A new poetry collection titled Feeling: A Poetry Anthology Celebrating Iconic Ugandan women commemorates exemplary Ugandan women achievers in all spheres of life from medicine, science and technology, art and culture, education, royalty, politics, agriculture, sports, hospitality and tourism, law and conservation.
The poetic contributions are from Zoey the Storyteller, Pamela Nakintu Mwanje, Lillian Akampurira Aujo, George Gumikiriza, Michelle Ivy Alwedo, Andrew Herbert Omuna, George William Kiwanuka, Kagayi Ngobi, Liza Brenda Sekaggya and Nambozo. Yvonne Namaganda, who rescued 19 girls from a dormitory fire at Budo Junior School in Wakiso District in 2008, is celebrated in the poem Namaganda Yvonne.
The child heroine was 10 years old at the time. Unfortunately, after her final rescue, she succumbed to the injuries. “In 2008/Uganda’s innocence was burnt to the ground/When fire raged through a dormitory/Like a storm without a conscience…,” goes the poem by Nambozo.
“Hearing the cries of her friends hiding from the red rage, she reached out and rescued them, one by one. Some of their fingers felt boneless. Some of their hearts felt homeless. She rescued them, one by one. And after Namaganda pulled out the 19th girl, her deed was complete. And she lay still,” the poem reads in part. “Her maths book lay on top of her. That was how they/recognised her body…”
The senior citizen and political evangelist, Miria Matembe is honoured in the poem Honourable Dr. Maria Matembe by Nambozo. “…We must all gather. Tomorrow has come. Maria collects the truth from where it was hiding. And speaks to it until it glows like an ember amongst the ashes. While others decay from telling lies, Miria glows bright. The truth is her light. She spreads it until it chokes the deception from our thoughts. She pours the truth on everyone around, until it settles like a second skin…” the poem reads in part.
Edited by the Ugandan poetess Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva, the anthology Feeling is divided into four parts and contains 68 poems.
“The singer, songwriter, dancer and politician Rachel Magoola is recognised in the poem “Honourable Rachel Magoola,” by Nambozo. “…The timeless classic, ‘Obangaina,’ is a song and a story. It is a reminder that legends are created by their ability to shape perpetual art. We sing her songs to ourselves and to our children.” “We dance to these songs at parties and in our rooms/Rachel, a member of the revered Afrigo Band/An unmatched musical museum of icons and symbols/Holding the greatest ability of our humanity/The ability to create.
Through creating art, we also love…” it goes further. Another interesting poem is about the Nnaabagereka (queen) of Buganda, Sylvia Nagginda Luswata is respected for her transformational leadership, and for empowering girls and boys including those with disabilities, the youth, and women through the Nnaabagereka Development Foundation. Phiona Mutesi lived in the slums of Katwe and learnt chess in a SOM Chess Academy programme and became one of Uganda’s top chess players competing in international competitions and gaining global recognition.
Her life story inspired the Disney movie “Queen of Katwe.” “…Phiona introduced a new language....Robert Katende, her coach saw a chess prodigy. He was a mentor who saw beyond the have-nots…,” goes the poem Phiona Mutesi by Nambozo. Other poems highlight the great works and contributions of Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, the founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), an award-winning NGO that protects endangered mountain gorillas and other wildlife, Hajjat Sarah Kiyimba, a celebrated hotel owner in Uganda, managing the successful Hotel Brovad in Masaka and actress, director and writer Kaya Kagimu Mukasa. Kiyimba is honoured in Kaya Kagimu Mukasa by Nambozo. “…Kaya Kagimu treats the stage like a canvas/And paints the scenery with her mind/We see ourselves in ways we have never seen before/Pictures become people/And wishes become words/Kaya’s canvas is a collage/of questions without answers/Until the actors begin to speak/And the audience begins to feel/And they see that the stage is a mirror…,” the poem runs in part.
Santa, the fashion designer and Managing Director of Arapapa is celebrated in the poem “Arapapa” by Michelle Ivy Alwedo. “The fabric of Santa’s/existence is seamed/with resilience and grace/silhouetting an exquisiteness/draped in elegance…,” goes the poem. “Tailored ambition/threaded her destiny/with purposed precision/hemming haute couture/hopes into place…” “My name is Waseke/My name rhymes with laughter/My father was mocked for being childless before mother/birthed me/so they named me Waseke, because I was a joy to my parents,” runs the poem “My name is Waseke/per day” by Zoey the Storyteller. “My name also rhymes with mockery/When my mother died, my father died/Then I married a man and my joy also died/Because I was bruised in his hands…,” the poem continues. The anthology that is currently being sold at Shs50, 000 at the Babisha Niwe Poetry Foundation in Kampala, will soon be available at major bookstores in Uganda. It is available at the Nuria Bookstore in Nairobi, Kenya.
