Africa-Press – Malawi. Feeling: A Poetry Anthology Celebrating Iconic Ugandan Women” takes us into the realm of some rather surpassing poetry. This should not surprise anybody, however. The contributors to this anthology are versifiers of the first magnitude. Not only female poets, led by the editor Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva, but male poets such as Kagayi Ngobi, Goerge William Kiwanuka, George Gumikiriza, to mention but a few.
The inclusion of men in celebrating outstanding Ugandan women follows the idea that a complete person must be half man and half woman. We are both necessary, male and female, in discovering the full potential of our humanity. This is a symbolic concept, with little or nothing to do with non-binary or genderqueer gender identities outside the male/female gender binary. This pairing is within the said binary and is not a new concept flexing its sinews with muscular poetry.
Rather, this concept is represented by the Hindu deity Ardhanarishvara, which signifies the oneness of the masculine (Shiva/Purusha) and feminine (Shakti/Prakriti) principles within the universe and oneself. This concept does not describe human anatomy but rather a philosophical ideal of balance and integration of both masculine and feminine aspects for wholeness and spiritual evolution.
We are whole because we have each other and, in this wholesomeness, we realize that our shared humanity is what binds us together. It is a revolutionary, radical concept in times when men and women seem to be drifting apart thanks to all “he said, she said” irreconcilability between the endlessly warring sexes. This anthology puts that conflict to bed the old-fashioned way, by making sure that the glue which holds us together is adhesively feminine, so to speak.
On Thursday July 31, which is also Pan-African Women’s Day, the Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation launched this exceptional poetry anthology at the British Council offices in Uganda. The dress code was African wear. This fashion statement resulted in a rich mosaic of fabric, further swathing this anthology in the celebration of iconic Ugandan women.
I love the spunk, vim and verve which animate this anthology. Take, for instance, the poem written in tribute to Dr. Miria Matembe by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva. Eponymously titled for Dr Matembe, tells us all we need to know about Matembe, without saying more than what must be said. This economy is achieved by the poet without any literary frills. Take a peek, at the second and third stanzas:
Other poems feature Dr Maggie Kigozi, Susan Nsibirwa and also Tereza Mbire, among many others. In 2017, the song ‘Mama Mbire’ by Juliana Kanyomozi and Bobi Wine was released. We loved it. But the words about her in this book hit the spot slightly better as we are reminded how Tereza Mbire helped turn “dreamers into doers.” If we could all do the same, there would be peace and harmony on earth.
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