Literary scene slowly hots up

• Critics say we only read for examinations.
• Kenyan literary landscape is slowly coming to life.

The Impala Grounds along Ngong Road, better known for their lively rugby action, last Sunday played host to a different occasion -- a literary event which lasted the whole day.

For a long time now, Kenya and, by extension East Africa, has cowered under the unpleasant accusation that ours is a poor reading culture. Our critics have said that we only read for examinations and, after that, the only reading we engage in is that of newspapers.

Prof Taban Lo Liyong, the Sudanese poet, added salt to injury when he harshly declared that East Africa was a literary wasteland. If Taban had attended the Storymoja Nyama Choma fiesta at the Impala Grounds, he would have had reason to retract his ‘‘curse’’.

Judging from the huge crowd that thronged the Impala Grounds at a fee of Sh500, one can safely assume that the Kenyan literary landscape is slowly coming to life.

The Storymoja Nyama Choma fiesta, now in its second year, is the brainchild of Storymoja, an initiative of five writers, who are committed to publishing contemporary East African writing to world class standards.

Reading is Fun

Operating under the mantra ‘‘Reading is Fun,’’ the event seeks to fuse popular aspects of our social lives with love for the book. ‘‘Nyama choma’’ (roast meat) is arguably one of Kenya’s most favourite pastimes, and what a better way to draw in Nairobians with disposable incomes to a literary event.

Storymoja has been causing ripples in the literary world, if only through their unorthodox way of doing things. For one, they have opted to make a clean break from the established literary traditions, and this is paying dividends.

Not that there is an established literary tradition in the country to speak of. What we have are publishing houses that place very little emphasis on reading for leisure, their argument being that these have no market in Kenya.

This explains why our established publishers pay close attention to textbook publishing, as it ensures a steady flow of revenue.

Storymoja, under the stewardship of Muthoni Garland, would have chosen to follow the well-trodden textbook publishing path, but opted to take the more challenging path of publishing books for the leisure market.

“In order to get our people reading, we need to identify what interests them, otherwise you would find yourself churning out books nobody is interested in,” says Muthoni.

Juvenile undertaking

One might think that mchongoano, that street form of making fun of each other, is a juvenile undertaking not to be taken seriously, but not for Storymoja. Mchongoano was one of the major attractions at the event, and it had people roaring with laughter, asking for more.

In itself, Mchongoano is a work of art, whose driving force is creativity. The contestants at the Sunday event left the venue with cash prizes. One of the contestants noted that his opponent’s head is so big that when he bends to ties his shoelaces, he tumbles over in a somersault!