SECOND PICTORIAL, BN POETRYAWARD CEREMONY 2013

BN POETRY AWARD 2013 FIRST PICTORIAL

RASHIDA NAMULONDO WINS BN POETRY AWARD 2013

TIME In the corridor of time I peeped through the keyhole of 2099. The television said the nuclear war might be tomorrow The radio said, The globe has warmed up And the North Pole has melted away The phone said to the man with it, Evacuate! The government experiment was a disaster and The virus is on the loose. I saw people being chased and about to be caught up by time Voices out in the window screaming Let’s escape to AFRICA Maybe it was left untouched. So I peeped through the door of 2015 I saw black women importing Western ideas I saw their children throw away their customs Old men dying without writing down their history I saw black women go to school to learn to be white I looked around to see if anyone was against it but none So I peeped through a door with no label Must have been timeless time Its people respecting each other’s culture They didn’t cut the forest They didn’t pollute the air They worked together Nature was pleased with them I wanted to open and run in but it was locked. So I opened back to 2013 And sat down Thinking how I can save the world So I told the world in a poem Hoping they would listen. Namulondo Rashida is the overall winner of the BN Poetry Award for 2013. This poem, Time was enchanting, gripping, refreshing and musical. The theme for the 2013 award was Innovation. Rashida wins a fully sponsored trip to the Storymoja Hay Festival in Nairobi alongside cash prize of 500 US Dollars. She also wins autographed copies of poetry, autographed copies of Diaries of a Dead African, by Chuma Nwokolo, Jr. ,Songs of paradise by Justice James Ogoola and autographed copies of Tropical Fish by Doreen Baingana. http://bnpoetryaward.blogspot.com, www.bnpoetryaward.co.ug RA

Letter of Rejection, poem by Tom Jalio, published in A Thousand Voices Rising

Letter of Rejection

Dear Juliet,

There’s this rumour doing the rounds:
That I’m in love with you
I’d like to put an end to it
By proving it’s not true.

I never really stare at you
I just ignore the people around you
I never really think of you
I just imagine having a girlfriend like you
I never really flirt with you
I just tell you what other boys keep to themselves
And I never really ask you out
I just find you beside me when I go to dreamland…

Hey

There’s this rumour doing the rounds:
That I’m in love with you
It sounds funny, but
I’m starting to think it’s true.

Say…

If I loved you
Would you love me back?
If yes, then I love you
If no, then I don’t.

Yours truly,
Romeo


Tom Jalio
Kenya

Check out http://walkingdiplomat.blogspot.com

This has been taking my time this week, check it out, http://walkingdiplomat.blogspot.com.

APPLY FOR THE 5TH FEMRITE WRITING RESIDENCY, 2013

FEMRITE in partnership with Karavan – Sweden is calling for submissions for the 5th Residency for African Women Writers. The residency program will last be held from 18th - 30th November 2013. The main aim of the residency is to give women space to concentrate on their writing. The 2-week residency will give selected writers the opportunity to reflect on their writing, connect with one another, read each others’ manuscripts and give feedback, interact with established writers and build literary bridges across cultures of the continent. The residency is also aimed at strengthening collaboration among women writers’ initiatives in Africa. How to Apply? 1) Send part of a novel / short Story collection as a word document (40 pages, typed in Times New Roman, font 12, 1.5 spacing). 2) Send one complete short story (Minimum 3000 words) for the 5th Regional Residency publication. 3) A brief bio (not more than 10 lines) 4) Deadline for submissions is 30th May 2013. Who is Eligible? All African women writers above 18 years of age, and living on the continent. Successful applicants will be notified by 30th July 2013. The residency package will include; * A return air ticket for those residing outside Uganda. * Accommodation for the period of the residency. * Meals during the residency period. No application fee is required. For inquiries and submissions, please send emails to: info@femriteug.org info@femriteug.org

Virtual Poetry Seminars, Summer Edition, May to July 2013

The University of Iowa's International Writing Program has two poetry online sessions running for seven weeks. The first course i for strong and emerging poets while the Advanced class is for published poets. This is great, it's free and all you have to do is submit a resume, statement of purpose abd writing sample of 5 poems. Send these to iwpapplications@gmail.com. It is about opening doors to invisible people. Deadline to submit is 8 May and it is definitely worth it. According to the website at http://iwp.uiowa.edu/calendar/2013-05-08/applications-due-for-virtual-poetry-seminars-advanced-poetry-seminar-poetry-mast, there will be open discussions with the classics, the old and more modern and contemporary poets. International applicants are encouraged. you just need a reliable internet connection and headset. For the Masterclass, there will be radical ways of revising poems, don't we all need this? The course instructor is Micah Bateman who is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' program and Nick Twemlow is the instructor for the Master class. enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!