Aujo Still Feels Soft Tonight

I feel so...

.

.. soft...

tonight...

I feel like...

...butter..

.

under the sun...

...on hot stone...

spreading out...

melting...

...flowing...

a yellow rivulet...

sliding down that slab...

...towards you...

I hope you catch every

t...r...i...c...k...l...e...of love

I hope you catch every

d.......r......o......p......of me

when I d...r...i...p...intoyourpalms

'cause I feel so...

...soft...

tonight.

Lillian Aujo, left, with friends: Photo by Buyondo)

Lillian Aujo wrote this poem, Soft Tonight and emerged winner in 2009. The theme was open then and all judges agreed it deserved to win because of its musicality, the exceptional tone of voice, subtle suggestions of erotica and the daring imagery. Lillian is a lawyer and works at Centenary Bank in Kampala. Her short stories have been published with Femrite and The Caine Prize anthology, A Memory This Size. She blogs at http://lillianakampuriraaujo.blogspot.com/.

What was the writing process of this winning poem like?

Pretty much spontaneous. I wrote it in ten minutes. The moment the idea popped into my head I couldn’t let it be without jotting it down immediately. I had this good nervous rush that I only get when something big is about to go down. I just didn’t know the poem would win an award.

How did the award money and the other prizes you received, change your outlook towards writing?

It made me happy that other people valued my poetry as much as I did. We live in a society where poetry as a genre is barely appreciated. It’s thought of as eccentric and purely academic. But poetry is most times fore mostly for enjoyment’s sake; winning BN with this particular poem was the validation that other people than myself enjoy poetry.

What do you think of the BNPA, now targeting Africa and including men?

I think it’s BNPA is spreading her wings. It’s awesome that she’s spreading the poetry gospel to all of Africa. I am all for affirmative action (and we shall all not forget the role in promoting women’s voices in poetry), but now all those gentlemen can stop grumbling about women having it easier: it’s level ground now gentlemen.

BNPA is starting a Scholarship Fund for female poets in primary schools in Uganda. How do you think this will influence their poetry?

It will definitely make them work harder at the craft. There’s a saying in my language, loosely translated it’s ‘a stick is bent when it’s still tender’, so in the same vein these young girls have a good chance of putting the habit of writing good poetry at a tender age. No doubt they will make better writers sooner than later.

What are you working on now, artistically?

There’s always a good or bad poem in a notebook somewhere. I am also working on short stories, exploring Afrofuture/mythical themes

Any final thoughts?

I admire people who not only change the face of things, but also inspire change in others: BNPA has changed the poetry landscape in Uganda (favourably), and it’s one of those things at the back of my mind that keeps me pushing on with writing.