Musings During a Time of Pandemic (2021)

Three of my texts, Assumptions and Axioms, Communicating Vessels, and Snapshot, have been included in the Musings During a Time of Pandemic: A World Anthology of Poems on COVID-19.

About the book
For those who have gone before us, the dead, those swept away by the flapping wings of the bat, we wish them well in their travel! and, in their sojourn in the cleansing waters of purgatory, let their flawless spirits, independent of the stains of mundane effects of wrongdoing, attain purification and the rewards of the divine abode, a garden of delights; let no torture or torment be subjected upon them, oh, poor souls!, spare them, O God of mercy! since while on earth, they never offended anyone. In their departure from purgatory, let them move on in solemn silence, and acquire wings that will fly them to a watershed, a peaceful spot somewhere beyond the blue; therein, then, in their final dwelling, rest in eternal peace… and we, who are left behind, who are not any better than them, we who are immortalized in ash and dust, although stained with tears, let’s bond in a spirit of humility and kindness and strive as one human race to rock the world with our messages of hope, love and peace.

About The Compiler/Editor:
Christopher Okemwa is a literature lecturer at Kisii University, Kenya. He has a Ph.D. in performance poetry from Moi University, Kenya. He is the founder and current director of Kistrech International Poetry festival in Kenya (www.kistrechpoetry.org). His novella, Sabina and the Mystery of the Ogre, won the Canadian Burt Award for African Literature in 2015. He has written eight books of poetry and been translated to Armenian, Chinese, Greek, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Arabic, Polish, Chinese, Nepalese, Turkish, Spanish, Catalan and Serbian. He has also translated four literary works of international poets from English to Swahili. He is the editor of four poetry anthologies from around the world. He is the author of ten folktales of the Abagusii people of Kenya, three children’s storybooks, one play, two novels and four oral literature textbooks. Website: www.okemwa.co.ke

Copyright © 2020 Christopher Okemwa and all the authors herein.
All rights reserved.

This publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, by any means including photocopying or any information storage or retrieval system, without the specific and prior written permission of the author and publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the author’s or publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

For permission requests, email the publisher at the address below.

Published by Kistrech Theatre International (www.kistrechpoetry.org)

ISBN: 978-9966-955-95-1

First Edition: November 2020
Published by Kistrech Theatre International (www.kistrechpoetry.org)
P.O. Box 3956, Kisii, Kenya.

Printed in Kenya
Ordering information:
WhatsApp: +254-723-868167
E-mail: festival@kistrechpoetry.org
E-Mail: cokemwa08@gmail.com, chris@okemwa.co.ke
Website: www.kistrechpoetry.org
Website: www.okemwa.co.ke

This anthology has been sponsored by Dr. Christopher Okemwa

Anima Methodi (2018)

I am delighted to have threes texts in this anthology edited by Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé and Eric Tinsay Valles. Anima Methodi will be launch on 11 Nov, Sun 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM at The Arts House (TAH), Gallery ll

Edited by Desmond Kon and Eric Valles, the anthology, Anima Methodi, features over 70 contributors engaging with this new made-in-Singapore poetic form, comprising the binate octave, volta, repetition and meta sensibilities. Also launching is Hermitage of Dreamers, a collection of lyric essays. This book commemorates the 100th anniversary of Kazimir Malevich’s painting, ‘White on White’ (1918). This book launch will feature an array of readings by stellar new voices.

https://www.singaporewritersfestival.com/nacswf/nacswf/programme-listing/free-events/Anima-Methodi—Hermitage-of-Dreamers.html

To End All War Anthology (2018)

I am very happy that one of my poems has been included in the anthology To End All Wars. The book is published by Puncher & Wattmann and edited by Dael Allison, Anna Couani, Kit Kelen, and Les Wicks with a launch at The Shop Gallery in Sydney – 3 pm, Saturday 27 October – 112 Glebe Point Road, Glebe.

‘To End All Wars’ was a phrase applied hopefully during ‘The Great War’. Its various permutations were meant to suggest that this one might be the last war of all. How quickly the phrase became ironic. How many wars have followed! The words ‘to end all wars’ must remind us today that all armed conflict is a vast social catastrophe. The centenary of the World War I Armistice comes with a barely veiled triumphalism in the countries that were victorious one hundred years ago. It was that triumphalism, and the failed peace that followed it, which led onto new catastrophes in World War II and then the Cold War. Now, well into the 21st century, with ever uglier nationalisms raising their heads everywhere, it is time to critically examine the Armistice of one hundred years ago, and its meaning for Australia and for the world, then and now.

This collection contains work from Australasia’s leading poets, some of whom have made a particular focus on conflict like Jennifer Maiden & Geoff Page. But a clear goal from the beginning was to have a truly diverse collection to fully give the flavor of our society as it is now and the impact conflict has on it. This was in part achieved by an open call for submissions which yielded a number of valuable surprises which would have been otherwise overlooked.

An Earshot programme based on the anthology will air on Radio National Mon 5th November 11 am on Radio National, repeated Sat 10th November 1.30pm.

https://puncherandwattmann.com/books/book/to-end-all-wars