Poetry that embraces nation’s popular culture

It can be argued that compared to fiction, poetry has not enjoyed much popularity in Kenya. Matters have not been helped by the attitude that poetry is difficult, which has seen many readers shun this genre.

There has also been the view that poetry is sophisticated ‘‘high art’’ and not just everybody will appreciate its ‘‘finer’’ aspects. And, going by the paucity of published poetry books, it would appear that this might as well be true.

But is that really the case?
Rightly or wrongly, publishers might be accused of fomenting this unfortunate situation, by not publishing enough poetry books, and by not marketing the already existing ones.

And while established publishers are content to let the status quo remain, emerging publishers are willing to change things.

Take the example of Kwani?

Ever since they came to the scene in 2003, they have made commendable efforts at popularising poetry, particularly among the younger generation.

Through the monthly Open Mic sessions, Nairobi poetry lovers have a platform where anyone who feels sufficiently inspired can drop a line or two without having to worry about the reaction of ‘‘purists’’.

One of the products of Open Mic is Njeri Wangari (pictured right), who also goes by the name Kenyan poet.

Apart from entertaining audiences with her powerful voice, she also runs an arts blog by the name Kenyan poet, where she also publishes her poetry.

Njeri, an IT specialist, has finally released her first book, Mines & Mind Fields: My Spoken Words.
Her ideas
With her book out, Njeri’s fans will now be able to interact with her ideas on a more intimate basis, and probably savour them for a long time to come.

In her 110-page book, Njeri addresses various themes ranging from identity, race, change, matatu culture to international relations.

In the poem Maisha ya Hawker, Njeri shows the day-to-day struggles of a street hawker and, while an outsider might get horrified by the brutality meted out by askaris on poor hawkers, what does not come out clearly is the fact that this could well be a game between the traders and the law enforcers, which is not likely to end soon.

“This cat and mouse game,” says the hawker in Njeri’s poem, “will not end today or tomorrow because, like me, the cops and city council (askaris) have to eat as well.”

Being an experienced social observer, the poet is able to capture the nuances in everyday life and come up with a narrative that refreshingly captures the heartbeat of modern urban lifestyles.

Njeri has penned a poetry collection that embraces popular culture and dispenses with old and rigid poetry rules.