Poet, novelist and playwright Benjamin Zephaniah was born on 15 April 1958. He grew up in Jamaica and the Handsworth district of Birmingham, England, leaving school at 14. He moved to London in 1979 and published his first poetry collection, Pen Rhythm, in 1980.

Meet and Talk to Benjamin Zephaniah at the Storymoja Hay Festival 2010

He holds an honorary doctorate in Arts and Humanities from the University of North London (1998), was made a Doctor of Letters by the University of Central England (1999), and a Doctor of the University by the University of Staffordshire (2002). He has recently been awarded further honorary doctorates by London South Bank University, the University of Exeter and the University of Westminster.

Zephaniah’s writing includes  -  The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985) which contained a number of poems attacking the British legal system, Poetry for children – Turkeys (1994) and Funky Chickens (1996), Rasta Time in Palestine (1990), an account of a visit to the Palestinian occupied territories, contained poetry and travelogue, and novels for teens  - Face (1999), described by the author as a story of ‘facial discrimination’; Refugee Boy (2001), the story of a young boy, Alem, fleeing the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea; Gangsta Rap (2004); and Teacher’s Dead (2007).

In addition to his published writing, Benjamin Zephaniah has produced numerous music recordings, including Us and Dem (1990) and Belly of de Beast (1996), and has also appeared as an actor in several television and film productions, including appearing as Moses in the film Farendg (1990). His first television play Dread Poets Society, was first screened by the BBC in 1991. His play Hurricane Dub was one of the winners of the BBC Young Playwrights Festival Award in 1998, and his stage plays have been performed at the Riverside Studios in London, at the Hay-on-Wye Literature Festival and on television. His radio play Listen to Your Parents, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000, won the Commission for Racial Equality Race in the Media Radio Drama Award and has been adapted for the stage, first performed by Roundabout, Nottingham Playhouse’s Theatre in Education Company, in September 2002.

Prizes and awards that Zephaniah has won

1988   BBC Young Playwrights Festival Award Hurricane Dub

2001   Commission for Racial Equality Race in the Media Radio Drama Award Listen to Your Parents

2002   Portsmouth Book Award (Longer Novel category) Refugee Boy

2005   British Book Awards Decibel Writer of the Year (shortlist)

2006   Manchester Book Award (shortlist)   Gangsta Rap

You will have a chance to meet and talk with Benjamin Zephaniah at the Storymoja Hay Festival 2010.

Find out more about Zephaniah at his website

Joanne is 15 years old. She is a Form 2 student at Precious Blood Secondary School. She recently went to Hay-on-Wye, in the UK, to attend the Guradian Hay Festival. The trip was as a result of winning The Storymoja Hay Festival Storytelling Competition with her story about conforming to technology.

Joanne telling her winning story at the SHFK 2009

When I asked her about herself, she told me:

“Joanne is your basic average girl who has a touch of uniqueness in her, a pinch of serenity in her actions, and a dose of finality in her speech, sounds like something from a fortune cookie so I’ll make it a bit more real.

Joanne is a noisy and talkative girl who is apparently funny. [I have learnt to take being humorous as a complement though I am not aware of its extent or confines considering that when I crack a joke intentionally people don’t laugh.]

I like hanging out with friends and family. I am a proud born-again Christian. I enjoy listening to music, watching movies, singing [I agree I do not sound like Beyonce and the like but I don’t crack glasses or drop chandeliers either, so on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give myself a 7]. I love talking, on just about anything to just about anyone but I enjoy the company of silence once in a while.

I am rational most of the time. I think deeply about matters being overlooked andtry to make sense of thing s. I like school as it is my gateway to knowledge. I want to study Law after High School.  I believe that God does not need a well known institution to make you who you need to be.

The Guardian Hay Festival was a great experience for me and I hope you’ll enjoy reading about it. I was able to see the even greater importance of reading not only for Academic purposes but also for entertainment and relaxation.

One thing I’ve learnt from this great Storymoja experience is that opportunities have their way of knocking at your door it’s just up to you to go for it. I’d like to encourage anyone and everyone who reads this to put their best foot forward at all times and to always do your best everytime. It’s never too late or even too early to achieve in what you know best. Always trust and believe in God, He never disappoints!”

Muthoni Garland of Storymoja congratulating Joanne after she won the storytelling contest.

To read about Joanne’s experience at the Guardian Festival click on the links below.

Nervous to the Airport

Throught Heathrow into Hay-on- Wye

Made for TV

6th June 2010

Beautiful Sunday morning as usual the sun is up as early. Due to the previous late night I really did not want to get up immediately… maybe a few more winks? Maybe not…I definitely wanted to see more of the Festival.

Actually most of the festival was over since it was the last day of the great 10 day relay of events. A quick warm shower, then breakfast did the trick for both Muthoni and I. We then walked to the festival which was only 10 minutes away from the hotel. We were clearly not the only ones with a longing for the final day as a slightly larger number of people than the previous day had come to mark the final day [I'd like to believe they were not trying to dodge Sunday Mass]. We got our tickets and we got set for another day of wowing!!!

My day began at 11:30 with a session about voodoo stories and conspiracy theories by David Aaronovitch who made me believe that conspiracies are many and quite deceiving! That session was quite an eye opener.

Next I went to the Sky Arts Studio for The Book Show at Hay and I am proud to say that I was on TV… maybe it’s a sign that am bound for telecasting, you can never know! Here I watched authors being interviewed including Sarah Dunant a famous author and news presenter. After the session I was quite decided on buying her books, which I did. Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant is a must read!

Much later into the day I went for another session by two great Zimbabwean poets who really impressed me. They performed some of their work which really entertained me. I was very pleased to be in that session just to hear how such beautiful work can come from unfriendly backgrounds and situations.

By the end of the sessions I was getting rather cold but nevertheless I decided to have some ice-cream. That indeed was a tasty decision! Once again the day had come to an end, and I had even more encouragement to read more so as to be enlightened!

Now it was time to go back home.

5th June 2010

After the 8hr flight I was finally in the United Kingdom, at Heathrow Airport. It was a little bit hard to believe considering I’d been asleep most of the flight. I thought maybe I was getting delirious.

The landing of the plane made my arrival more factual than imaginary. I also had to reset my watch which was 3hrs ahead , Kenyan time. I must say that Heathrow Airport beat my expectation. Having only Jomo Kenyatta International Airport [which is also big in its own right] in mind you could say that my imagination was quite limited in regard to my expectation of Heathrow Airport.

As it turns out Heathrow is much larger and more spacious than JKIA. It is made up of more storeys in comparison and it is more developed in terms of technology. Just to get to my luggage Muthoni and I had to take 2 or so escalators and 3 more to get to the trains that were to take us out of the airport!

Apparently, it is easier to get around London using a train than any other form of transport. Trains here are faster and more advanced. Also railway lines are more direct thus chances of getting lost are less. I found this out because we used an underground electric train to get out of the airport, we also took another one only it was over ground but equally fast. This to me was marvellous and quite memorable.

One of the limitations of railway transport is that rails are not accessible everywhere therefore complementary means of transport have to be used. In our case we resorted to using a taxi to get to the flat we were staying in so as prepare for the next half of our journey.

This short taxi made it clear to me that not only was London a huge and beautiful city but also a densely populated one! It is full of busy people going about their duties and enjoying the sunlight which is quite a rare commodity. But it is during the summer solstice where the sun is overhead the tropic of Cancer [I do not mean to brag of my geographical knowledge just thought I'd share a little bit of what I call basic understanding].

After a few minutes, exactly 45 minutes we were ready to begin the other half of our journey which was from London to Hereford by train, then to Hay-on-Wye in Wales by car. Hay-on Wye is where the Hay Festival is being held. Before the journey we decided to have some breakfast at the legendary McDonalds. For me that just ascertained that dreams do come true [fast foods are part of a teenager’s main things so don’t look at me like that].  I was more than delighted to partake of that breakfast!!!!

After a 3hr train ride we had finally arrived at Hereford. We were driven to Hay-on-Wye, the town where the festival was being held. I was more than dumbfounded maybe even tongue-tied by what I saw! Other than the roads being smooth ,the town itself was remarkably small! How could such a small town host such a huge event for 10 days concurrently?!

Hay also has 38 book shops for only approximately 1500 people!!!!!!! Now to me those are people who love reading. The festival is all about books!! Different authors had come to discuss their books. The likes of Sue Townsend and Yaan Martel[ author of Life Of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil]were all present and the sessions were all very interesting. I enjoyed myself fully and was encouraged to read more, and maybe, just maybe, I may impact as many people as these authors did through there writing. By the end of these sessions jet lag was catching up with me.

But before the end of the day we went to an Author’s party where authors were to relax and while the night away. Here I was able to make a couple of friends who I was able to talk to for a while before we left. Muthoni and I went to the Swan Hotel where we were to spend the two nights we were in Hay. That was one memorable first day!

4th of June 2010

After a hectic day of going up and down searching for what I may need during the trip, I had finally finished and it was time to go to the airport. My mother looked more nervous than I felt ; she kept on urging me to hurry up! I understood, she did want me to get late.

Living on the farthest end of Thika road doesn’t make life any easier. The fact it is being reconstructed make it even worse! Our journey to the airport wasn’t much fun, that’s for sure. The tedious traffic jam and chaotic Matatus along the road, made me very worried that we wouldn’t make it. I was more than glad when we reached the airport where Mrs Muthoni Garland the director of Storymoja was anxiously waiting for me.

After exchanging formalities my parents had to leave, entrusting me to Muthoni. After a few inspections we were through Customs and were waiting for our flight. I decided to take a stroll in the busy airport just to calm nerves. I’ve never been outside Kenya before. The place was packed full of people, especially at the terminal for flights going to Dubai. But it didn’t look like any Kenyan was in the waiting line at that particular terminal.

Time seemed to fly, and soon our flight was called. Muthoni and I went through a couple more of inspections before we could even smell the aeroplane!! Then we went through a couple more to ensure that even the 100 gram toothpaste in our bags was not a tool for terrorism; it’s standard procedure!!

Finally we were on the plain waiting for departure. The stewards were very kind and patient; showing us where to sit and answering all sorts of questions from the various parties in the plane! Their kind of job requires a lot of patience, I realised. As soon as we had settled and they had shown us basic safety measures in case of an emergency landing we were ready for take off, my favourite part of the whole flight!

But I could hardly keep my eyes open for long. It was 11pm when we took off, way past my bed time!!!

Review by Edwin Mokaya

If I had to write about this musical in one word, I’d say –ITWASTHEBESTMUSICALEVER! From the title, there is no doubt that the director and cast of the musical had a tall order, first to create the matatu, and then to create a sea for it to drive into. And they managed both tasks superbly.

I attended the show on Sunday, 16th of May 2010 at Sarakasi Dome in Ngara, Nairobi. And like at every Storymoja event, there was the Storymoja bookstand, the Storymoja banners, and smiling Storymoja staff to welcome me at the entrance. I walked into the theatre, and found not a stage but a sea. The transformation made me feel like I was underwater somewhere deep in the ocean.

The story involves a matatu driver, Rasta Driver (Joshua Ogutu Moraya), who sees an opportunity to establish a thriving transportation business underwater. And so he plunges his matatu into the sea, against the advice of the KWS warden (Valentine Wambui Kamau). He gets a sidekick, Octopus the conductor, who is the biggest and scariest octopus I’ve ever seen. His mere sight makes the fish scuttle in fear. You would be tempted to think he actually is a matatu conductor in real life. But he is a musician with a band called Inyamumbo, and his name is Moses Akati.

Click on Image strip to see all Pics

The octopus conductor manages to get the fish on board the matatu, pretty much by forcing them. The passengers are three angelfish (Catherine, Irene and Sandra), a crab (Rachael – who, my goodness, can rap like no one’s business), a parrotfish (Benson), a tiny goby (Jaimy), a sting ray (Emily), a puffer fish (Hamza), an eel (Ronie), an emperor fish (Ronie) and a snail (Moira).

The three angelfish are going to an international beauty pageant. And right in the middle of everything, they started quarrelling about who was the prettiest among the three. Of course they were all pretty and glittering, and they danced so well I almost got up and joined them.

Mixing an adult cast with a cast of extremely talented youngsters was an excellent move. Woi, those kids from Arya Primary School stole my heart, especially the turtle, in his yellow-card tracks and shell on his back. That was as close to a turtle as anyone could be. Vincent was laid back, with an absent-minded look on his face, and his movements were slow, just like a turtle’s, as if he was in another dimension all together.

This musical was full of life and rhymes, and it flowed smoothly from one scene to the next, and the next. “Do you think I came to this adventure to slowly rush?” is a question Rasta Driver poised to some fish that had the audacity to ask him to slow down.

I loved the bits of information sprinkled throughout the performance. For example, the KWS warden told us that ninety percent of liquid on earth is salty seawater. I didn’t know that!

Rasta Driver and his Octopus counterpart oppressed the fish for a while, but then a shark came! Swift and ferocious he was. Rasta Driver cried, “Heeelp!” But even the audience booed him. He started crying, got on his knees and promised to respect the sea and its creatures.

What I also appreciated is that the cast did not forget they were in the sea. Often a fish would float past, just as they do underwater, with no cue or purpose, I presume, other than to simply float. Again, there is one word to describe the set, the music and the acting: colourful.

I asked Keith Pearson, the show’s director, what it was like working with a cast that included children. His answer: He had mad fun. “They were always full of energy,” he said.

Lilian Amimo Olembo, the choreographer and production manager said, “Putting together the show was fantastic. I enjoyed it and would like to continue. I would like to see Matatu from Watamu go international. However, money was a challenge. Staging a musical is expensive, with the creation of the set, music, etc. But I loved it and I’m happy we pulled through.”

“What is the inspiration behind this musical?” I asked Muthoni Garland, writer of the script. She said that the genesis of the story came about when she turned 40 and as a birthday treat, her husband took her snorkeling in Watamu. Yes, she is very much a Kenyan, thank you, she said, and she scuba dived in Watamu, which by the way is in Kenya.

I admit I didn’t know such a sport existed in this beautiful country of ours.  So our Muthoni wore that gear we pretty much only see on telly, and went underwater! And there she saw this new awesome world of sea creatures: turtles, angelfish, crabs, sting ray, you name them, they were there.  And viola! The inspiration for The Matatu from Watamu Drove into the Sea! I too should be taken scuba diving for my birthday. (Sweetie, I hope you read this; scuba diving next time!) Kudos to Storymoja and the whole team behind the show!

“Under the sea a matatu can be free – to be a money-making machine,” sings Rasta Driver in StoryHippo’s first children’s musical, The Matatu from Watamu that Drove into the Sea. This intriguing business idea provides a great opportunity for talented actors and kids to play around with jokes about Kenyan culture and a colourful array of singing, dancing aquatic characters.

When Rasta Driver decides that “we can’t have fish swimming for free when they can ride in a ma-three”, he hires the spooky, robotic-faced Octopus Tout to “shout at them and shove them in”. It is your typical Kenyan matatu, complete with pirated DVDs of the Kleptomaniacs and a complete disregard for speed limits. Children’s eyes follow the silver octopus around the auditorium, giggling madly when he is sprayed with foam by an irate passenger, a clam. Meanwhile, the KWS marine park warden struggles to restore sanity to the ocean and remind everyone of the importance of conserving our national heritage.

The play was staged at the Sarakasi Dome on the 14th and 15th of May. It was directed by Keith Pearson of The Theatre Company, with choreography by Amimo Olembo and a catchy soundtrack by David Ohingo and Sakata Media. The play is written by Muthoni Muchemi. But the real stars of the show are the children from the Pangani-Ngara area of Nairobi who make the stage swim with movement and colour. They included a red break-dancing crab, three shimmering golden Angel Fish and a gangster-style black puffer fish, complete with shell necklaces and dark glasses. The kids, who otherwise might not have had the chance take part in such a performance, clearly learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

This show teaches kids and adults about the fascinating and varied creatures in the Indian Ocean in a way that is fun, funny and entertaining. Once kids know all about the richness of our seas, they will have a greater interest in conserving this rich but endangered heritage.

The Matatu from Watamu that Drove into the Sea will be published by Storyhippo in August with a sing-along CD. Storyhippo is the children’s books imprint of Storymoja. Further performances are planned for late 2010.

“It was a great play. I liked the young cast,” Catherine Butaki.

“I want to see every show,” Imani Migiro, age 6.

Written by Katy Migiro.

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Click on image to see more pictures from the Musical

“Hello I am Betty Muragori.”

“Hello, I am John, and I am Luo!”

This happened to the poet Sitawa Namwalie in America when she excitedly greeted another Kenyan she met for the first time. She asked him why he had bothered to mention his tribe and he answered that she introduced herself with her tribe and that’s why he did the same. He had heard “Maragoli”, a Luyha sub-tribe instead of “Muragori.”

This is how Sitawa Namwalie began the “Cut off My Tongue” public performance and discussion by Storymoja held on the 26th January at Dass Restaurant in Westlands.

The poetry production based on her collection of poetry has been staged at different venues in Nairobi since July 2008. So far there have been over 20 performances in Kenya, and it even went international: for a staging last May at the Hay Festival in the UK and theatres in London.

‘Cut Off My Tongue’ is a one-of-a-kind show that incorporates spoken narrative, music, dance and movement. The show addresses contemporary issues in Kenya such as the above-mentioned sensitive topic of ethnicity, as well as corruption, colonialism, love, and identity. Individual poems form interrelated stories that explore different aspects of life from universal themes to more intimate recollections.

The performance gave a convincing account of how we Kenyans don’t accept that we are ‘tribalist’, and yet we talk about what percentage of ‘our’ people are in cabinet, what percentage in our place of work and in other sectors.  It delves into how we Kenyans blame our bad habits on colonialists and refuse to accept responsibility for our three main vices: Tusker Lager, women and land. Well, the colonialists don’t escape fault either. They are the ones who taught us the importance of land, Sitawa says: “the irrational passion that we kill for.”

The poems also mock our “Commission of Enquiry” tradition, and our leaders who use words carelessly and later talk about being ‘mis-quoted’. One heavily satirical piece shows how we are so used to dis-service from public officials that when we get good service we get utterly shocked. Sitawa comments on Kenyans’ silence even when our land is grabbed, when our leaders lie, and our people starve and die.

And why do we still maintain foreign traditions? The poems force us to ask ourselves. Like names, why don’t we use our African names? Do we first have to go abroad and get in touch with our “African-ness”? Sitawa argues that since we have lost our names, we have lost our identity, and thus lost our history.

The other lively part of the evening was the discussion that followed the performance. A lady in a pink top told of how Kenyans get surprised when she uses her African name because they are used to certain common African names like Muthoni, Njeri and Adhiambo. “Beautiful names exist in the country and they are yet to be discovered,” she said. She and Sitawa both shared the experience of having people think their names are South or West African because they are not used to hearing Kenyan names.

A young woman seated at the front challenged Sitawa and Storymoja to stage the performance in many other places in Kenya, especially areas that were greatly affected by the 2007-08 post-election violence. She argued that “Cut Off My Tongue” should be staged for the economically disadvantaged who, in her opinion, are more gullible, easily swayed by the politicians, and who executed most of the violence.

However, a young man seated near her disagreed. “Maybe we the ‘educated’ did not pick a panga and kill someone, but it was the upper classes that financed the violence” he said.

An elderly lady named Nyabonyi agreed with the young man, saying at her age she held tribal stereotypes, even against her friends, and yet she was very educated and mature. “The hate was very strong at that time and we are all guilty.” She added: “For little gain we compromised our values!”

“How about showing it to the politicians?”  A serious lady in loop earrings asked. A young man in a black suit agreed. He said he found the show to be very informative and entertaining but he would have loved to see what happened in 2007 from both sides of the issue. “Yes there was violence, but it happened because of a flawed election!” he argued. “The violence also happened across the board and not just in Rift Valley.”

There were also calls to stage the performance in vernacular to reach all audiences, as the message is important. Sitawa assured us that there are plans to have the book translated into Kiswahili soon.

The crowd was not all Kenyan; an Ethiopian lady urged Kenyans to be positive about their achievements. She said there are some countries where you cannot write or perform such candid poetry and live to see another verse. “We are not all guilty of tribe,” she added. “Tribe can be looked at positively, for example, the poems about names.”

Sitawa agreed and said that in the 80’s, Kenyans were not allowed to criticize their government in any way and thus we should celebrate the democratic space we are in.

Kalahari, an internet-based sales company, dubbed the “Amazon of Africa”, sponsored the performance.

The “Cut Of My Tongue” cast includes the poet Sitawa Namwalie, better known as Betty Wamalwa Muragori. When not writing poetry, she is a consultant on development, gender and environmental issues. Other cast members are Muthoni Garland (who does a hilarious rendition of a female politician), Ogutu Muraya, Shan Bartley, and Lilian Amimo Olembo, who also is also the choreographer. They were accompanied by a drummer and flute-player.

A bespectacled guy praised Storymoja for the production, which he said was a mirror for our society. He urged us to continue the good work, which we definitely will. Every last Thursday of every month Storymoja will have a similar thought-provoking event at Dass. Next month we are planning an exciting evening of story telling, so be there! Watch this space for details.

Cut off my Tongue on stage