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READERS' CORNER: Do not be fooled, women writers shine

An image of Grace Ogot on the cover of her autobiography Days of My Life. Mrs Ogot died Wednesday Morning March 18, 2015 at the Nairobi Hospital where she had been taken for treatment. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL

What you need to know:

  • Oumah Otienoh should know it’s not only when your article appears on this page that you are writing. There are quite a good number of female writers who are passionate and practise the art.

  • Some of these women have their books on bookshop shelves and in other dignified places. Their books and materials are used in learning institutions even as set books.

  • Of the set books used in secondary school a number are by female writers. The River and the Source by Margaret Ogola comes to mind. This is a compulsory text.

Do not be fooled, women writers shine

BY JOSEPH AGUNJA

One great contributor to this page made a comment in his article titled, ‘Female writers should take up their place on this page’ (Saturday Nation, May 16). He meant that female writers are not making use of their pens simply because this page is always dominated by men.

I think Oumah Otienoh missed the point. I expected women to react; may be they are still arming their pens, or perhaps they feel this was too hard on them so they don’t wish to react.

I have decided to come to their rescue and inform readers that it’s not only the men who are actively involved in writing.

It’s true that this column is dominated by the males, but I think the fairer sex are also doing some great job in the “male-dominated” field of writing.

You can’t say that one is not writing simply because one’s articles have not been published on this page. Many people do write and perhaps a good number are women.

I believe — and the editor will bear me witness — that it’s not always a walk in the park for your work to be published, due to various factors, including limited space. Not all articles sent to the editor are published. A number are by women.

In spite of all these factors, some of our female colleagues have made us proud in the field of writing. Esther Muiruri from Kitengela who had an article published on Monday, May 25, on the need for public debate on the Health Bill, cultural analyst Joyce Nyairo, and columnist Njoki Chege come to mind.

Others are Zukiswa Warner, a weekly columnist whose articles have always promoted my writing spirit and Claire Munde, who recently contributed to this page. She is also a columnist in one of the dailies.

There are many other female contributors to the literary discourse in the ‘Readers’ Corner’.

Oumah Otienoh should know it’s not only when your article appears on this page that you are writing. There are quite a good number of female writers who are passionate and practise the art.

Some of these women have their books on bookshop shelves and in other dignified places. Their books and materials are used in learning institutions even as set books.

Of the set books used in secondary school a number are by female writers. The River and the Source by Margaret Ogola comes to mind. This is a compulsory text.

In the recent past, Coming to Birth by Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye was also a compulsory text. The book highlighted a lot of themes that affect the society and some aspects on the history of Kenya.

Thus women do not always take the back seat in writing; they also struggle to get to the driver’s seat.

Apart from the writers mentioned, several others have also invested in the field of writing. Florence Okut’s Daughters of Destiny, a class text read in many secondary schools. Waangari Maathai and Grace Ogot have also penned books. The list is endless.

Otienoh’s “teenage sweetheart” Verah should also pen something. It’s good she gave him a book as a gift. Her second gift should be at least an article.

 

The writer teaches at Kisumu Academy ([email protected])

***

Value reading, buy and treasure books

In easy style, a realistic picture is painted of the writing experience in the piece, “So you want to be a writer? Good luck” (Saturday Nation, May 23). It is a picture of utter gloom, not only from the point of view of an author but also from an analytic standpoint.

Meagre royalties, shallow engagement, poor reading culture, and so on, are part of the distressing reality. The situation can and must be dealt with though. In my considered view, the sad issues Zukiswa Wanner raises in the article have got everything to do with appreciation, as an aspect reading.

When we pick up a piece of writing to read, we actually are taking upon ourselves a task. It is the task of appreciation. Without this consciousness, we can still read but it will be a most passive venture that yields only mediocrity in the end.  Whenever we embark on reading, we should have the goal of being able to repeat in our own words that which we shall have read.

Typically we follow a piece of writing focusing only on discovering what is veiled in the suspense. Once this is achieved, we deem our duty done.

No. It is not done. The principle of appreciation requires that we repeat to ourselves, to a friend or to our book club the content of the material through which we have gone. Writing out the summary is better even.  

The second tool of appreciation is analysis. Having understood and mastered the content of a material, let us mention the lessons we pick from it. Technically this may be termed thematic analysis but the idea is the same and just so simple.

 

The writer is the president of Alyp Writers Organisation ([email protected])

 

***

The new breed of Kenyan writers needs to be listened to and accommodated

By Christopher Kipsetim Kimosop

 

Gloria Mwaniga’s article, “View on fresh Kenyan penmanship misguided” (Saturday Nation, May 2) should not go unsupported. While reading this piece, I could not help feeling that I should add my voice to it. Mwaniga represents a new breed of Kenyans who need to be listened to, acknowledged and accommodated. She is not only factual, but also articulate.

The generational gap, which is a natural and universal feature of society, should not blind us to the skill and beauty in our new crop of writers. Kenya’s new writers (dubiously referred to as “shallow” and “boring” by Mr Mwazemba in the March 28 issue of the Saturday Nation) deserve critical attention and analysis as a standard practice.

I did not expect a man of Mr Mwazemba’s calibre to be careless in his choice of words. His otherwise insightful article was watered down, first by the title, then by sporadic selection of words which underlined his impatience with novices.

I must remind Mr Mwazemba that these new writers have their place in the grand scheme of things, and it is our duty to gently nurture them.

There are numerous Kenyan writers who have flourished and continue to do well at home and in the diaspora. Some, indeed, most of them, did not receive attention at home; they were mentored out there. It is our duty to comment with sobriety. Talk of fair play. What is mediocre should be treated as such, and that which is superb deserves acclaim and should receive due accolades.

There are many would-be writers who need direction, guidance and mentorship. The efforts and input of the people behind PEN Kenya, Kwani? Etisalat Prize, etc, in inspiring aspiring writers is laudable.

Publishers should take a leading role in creating awareness and nudging the next generation of writers into the acquisition of appropriate skills. Would-be writers require fora and platforms for expression.

They need to know more on what a standard manuscript format is, or how to go about submission deadlines.

They need as many writing competitions as possible to hone their skills. East African Educational Publishers and Mabati Rolling Mills should be complimented for their partnership in Mabati-Cornell Kiswahili Literature Prize for African Writing.

Give hope and empathy to the budding writer. Not so long ago, our seniors were where some of us are now. Would you rather lambast a child who does not seem capable of managing a running nose or gently but firmly show how things are done without injuring the self-esteem?

 

The writer teaches English and Literature at Moi High School, Kabartonjo ([email protected])

 

***

To be a good editor, you have to write

By Lily Ronoh

 

An old adage says that experience is the best teacher. Suffice it to say, it is also wise to learn from the experience of others.

I have received several applications from aspiring journalists for an internship opportunity as sub-editors. But experience has taught me you have to be a writer first before you become a sub-editor. My experience, I hope, will teach a lesson or two to those aspiring to join this demanding  undertaking and, hopefully, avoid a costly mistake.

A few years ago, I attended an interview at the Nation Media Group for the position of sub-editor. I was then teaching English and Literature at a school in Nairobi County. I also used to do part-time work as an online editor for some international blogs and students who did not have time to proof-read their own work. It was here that my passion for editing was roused.

So when NMG advertised the sub-editor’s position for one of their dailies, I applied with gusto. I was ecstatic when I was short listed and armed myself to the teeth with information and as such, had everything at my fingertips.

Then questions started flying from the interviewers and I believe I answered them correctly. In fact, they were amazed that I knew so much about journalism yet I hadn’t attended any journalism class. But one question caught me completely off-guard: Have you ever contributed an article to any of the dailies?

Queen’s language

Out of naivety, I had always assumed that it is not necessary for one to be a writer to be a sub-editor, I felt all that was needed was a good command of the Queen’s language. How off the mark I was! Three weeks later, I received a regret note from their human resource officer.

Needless to say, I was shattered. I went through the interview in my mind a thousand and one times, trying to figure out where I had gone wrong and the only reasonable conclusion I made was that I had never been published by any of the dailies. Not one to be put down easily, I picked myself up and embarked on serious writing, sending my articles to the editor of this column and many other columns. Some were published; others were not. I meticulously cut the published articles and neatly put them away in readiness for any interview.

And it did come.

And when the question on whether I have ever been published was asked, I gleefully opened my portfolio and let the record speak for itself. Two weeks later, I got a call from my would-be employer: I had clinched the job.

Moral of the story: If you want to become an editor, start writing and submit your articles to the editors. Good luck!

 

 

***

Ego aside, the urge to write is for most of us, some form of divine calling

BY Oumah Otienoh

 

A colleague sometimes back asked me why I have this overpowering energy to write. I was not in any way surprised because she was not the first one to raise the question.

In what has become my signature rejoinder, I asked: “If I do not write, then who will write all the literature that my ilk always yarns to read?”

Writing, to me, somewhat unfolds the world that I somehow struggled in the past to hide. It is an intoxicating charm that livens the proverbial skeletons in our closets. How else would one paint, say, an absentee dad or a battering spouse?

George Orwell, a playwright fondly reminisced for his Animal Farm, says that what drives us to write is sheer egoism. We write out of the “desire to seem clever, to be talked about or to be remembered after death”.

But for me, writing is sort of a divine trade. Everyone who in some way picked up the allure to write will use their inner soul to address a myriad of issues.

Sometimes the messages may appear devastating especially when it leans towards touchy issues like love and marriage.

 

The writer teaches at Ng’iya Girls High School, Siaya