BN POETRY AWARD 2011 IS HERE

BNPA 2011 IS HERE. This is the third round of the BN Poetry Award and we are looking for more poetic passion. The theme this time is HOPE. Criteria: Ugandan women residing in Uganda above 18 years of age. Poems must be submitted under the theme of Hope. Be as creative as possible. Poems must be 12 font single spaced and a maximum of 3 poems will be accepted. Email poems as word attachments to ugpoetryaward@aol.com or mail to PO Box 34942 Kampala, Uganda. Submissions will be accepted from November 15th 2010 to March 31st 2011. This time the award giving ceremony will be held in Jinja. Previous first winners are not permitted to re-enter. PRIZES First prize-250  an autographed copy of Unjumping, by BNN. Second prize-150 USD,and an autographed copy of Unjumping, by BNN. Third prize-100 USD, and an autographed copy of Unjumping by BNN. The next two winners will get the autographed books. Winners from 2009 and 2011 will be published in an anthology. Proudly sponsored by Stitchting Doen. Start sending your submissions.

Unjumping books are in Kampala

So my books, Unjumping are in Kampala, Yes yes blah blah they were published in the Uk,naye really eeeeh they could have done a better job,the binding not all that.. worry not--my husband and I have got a game plan in order to make those books look radically hot so that they are worth every 20,000/-. I am very grateful for the publication and now the launch-oba when?

Th poems look great in print , nwo to get them into the market-how do poets get that done, okay let me do my thing and get the word out.

The workshop was so ....dynamite

The workshop was hot. When I spoke to Ife Piankhi on phone, a Caribbean poet based in Uganda, I had no idea she was dynamite. Sh performed about her experience as a black person in the uk and wow, it was tremendous. Poetry is better once spoken off memory and she said we must read and travel a lot to different places in town , around the country and even across the borders.

Isaac T, coming from an academic background gave us the 411 of good poets to read like Leopold Senghor, Diop, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, William Wordsworth, Walt Whitman, T.S Eliot who broke the conventional rules and opened up creative free verse poetry. It was great.

Then we had the debate on if Okot p Bitek is the finest poets that Uganda has ever had, and we learnt about performance , in fact Susan Kerunen of Bayimba shared how she actually performed Okot's Song of Lawino.

As poets, it is also pertinent to have quiet time, we need solitude in order to get deep into ourselves. Being alone is not the same as lonely.Solitude is strength.
Poetry is quite divisive as well. A number of the participants thought that poetry must be performed while others did not and still some felt strongly about rhyming poetry and others not. It was great to go through the evolution of poetry and accept where we are and yet even stil some felt that contemporary poets had destroyed poetry and that we needed to go back to our old traditions. It was such an interesting diccussion. Onthe whole, poetry is about speaking about our environment and since that changes, so will poetry.
We may take the workshop to Pallisa next year after an invitaion from Hope, a poet from the region. We learnt a lot and yes, poetry can be done as a career, why not? If u believe it, why not? Thanks to Stitching Doen for making it all happen. And thanks to everyone that came.

October's going to be hot

Hi Friends,

during the time I have been away-hopefully making a positive impact at my workplace, i have been thankfully making a small impact around me. Two media articles hav appeared about th poetry event , One in the Observer newspaper on 22 July and the other in the New Vision of 28 July. Thanks guys, but pleeeeeeeeeeeease next time mention the sponsors-hey!
In October, will be holding a poetry training workshop with support fro Stitching Doen-thanks again.

Priority goes to the participants of either 2009 or 2010 poetry award and other interested as well. Looking forward to that and then my family and I will go for a one week holiday in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Hopefully in October, I will also hold my book launch but that depends on how fast I can get the books in Uganda. Take care now.

Cheers y'all great week.

My book, Unjumping is out.

My book, Unjumping is out, the link to it is here.
http://www.erbacce-press.com/#/beverley-nambozo-nsengiyunva/4542604103

FRAGRANCE, SECOND WINNER BNPA 2010

FRAGRANCE It’s the fragrance, mother; The intoxicating crispy fragrance Of coloured mint coinage. Sometimes the shimmering glitter Of gold or silver. It matters not mother What figures are imprinted on, Just the fragrance! The fragrance that drives me To plunder my core, To pillage my country to nothing, Squandering it to desolation. The fragrance that devours me And sparks hunger pangs, Coercing me to crave and covet theirs Staining my hands with blood It’s the fragrance mother; The musky musty odor Of old and used notes, Sometimes the dull hue of coinage That quenches my thirst and ardor! It matters not mother What figures are imprinted on Just the fragrance mother Just the fragrance. This poem was written by Regina Asinde who emerged second in the BN Poetry Award 2010. She won 150 USD, an autographed book of How to Save Money for Investment by Ken Monyoncho and an autographed poetry collection.

Making Modern Love, first winner BNPA 2010

Making Modern Love We are not like provincial lovers Who wait to stalk funerals That bring opportunities of replacing the departed, Under the watch of the night, in verdant shambas Armed with cash We’ll open our hearts On a plate of chips, with a soft drink Things to nibble and sip, but not too large to distract Maybe chaps? Muchomo and beer later? Chips chicken will soften us for now, And for future food that you commonly acknowledge is delicious. If you should stare in pockets so deep That the residential wallet is unseen by short fingers Soon enough other networks become sexy, Offering side dishes and desserts For we’ll soon meet other friends with longer arms It is constantly recommended by wily winners That going dancing eases misgivings In tender bones, Unlikely to be tempered by the softness of night lights. But if all is careening towards a cold spell Drinks should be laid out till we are released from thinking. We saw a secondary virgin sobbing at a table for two Weighed down by the meanings of disease. We saw a man who had become a man For he knew now, how close he was to the deceased And vaguely inundated with curses of,” Shit happens.” Stumbled away with thoughts that grew from booze And the dregs of making modern love. So while good things begin to afflict us now And beautiful things course through dull heads, Causing wings of desire to grow like mushrooms in a mist Of opportunity, At last. We shall soon make modern love. This poem was written by Sophie Brenda Alal, who emerged first in the BN Poetry Award 2010. She won 250 USD, an autographed book of How to Save Money for Investment by Ken Monyoncho and an autographed poetry collection.