Amka Space lives up to its promise of promoting female writers

What you need to know:

  • A piece by one of the event’s attendees, Faith Oneya, confirmed my assertions. Titled ‘AMKA is still a fertile forum for nurturing women writers’, she asserted: “I join Oumah again in challenging myself to attend or participate in all sessions and also appeal to women writers out there to do the same.”
  • It looks like her plea worked. Women from all walks of lives were in attendance, with a number boldly telling their tales.
  • Indeed, the female literary festival that started a decade ago is now living true to its call of nurturing upcoming, unpublished as well as established women writers to improve their creativity.

When I walked into Goethe Institut Library at Maendeleo House, along Monrovia Street in Nairobi two weeks ago for our monthly AMKA literary debate, I expected to find only a few female participants as we were now accustomed to.

I was, however, startled this time. The women who were in attendance were more than the men present.

I had read a social media post by the event’s coordinator, Patricia Muthoni, about settling on a short story penned by Vera Omwocha, a local editor, to be discussed in the event.

She wrote: “I have selected your piece to be discussed tomorrow. I hope you will avail yourself.”

I bumped into the discussion a bit late, when her piece titled Did I Rape You? was being discussed.

A glance at Omwocha’s face portrayed a fizzy young woman who was elated to tell her story through her pen.

Last year I had beseeched female writers to attend literary debates on these pages in an article titled: ‘Female writers not keen to attend literary debates’. The piece received several rebuttals, some so harsh, but my message got through.

A piece by one of the event’s attendees, Faith Oneya, confirmed my assertions. Titled ‘AMKA is still a fertile forum for nurturing women writers’, she asserted: “I join Oumah again in challenging myself to attend or participate in all sessions and also appeal to women writers out there to do the same.”

It looks like her plea worked. Women from all walks of lives were in attendance, with a number boldly telling their tales.

Indeed, the female literary festival that started a decade ago is now living true to its call of nurturing upcoming, unpublished as well as established women writers to improve their creativity.

Dr Tom Odhiambo, one of the event’s coordinators, took great pride in the number of females that AMKA has previously nurtured such as well-known writers like Yvonne Okwiri, Alice Gichuru and Gloria Mwaniga.

It’s only after the event that I knew of the attendance the prolific Kiswahili playwright, Pauline Kea, whose riveting play, Kigogo, is a current compulsory text in our high schools.

AMKA Literary Festival is certainly a trailblazer. Participants read fellow writers’ works and help pick out their strengths and weaknesses.

True to its philosophy of empowering female writers, AMKA Space in 2011 published a short story and poetry anthology dubbed Fresh Point, which purely contains brilliant contributions by both established and upcoming female writers.

According to its website, AMKA forum provides a space to listen to the voices of established and budding female writers.

It’s a literary platform that truly recognises the voices of women with a great passion for literary adventure. It is held every last Saturday of the month.

The festival is lately open to both men and women with literary enthusiasm with a common aspiration to chronicle their stories.

Writer Tony Mochama has been one of the wheels that drive this festival. He held a book signing ceremony at the last Amka event for his latest book titled Nairobi: A Night Guide Through the City in the Sun.

And for those who will feel the urge to tell their tales at the next meeting, you can send your short stories and poems to [email protected].

 

The writer is a literary critic and teaches at Ng’iya Girls’ High School in Siaya County. His play, Forbidden Pen, will be launched later this month. [email protected]