AMKA Forum
From 10am every last Saturday of the month, literature veterans and enthusiasts gather at the Goethe-Institut under the auspices of the AMKA Forum to interact among themselves, exchange ideas, review poems, narratives and other works of literature submitted to them and also have discussions on matters arising in the field of creative writing.
This month’s forum, curated by Muthoni wa Gichuru, was obviously inundated with the kind of absorbing chronicles one is likely to find in a room full of creatives, from the recent maandamanos to that now-eminent question of whether A.I will take over and render writers redundant… all addressed through poems and short stories.
The forum’s guest was Jeannie Marima and she shared her insights on book publication and the commercial dynamics between writing books for younger readers, which is her main venture, and writing adult-oriented books.
Wana Wa Magere book launch
After that fascinating morning session at Goethe, I crossed over to Alliance Française where there was another literature event but in a different vein. After the successful inaugural event in June with three unique tales, REVEAL! Comic ConversationEA was on the same afternoon hosting the Avandu Vosi Studio as they launched their comic Wana Wa Magere.
This was the second event by REVEAL! Comic ConversationEA in what they plan to be monthly meet-ups and with time, to extend across East Africa. Their main area of focus is cartoons, comics and graphic novels.
Wana wa Magere is visually stunning, based on our African myth and folk tales with unique twists to the original. It’s a story from the land of the Luo legend, Lwanda Magere and combines history, myth and folklore with a touch of modernity.
The launch brought together comic book enthusiasts and young students talented in creative arts who then discussed the future of making comic art industry with the support of organisations such as ACP-EU Ignite Culture Programme who funded the project through the EU and further funds from ACP countries, Heva Fund and the British council as implementing partners and Bookbunk, a fellow grantee in the funding programme who came to support Avandu Vosi at the launch.
For masterclasses on Arts from the best in the creative industry visit https://academy.sanaapost.com/
