UGX20,000
“When I was a baby
You were seated comfortably
Now I have a baby
Who asks me if you remember
What it feels like
To be on your feet
To be in motion
In search of something better
For everyone
I was a baby
And you were seated comfortably
Now I have a baby
Who asks me
If you remember
What it means
To travel to homes
Which do not resemble yours.
To visit relatives who
Are forced to explain why toilets
Don’t flush anymore.”
                                                           When I was a baby, Nabukeera Pauline S.4 2020
The poems in this anthology were written during the poetry training conducted by Kitara Nation at St. Joseph’s Girls’ S.S.S Nsambya (JOGINSA). The poems express themselves on a range of issues in society like politics, culture, God, domestic violence, among others. This impressive anthology proves the potential that exists among young people if they are given the opportunity to be creative.
ISBN: 9-798654- 857293
Format: Paperback and Kindle Version
Language: English
Number of Pages: 70
Published: 2020
Publisher: Kitara Nation
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“I think of Rusho’s LIGHT as an act of taking the veil off the world; of the man he is, and that of the people around him. I am deliberate about calling it an act because it’s memory in motion. Each poem dances below a bulb at its own tempo and intent. Some of them seek it, the spot, while others avoid it so that the pains and injustices in their bodies aren’t seen. But a lot is on display still, even during moments of darkness. Questions about gender and the human body, loss, relationships, the country, self, and so on. I admire the bravery by which he writes about himself. What drives a man to speak about himself with such honesty? The only way to find out is by diving into the poems he presents as a mirror.
-Lule ssebo Lule, author of OGENDA WA?
This book, the first anthology of its kind, encompasses poems collected from 3 different national High School poetry programs. It could perhaps be the only book of this kind in East Africa.
“No speaking Vernacular was beautifully performed; humourous, witty, revealing. I thought the play clearly brought out the shortcomings of an education system that wholly demonizes the use of native languages in schools.  No Speaking Vernacular pits Mr. Full stop, the John Speke High School Headteacher against Dambya, (Nsubuga Muhammad) a renegade vernacular speaker. Dambya’s sin is using the Luganda word ‘gwe’ which Mr Full stop considers an unforgivable breach of Article 23 of the school Regulations.
In punishment, Dambya suffers the minimum punishment prescribed by the regulations. He is caned. He is forced to wear old sisal sackcloth, a bone around his neck, and a placard bearing the words: “I am stupid. I speak Vernacular.”Â
– Herbert Okello Andrew, Lawyer, teacher.
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