ALEX NDERITU: Writer, Renegade, wizard

“I am a writer and I write to entertain,” states Alexander Nderitu, an author and poet.

“I began my writing as a novelist, so this has always been fundamental.” Alex Nderitu was born on 23 April 1979 and has three siblings.

He is the brother of renowned self-made poetess Caroline Nderitu. Growing up in Tetu, Alex went to Nyeri Primary school.

“This was a sort of a cosmopolitan school with good amenities which exposed me to reading. I was an avid reader and loved stories. My favourite books were Treasure Island and Gulliver’s Travels,” he says.

His parents, being career teachers, encouraged their four children to study widely. During the December holidays, the whole family would be on the farm picking coffee.

Alex completed primary school at 14 and stayed at home, reading his father’s books by Fredrick Forsyth and John Grisham and any reading material he could find. He then joined Nyahururu High School.

“This was a stark contrast to my primary school. The students spoke vernacular and the school wasn’t well equipped. Not to blow my own trumpet, but my English was good and in Form One, I wrote the best essays, which would be read out to the class as examples of how essays should be written. While in Form Two, I was made the deputy librarian. This gave me the opportunity to explore and I discovered a lot of literature. I remember one Mrs Ndung’u, who would borrow my essays to read to the Form Four students to help them revise for their national exams.”

It was in high school that Alex decided to become a writer when he grew up. He left Nyahururu High School in his final year and went to do his O Levels at Dr Kamundia High School.

After high school he joined Satima College where he studied information technology. His older sister, Caroline, had already started wowing the country with her poems.

BIRTH COINCIDED WITH DAY SHAKESPEARE DIED

On his eighteenth birthday, Caroline told him that his date of birth coincided with the day world-renowned thespian William Shakespeare died — on 23 April, 1616. And just last week he found out that 23 April is the World Book Day.

One can tell his fascination with William Shakespeare and other classical poets in a tribute poem he wrote called Dead Poets Society.

His life changed when he read a story in the Daily Nation. “The story was about a famous fashion designer in Italy whose death was surrounded by mystery.

His ex-wife was the main suspect.

The court case took two years to conclude and the woman and two accomplices were found guilty of his murder.

“As I read the story, I kept imagining a case like that here in the country and just like that, an idea hit me. I would follow the plot of this story but make it my own, change the setting, give it colour, add characters, and give them local names. That is how When The Whirlwind Passes was penned. This was in the year 2001 and it was my first novel.”

Alex says it was necessary to read widely and research a lot before he wrote  the book. “Reading John Grisham’s novels helped a lot because his books deal with courtroom drama,” he says. He sent his manuscript to several publishers, but they turned it down.

' I WRITE AT NIGHT'

He did not lose hope, though. Instead, he started researching his next novel.

“I do most of my writing at night because that is when the mood is right, no noise or disruption. Writing has three processes: pre-writing, where I do the research, which should be extensive and it is where the bulk of the job is. Second,  there is the writing, and finally post-writing, where I edit. This also consumes a lot of time. In essence, the shortest timeline I have had for completing a book was three months,” he adds.

Seven years after completing his first novel, Alex had another book ready, this time on poetry. The Moon Is Made Of Green Cheese is the only poetry book he has written on poetry.

It has more than 50 poems and some have been translated into Japanese and Arabic. “I met Hassan Hegazy, an Egyptian writer and translator who was compiling material about the Nile River.

There was a poem about the River Nile in my book and he sought my permission to translate it for his audience

The second instance was when a Kaziwe Daikoku, a Japanese literature promoter, came across my book, Kiss, Commander Promise. She was intrigued by the story of Hanna and the Angel and wanted to translate it for the Japanese audience,” he says.

Alex believes these are the only avenues to distribute his work globally. “Let’s face it, self-publishing is expensive and difficult. I didn’t want to block these literature promoters from borrowing my work and translating it. Right now someone in Japan and Egypt has read my poem and stories and that to me is an achievement.”

He is one of the officials of PEN Kenya (Poets’ Essayists and Novelists Kenya), which has its headquarters in the United Kingdom. PEN is the world’s oldest literary movement and its main purpose is to promote literature and freedom of expression all over the world.

SO, WHY E-PUBLISH A BOOK?

So, why e-publish a book? we ask. “It is difficult to publish novels in any part of the world. It is even harder to get indigenous publishers. Traditional publishing is expensive. I first stumbled into publishing while working in a computer shop. I would spend time online on literary websites like Authors Den, which connects authors and readers.” 

His poems were almost published in hard copy when Dr Lila Luce of SasaSema was looking for writers to publish. Alex emailed the first 14 poems he had written in The Moon Is Made Of Green Cheese.

Dr Lila agreed to publish some of the poems, among them Remember The Lions, a tribute to conservation. Unfortunately, SasaSema was taken over by Longhorn Publishers.

“When I heard the announcement, I knew it was bad news. Longhorn never accepted any of my poems since they concentrated on textbooks for schools. However, they called me later to ask how e-books work,” he quips.

“When I first put my book on the e-book market, it was retailing at $3. Someone bought it and I got a virtual cheque for $1.50,  which I still keep. The next month my book had 238 downloads.

This motivated me to embrace the e-book system,” he says. Alex explains that if technology is not your strong point, you can get his books printed on demand (POD). The website, Lulu, offers this service and the buyer has to pay in advance.

His latest book, Africa On My Mind, was completed in 2013.

“This was my attempt to broaden my target audience and write for children and teenagers. The book was picked up on the web by World Reader, a non-governmental organisation that distributes e-books to encourage literacy,” he explains.

Alex has so far written and delivered a poem to BBC Scotland, addressed the union, and given lectures on creativity. However, he still feels that he is a long way from where he wants to be.

“Life is strange,” he muses, “Of late I have been writing non-fiction. I find that things that should have the most impact often don’t.”

He advises young aspiring writers not to give up. “The reading landscape in Kenya is improving, what with the literary movements we currently have in the country. It is up to you to pursue your dreams; nothing can stop an idea whose time has come.”