Dear Jens,
I did not understand a word Lars said but he seems very passionate and his delivery is good. I have been to a couple of poetry slams in Kampala by Open Mic Kampala and Poetry In Session and quite often I am inspired by both the poems and the delivery. Sometimes it is just pure entertainment and other times very thought—provoking.
There is actually an upcoming poetry reading the day before Valentine’s Day. It’s being organised by Babishai Niwe Poetry Award. Basically poets have been invited to write poems on love, romance and they will read them that evening. I am really looking forward to that.
We do not have slam competitions though. None that I know of anyway. In the competition, what criteria do they use to determine the winner? The content or the performance? Because a lot of writers cannot perform their own work so I am curious to know how that works.
Thanks for sharing your experience on the creative writing workshop. Thankfully, I will be facilitating with someone else so I am going to concentrate on the things I am good at and share those. I will tell you all about it. I worked as a Sub-Editor for a newspaper and later as Magazine Editor but my work with Sooo Many Stories has given me an opportunity to work as a fiction editor. I am learning so much and teaching myself quite a lot.
Before I go into the Kampala writing scene I thought I should tell you about my writing club that has helped my growth as a writer this past year. Also because in your last post, you mentioned that you would love to be a part of a writers’ club such as Femrite’s. You can start with a small group like my writing club.
In 2012 I was selected for the Caine Prize workshop that was held in Uganda for the first time. I found myself in the company of Harriet Anena, Davina Kawuma and Lillian A Aujo. I had seen them before (the writing scene in Kampala is quite small and you end up bumping into the same people) but we were not that close. Garuga, where the workshop was held, brought us closer and we began with just talking about books and commenting on different conversations about writing.
At the beginning of 2013, we decided to start a writing club where each of us would work on a story and we would meet at each other’s homes and dissect the story and give feedback to the writer. The writer sends the story a couple of weeks before the meeting to give us time to go over it. If one cannot make it to the meeting, they are supposed to send feedback by email.
You would think that because we are friends, we would hold back certain feedback or we would just shower each other with compliments. On the contrary, our friendship has made us more honest because we genuinely care about each other’s growth as writers. We have come to a place where we feel there is a place for each of us in the writing scene so it never seems like if one is doing well, the others have no chance of doing well. We are also not trying to impress each because we already respect each and each other’s work so there is no fakeness to it. There are times we leave the meetings and we have to re-write chunks and chunks of the story but if you feel strongly about something, there is the option not to change what you strongly believe in.
The other way our friendship has helped our work is that because we know a bit about each other, we can tell when our personal lives are interrupting the narrative of a story. Of course no fiction writer can ever say that bits of their lives do not make it into their work but there are moments of authorial intrusion that affect how a story comes out. So because we know a bit each other, we can tell when personal experiences and biases get in the way of a good story. A lot of times we will ask whether that has to be told, or whether it has to be told that way.
The best thing for me about the writing club itself is that we actually get to write. Sometimes as writers we get carried away in discussions about writing and actually forget to get the work done. All these discussions about theory and the future of writing and who is an African writer are important and good but sometimes all a writer needs to do is write. Having a group that you can be accountable to about your writing goals is good because then you get the work done. We are all now published in different anthologies. One of us is working hard on a novella and Harriet Anena has a collection of poems coming soon.

Clockwise: Harriet Anena and Davina Kawuma sign my copy of A Thousand Voices Rising, a poetry anthology in which they were published, while Lillian Aujo recites her poem, Soft Tonight at The Storymoja Festival last year.
I cannot say for sure if there are many of these types of groups in Kampala. I belonged to one before but because a lot of the members travelled quite a lot, it was hard to keep the group together. One of us in our group is actually relocating to another country to study for 18 months and we met last week to talk about how we can continue with the club. These are challenges that we have to acknowledge and try to find solutions to. I hope the distance will not affect our club.
I asked them to share their experiences as part of the writing group. I will share their responses next time (this is already very long).
Talk soon!
Great. Nothing as important as finding a group of friends with whom you can be honest with while strengthening each other. Smaller communities or writer groups are very effective. I know that particular group is going to make #256, #Africa shine, yet again. For people who travel a lot, continue mentoring online, though it’s hard. There’s something about physical closeness that brings spontaneity. The closest poetry like slam competition we had was in 2013 when Rehema Nanfuka won, the spoken word Africa competition.
Wow. I am envious. I am not in any. Do you think there are people out there willing to form one?
Yeah, me too man.
I belong to one, that’s always open to new members, we could talk if you want to join.
Anonymous, how can Joel and Crystal reach you?
How do I join
That’s a great question, about they determine to win in slam poetry competitions; content or performance? I would like to have an answer to that! This is a great piece. Beautifully demonstrating all the hard work that goes into becoming a great writer. Many people don’t know about the nitty-gritties that lead to the glam.
Crystal, that particular competition had particular guidelines like sending a video and poem submission before and then the presentation. Rehema had obviously rehearsed like crazy, before. she was confident, sure of her lines, articulated her poem, wow! Slam- I’m interested. Like Mos Def?
That’s fair I guess Nambozo. When you are judging then, it has to be a combination of both? They way they ‘slam’ the lines they forwarded to you earlier? I can’t understand why I missed that competition.
After going to school to study writing, I wonder how people can write without rigororus mentorship or study? How? Without constant feedback, reading and so on. As Nyana said, Kampala’s writing space is small which is why we are hosting many Kenyans and launching their novels these days. We’re committed and generous. Crystal and Joel, there used to be a Kampala writers group. Try kahini.org, they have a writing festival in Kampala this year.
Cool!
Bev, writing as a direction has always been daunting for a regular person. The question is always, how will the shilling come in? So unless pure passion drives you (like you) to study writing and learn its intimacies, what a person is left with is pouring out and not necessarily going the whole nine yards of the art. I think many people have that weakness in Uganda.
I ask Jason how he is so eloquent, he talks about practice and feedback. Most of us do not give ourselves to our work like you’re intimating because of the issue above.
I guess one has to decide they are not haphazard poets and can go all the way into the ecstasies.
Joel, very true. Every stage in our life leads to difficult questions. Jason and others decided that they would become strict and professional with their art, Solomon Jaggwe, Makumbi and many we know of. We all dabble art with other professions and passions. The thing that drives us crazy the most, that makes us do the most ridiculous, take the most risks, invest the most time and resources will always yield the most results and direct our overall direction in life. It’s a fact for every career decision we make. Many great writers still lead full 8am to 5pm lives and others have chosen to be writers from one dawn to another, staring at pages, at deadlines, at screens and typing for all its worth. These stages vary though and we’re all in states of fluidity as we determine on any day who we’ll be, writer, actor, poet, performer and how much of those 24 hours we’ll spend doing that. I think it’s good to curate various skills. If a poet, become an editor, a publisher, a performer, a teacher and so on. Grow! #thesepostsneedawordlimit
I believe these are words young writers ought to hear early on. Thanks Bev, I am taking this advice. Decided last year I needed to put in my time. I am doing so.
Where have I been?
I never thought of such writing clubs, with membership that small. But looking at how far Nyana and your groupies have gone, I need one.
So Joel and Crystal, can we form a writing club?
burning to join one poetry group..how and where…yet know not…so if u feel as i do…contact me
What are the details of your group? When do you meet? Where? Criteria to join and so on…
Marvellous ,I love your group.How can I join you.I im an award winning poet
how do i join?
How do I join
That is quite awesome. check my blog http://www.briankharis.ug for my writings too. Be blessed
Hy am jamilah i have written a number of poems but they are just in my notebook and pc i wish they can be heard hopeful they can inspire others in anyway
I don’t have any means and am not in any group
Am a good performer too
I wish to be heard
Thank you
I want to join the club, help me to find a place were I can put my works.
I just want to start my career of writing thank you