Storytelling the soul of Storymoja festival

Performance was the name of the game this past weekend at the Nairobi National Museum where the Storymoja festival intentionally brought literature to life in a wide range of colourful hues and genres.

There were lots of brand new book launches in which Kenyan and international authors did readings from their texts or dramatised the poetry contained in their books.
There were also several original Kenyan plays, some of which were performed from last Wednesday when the festival initially opened, welcoming thousands of school children, and then staging shows like Muthoni Garland’s Attack of the Shidas, the Theatre Company’s Githaa…Validating Dreams, produced by Spielworks Stage and Interacteam Media, and Animal Stories by The Last Man Standing Puppet Show.

Children also had opportunities to watch wonderful Kenyan storytellers like Wangari Grace, Aleya Kassam and Mshai Mwangola as they dramatised both contemporary and traditional African tales.

Mshai’s storytelling was centred around the kanga, the local textile people take for granted but which she had researched extensively and shared engaging stories about traditional and present-day use.

Aleya, who also performed Sitawa Namwalie’s poetry during the Saturday night production of Silence is a Woman, got her start as a storyteller while co-ordinating previous Storymoja festivals (six, so far). Inspired by Sitawa’s original style of dramatising her autobiographic poems and setting them to music (by Willie Rama and Boaz Otieno), the actress and storyteller in Aleya came to life.

Aleya and Sitawa were joined by Checkmate Medi who replaced Melvin Alusa (now working in South Africa). Medi’s a brilliant musician who also brought his lyrical background to bear on Sitawa’s show.

Director Alice Karunditu’s holistic perspective on how poetry can blend magically with music, dance and drama also helped to ensure that Silence continues to be fresh despite having been staged many times.

Not all the storytellers were Kenyans, however. More than 40 writers, storytellers, poets and children’s authors arrived from as far away as Bermuda (Joanne Ball-Burgess) and the US (Neal Hall) and closer home from Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia (Ladan Osman). More than 100 came from Kenya.

Many were novelists (like Prajwal Parajuly, India; Teju Cole, Nigeria; Lauri Kubuitsile, Botswana and Beatrice Lamwaka, Uganda). Kenyan novelists Okwiri Oduor, Ciku Kimeria, Alex Nderitu and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor were among the “writers on fire”.

But, by far, it was the poets that got the most air time and attention, which is one of the reasons this year’s Storymoja festival was so vibrant, varied and revitalising.

Some mixed poetry with music as did Dizraeli (from UK); others like Berry Heart from Botswana blended graceful dance, throbbing drums and melodious flute with life-affirming lines while others simply injected an edgy performative accent as did Slam Africa, Rashida Namulondo of Uganda and Kenyan to the Kore, among others.

One of the most important writers to bring his own and his uncle’s poetry alive was the Ghanaian/Jamaican poet Kwame Dawes. Delivering the Kofi Awoonor Memorial Address to honour the pan-African poet and distinguished diplomat who died at Westgate a year ago in a terrorist attack, Kwame’s powerful recitation (and explanation) of some of his uncle’s most memorable poetry was spine-tingling and deeply heartfelt.

His own poems scripted after his uncle died were equally inspiring and inspired.

But without a doubt, the highpoint of the festival had to be Saturday when Wole Soyinka finally arrived (after a 25-hour flight from Los Angeles) and gave the Wangari Maathai Memorial Lecture, after which he had a Q&A session.

Paying tribute

Soyinka, who turns 80 this year, gave a magnificent tribute to his fellow Nobel laureate, the late Maathai, even as he interwove a masterful medley of thoughts paying tribute to the late Kofi Awoonor as well.

It’s not an exaggeration to say Soyinka’s address kept his audience transfixed by his powerfully poignant and poetic language. I, and possibly others, could have listened to Soyinka all day and never lost the train of his eloquent, profound and lyrical thought.

Storymoja festival founder Muthoni Garland deserves praise for finally getting him here. She had hoped to have him at Saturday’s gala dinner which raised funds and gathered thousands of books for her “Start a Library” programme, but even without Soyinka, the gala was an overwhelming success.

It starred Sauti Sol, Eric Wainaina and Berry Heart as well as countless others who brought their books and their art (Uhuru B’s donated painting raised Sh100,000) to ensure children’s literacy will rise as local libraries multiply.