Kwani Trust

The Litfest Blues (Part 1) - by Samuel Munene

Hang on a minute. Was the just ended Kwani? Litfest a winner? Yes, according to the mainstream media critics and Kwani’s own official coverage. But wait, isn’t the after party gossip a more reliable gauge of an event’s success? So then can we spare a minute and snoop the litfest unofficial coverage, and only after, can Kwani?, with hands akimbo, declare the litfest a hit. Not that the festival was a miss. Far from it, it was such a big success. But come on, there is no harm in eavesdropping on the unofficial Litfest tittle tattle and using it to let things remain as they were during this year’s festival or improve.

Now is there a better place to hunt for the small talk than the blogsphere, where anonymity makes even the most timid of hearts bold and candid? Of all the blogs, and there were many, which covered the litfest none perhaps beatS the Africa Expat Wife (AEW) in wit, sentiment and odd details, hence its such a good place to start. Read the story »

Conflict (or, All A Writer Needs) - by Arno Kopecky

Incredibly, no one went over their five minutes. Going by the event’s title – “Writer’s Stories: Unpacking Kenya’s Crisis Session” – not to mention the venue, a Nairobi University lecture hall, all signs were pointing to a listener’s crisis of over-pontification.
Instead, we started out with a sneak preview of Wanuri Kahiu’s new film, From A Whisper, marking the tenth anniversary of the American embassy bombing with possibly the best film about it to date – I say possibly because it wasn’t long before her characters began speaking Swahili and I had to start inventing the plot. Read the story »

Art, and the Road to Riches - by Rasna Warah

Is there room for the creative arts in Vision 2030, Kenya’s blueprint to becoming a middle-income country within two decades? This is a question that was recently raised by a number of people on a writers’ group that I subscribe to.

The question was prompted by the fact that while the recently re-launched Vision 2030 focuses on areas such as tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and financial services, there is no mention of the role of the arts in promoting economic development. Read the story »

About Kwani

Kwani Trust was established in 2003. It is dedicated to nurturing and developing Kenya’s and Africa's intellectual and creative resources through strategic literary interventions. Kwani Trust houses and distributes literary products and services globally. Kwani Trust, under the guidance of trustees, is overseen by its founding editor, Binyavanga Wainaina supported by key staff; a corps of literary associates, and friends from Kenya, the African continent and the rest of the creative world. Read more »