. Those were the good old days of Yahoo Chat. The following day, I got an invitation to add him as a friend. As they say, the rest is history. I learnt later...
Read more

Wacu

She stared out of the window, with tears running down her face. Oblivious to the stares from other passengers in the No. 46 City Hoppa from Kawangware, she was lost in her own thoughts….in her own pain.  Her rural home in Nyeri seemed so far away. She felt misplaced in this big city of Nairobi. This thought immediately reminded her of her parents. If only they were alive. The HIV virus took both of them years ago. Wacu barely remembered her mother. She had a vague memory of her and her maternal grandmother had brought her up since she had been only 5 years old when her mother died. Wacu’s other siblings had remained with her paternal grandparents. Luckily, they had lived only half an hour apart from each other and had gotten to see each other often. Nderitu now lived and worked in Mombasa. Whilst Mumbi was now married and a stay at home mum. She and her family of 4 lived in Nyeri.   Of her father, there was nothing. It is as if he had never existed. This was underst...
Read more

A LEGEND BREWING

When I first met this little boy, I introduced myself as the woman he would never be able to get rid off for the rest of his life and then I said hello. He opened his eyes really wide and pursed his lips together. I burst out in laughter for I often did this! It was my signature move. “Now that’s my son!”I happily thought. Levi is now 4. I must say it's been a crazy journey. He is hyper, curious, extremely “destructive” but also one of the most intelligent kids I have ever met. Here are some of his adventures. At 2 years, he attempted to milk a cow by himself. Yes, he got the cow into the milking shed! Conquered “child proof” caps severally and consequently landed in hospital. NO, am not a careless mother, he is just a very special, intuitive childJ Frequently “Undresses” remotes by eating all the buttons Has taken 9 BP tablets AND lived to tell the story (or rather lived to allow me to tell the story) Accidentally drank paraffin consequently r...
Read more

POWERFUL WAYS TO USE YOUR NO!

Image
POWERFUL WAYS TO USE YOUR NO! NO! Granted...No is not the easiest word to say for some people because it has always been associated with a lot of negativity. But we know deep down that isn't the truth. NO is one of the most powerful words in our vocabulary! Here are some powerful ways to use your NO. - Say NO to timewasters. These are things that you do but really do not add much value in your life. It could be too much time on Social media or watching Netflix, going out clubbing excessively or too much gossiping with your girls (a little never hurt anyone ). It could also be spending less time with people who add NO value or worth to our lives. Instead, you can look at replacing such activities with learning something new. E.g. crocheting, a new recipe, a new sport or simply spending more time where it is valued and will have a higher return like with your children. - Say NO to negative energy, thoughts and vibes. Evaluate the people and situations in your life and just share no t...
Read more

Down River Road - Part I

Approximately 30 minutes after he had been released from the Industrial Area remand prison, Nixon is seated at the bus stop. Aimlessly watching both the human and motor traffic pass by. "It is a busy stage this one", he thought. He kept glancing at his watch as he restlessly waited for his dad's matatu on this route to come by. It is his only choice of transport since he does not have a coin on him. Nixon's dad is a local tycon, owning a fleet of matatu's on several routes, several real estate properties and a plush home in Muthaiga. Looking at Nixon, one would never tell. He is rough looking, with a cleanly shaved head, free of charge as provided by the Prison Warders at Industrial Area. He has on a grey t-shirt with streaks of dirt on it. His black trousers are worn and dirty too. On his feet, are a pair of bata slippers that have definitely seen better days. His hands were "stained"...the kind of hands that look dirty all the time...
Read more