Poets shaping our performance scene

Oral tradition may equate to verbal communication, but the reverse is not verily true. That is because the verbal consists of both the written and spoken while the oral is strictly speech.

Still, that does not limit oral tradition as it is an essential form of human communication and is thus given to the verities, vagaries and varieties of artistic expression. To be sure, oral tradition, or oral lore, is embracive of art. It is also a means by which ideas, cultural diversity and its richness is expressed, preserved, and parlayed into a cross-generational vehicle journeying across the smooth terrain of shared meaning.

By this token, oral tradition conveys jokes, legends, stories, proverbs, language, folktales, ballads, and, yes, poetry. When it comes to poetry, oral tradition reconfigures itself into a form of communication that is largely intended for performance. And as it takes on a somewhat new form, it is also re-baptised as spoken word poetry.

Peculiarly, spoken word poetry may also be published on the page as it encompasses storytelling. Although this genre has laid some strong roots in theatre and hip hop, it is still very much in its infancy in Uganda. However, there are several practitioners of this art form who have matured its beginnings into an established means of entertainment.

Let us take a look at several spoken wordsmiths who are changing the face of poetry with spoken word artistry. Just to be clear, they are presented in no particular order not least because art disrupts and disorders.

Ssebo Lule

His given name is Raymond Lule and he is a Luganda performance poet, author, actor, and recording artiste. Inspired by Xenson, he started writing and performing poetry in Luganda in 2015 and published his debut poetry collection three years later. In 2019, he facilitated  the first Babishai Luganda Poetry Workshop in Kampala.

In 2020, he made his first film appearance in the Swangz Avenue short film Rolex. Lule has performed at the Poetry Shrine, Kelele @ Makerere, Bayimba Arts Festival, LaBa arts festival, Jalada Mobile Festival, Doa Doa Arts Festival, Writivism Literary Festival, Kampala International Theatre Festival, Open Mic Uganda, Babishai Niwe Poetry Festival, on CBS FM 88.8, among others. His first poetry show was staged in 2018 at the launch of his debut poetry collection Ogenda wa? and he has never looked back.

Carolyne “Afroetry” Acen

Although she calls herself the Unapologetic Poet,  she has written many an apologia in defence and promotion of poetry. A strong willed woman, Acen is the president of the Poets Association of Uganda. When Acen takes off that hat to take to the stage, she is a force of nature. The Unapologetic Poet combines the activism of Rosa Parks with the defiant energy of James Baldwin. As the founder of the all-woman poetry showcase Echo Minds Poets, she is easily one of the most prolific poets in Uganda and her book titled Married to Society was one of last year’s most talked about poetry books.

Ngobi Kagayi

The Artist Formerly Known as Peter began writing and performing poetry in 2009 when he joined the Lantern Meet of Poets. While with The Meet, he had two theatre shows—Fresh Coat of Paint and Footprints of Verse. In 2011, he began teaching and coaching poetry at Nabisunsa Girls’  School where he started the first school poetry club in Uganda, The Rhymers. With this curation came a sunburst of poetry showcases, which shone brightly with performances such as Words, Heartbeats and Neon Lights. Kagayi’s poetic credentials are legion and legendary, but none more so than his first poetry collection and most famous work, The Headline That Morning and Other Poems.

Maritza

Real name Martha Byoga, Maritza is a former media personality.  “Thirty years, and wisdom still lies ahead/Pressed and undressed they barely addressed/Media storms raining fear on the intimidated/So to whom much was given, secrecy preceded/More snitches in stitches, censorship embedded/Long live the messenger, you have freedom today,” she orates. In Maritza, poetry has a charming, self-effacing persona whose wordplay is so refined that it feels invitingly conversational.

Mercy Geno Apachi (The Shy Poet)

Her name is Mercy Agenorwot but popularly known as Mercy Geno Apachi .  Her playful poeticisms belie a serious and sensitive mind, and a clear-headed thought-process which casts her as an Old Soul. As a member of Echo Minds Poets, she is a standout performer whose clever turn of phrase has gained her laurels as an award-winning writer, too. Blending an events emcee’s aplomb with a philosopher’s yen for knowledge, she is a poet to watch  this year.

Godfrey Mitch Jr Isabirye

His shows at the Goethe-Zentrum Kampala/Uganda German Cultural Society in Kamwokya perennially sell out. This is largely because apart from having some of the slickest, “sickest” lines in the business, his laidback and humble bearing have endeared him to countless poetry and comedy aficionados. If I am to understate his value, I dare say that Mitch is surely the future of spoken word poetry in Uganda.

Jason Ntaro

Arguably the most celebrated spoken wordsmith in Uganda, he first performed poetry in 2007 with the Lantern Meet of Poets. Since then Jason has headlined at Kwivuga, Open Mic Uganda, Ntebeza where he co-hosted alongside comedienne Ann Kansiime,  Kelele@Makerere, Katochi, Kwebuga at Kyambogo University, Azania (UCU), NyegeNyege, Bayimba, Milege at Botanical Gardens, Milege in Makerere University, Spoken Word Rwanda and several other poetry showcases.

Zenah The Poet

Her real name is  Zenah Nakanwagi. She started writing at age of 14. Not long after that,  she published her first poetry collection entitled Flowage of the Heart. In her own words: “I am the author of several books such as The Feelings, Touch of Emotions, The Naked Mind and the latest Spit My Heart, which I launched in 2018 and managed to sell more than 10,000 copies mainly in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Canada, where I have been able to associate with my fellow poets.”

Beat that!

Mark Gordon Mugasha

This brilliant  slam poet has curated and created Ladu Poetry, co-created Open Mic Uganda and several other poetry showpiece events which have long since become mainstays of the art form. However, his greatest strength is his force of character which freights his words to the heights of soaringly powerful performances whenever he privileges us by stepping on the stage.

Alex Kitaka 
Going by the stage moniker Kitaka Wa’ Kavulu, Kitaka is a theatre director, writer, poet and an actor. He is one of the writers for Popi a dramedy series running on DStv Pearl Magic. He works hand in glove with Fun Factory, Uganda’s answer to America’s Saturday Night Live, on this show. Kitaka is one of Uganda’s most gifted and versatile poets. His fluency, theatrical skill and sheer performative nous make him one of the most sought after poets in the land. 

Brandy
She inaugurated her career a few years ago at Rock Bar. Fast forward to now, she has already staged her own show entitled Brandy’s Poetic Sense of Humour. This is a feat that even the most seasoned industry poets have not pulled off. Always deceptively facile, if you pull back the layers of her many layered personality you will discover a poetic depth beyond her tender years.