Okwiri Oduor, a Caine Prize winner is among women who have benefited from the Goethe-Institut’s AMKA Literature Forum. PHOTO | FILE
Goethe-Institut is a busy venue for Kenya’s literary scene: holding public readings and spoken word, hosting book launches and supporting publishers with their creative works - fiction and non-fiction. Eliphas Nyamogo, head of information and library department, is responsible for organising these events and more.
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Which one of the various literary activities stands out for you?
The AMKA Literature Forum, which supports aspiring women writers who have not been published before and which has been held here every last Saturday of the month for last six years clearly stands out.
We invite aspiring women writers to send their pieces, shorts stories or poems, and select the very good ones to be presented and discussed in these monthly meetings in the presence of the authors so that they can improve their writing skills.
Three years ago, we published the best poems and short stories in an anthology entitled Fresh Paint: Literary Vignettes by Kenyan Women.
What was the selection process for the anthology?
Our selection committee for the pieces to be discuss and considered for publication comprises Dr Tom Odhiambo and Tony Mochama, both well-known in the Kenyan literary circles, as well as Riva Jalipa from AMKA and I. Okwiri Oduor, the winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing, had her first story published in Fresh Paint: Literary Vignettes from Kenyan Women.
Currently, we have a pool of almost 500 short stories and poems. The second volume of Fresh Paint will be released in April this year. At the Literature Forum, we also discuss English translated German literature.
How do you go about introducing German literature?
We present translated works by contemporary German writers to show what is happening in the German literary scene. Themes range from the re-unification experiences, youth culture and travel. Every two months we organise readings of works by German authors, if they cannot come then we just have a public reading without them. We have done this for the last 12 years.
Any new projects in the works?
We are excited about the new project called Conversations with African Writers. We launched it last November with John Sibi-Okumu interviewing author Kinyanjui Kombani. We will be holding it every two months with the aim of discussing current trends in African literature and the challenges and opportunities that young African writers encounter.
Which other programmes does the Goethe-Institut support?
We also support the Kenyan publishing market by partly funding the participation of selected Kenyan publishers at international book fairs like the Frankfurt Book Fair or the South African Book Fair.
