Kenya's growing literary scene..

Whatever opinions you have one way or another about Kwani? Storymoja and the like, (and trust me I do have my opinions on them which I may post one day) you can't deny that they are at the forefront of an Kenyan-urban literary revival.and that is a good thing, it is obvious that Kenyans are a relatively politically aware and opinionated lot and it was just that we needed the freedom to express ourselves which the KANU regime totally regimented. So, I'm not really surprised by the thriving literary scene which continues to grow by leaps and bounds. I went for this literary festival last year at Impala Grounds called the Storymoja Hay Festival and I was left feeling encouraged and hopeful about what the future holds for literature in Kenya. It has only just begun, I believe. Anyway check out this article from the Christian Science Monitor about this burgeoning scene..

It might be just another club night in party-hearty Nairobi. In a little, second-floor downtown bar bathed in red lights and decorated with funky paintings, crunk music thumps from a high-quality sound system. Couples at tables sip drinks.

But then, after a few measures, the music stops, and a poet takes the stage. Wearing dreadlocks and an orange scarf tied around his head, Kennet B begins a spoken-word tirade against environmental degradation and corruption.

“Something revolutionary is going to happen tonight,” he announces. The crowd shouts its approval.

It’s the first Tuesday of the month, which means that the Kwani? Trust (the question mark is part of its name), a Kenyan literary collective and nonprofit publishing house, has sponsored open mic night at Clubb Sound. The event brings together Nairobi’s intelligentsia and literary dabblers.

Read more here