NAIROBI STAGED READING OF SHAILJA PATEL’S BWAGAMOYO (THE FATHER): PART II OF MIGRITUDE
PEN International Kenya Chapter and Wasanii Literary Nights Present:
SHAILJA PATEL
Award-winning poet, playwright, theatre artist, and activist
in a staged reading of:
BWAGAMOYO (The Father) : Part II of MIGRITUDE
Special Guest Actor: MUSIRA
What do Samuel Kivuitu’s neck, Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s ribcage, William Ruto’s abdomen, and the hands of a Nairobi “grease monkey” all have in common?
Shailja Patel takes us on a poetic journey, from colonial Zanzibar to Kenya’s post-election violence, by way of the male body.
A powerful, heartbreaking, hilarious exploration of how patriots become patriarchs, muscles queered break down masculinities, and daughters confront fathers.
An anthemic call for a new generation of Kenyans to reconnect gut to heart to voice.
To challenge icons and claim our own power.
To sing ourselves back from our violent histories to new ways of knowing and living the truth.
This reading is dedicated to Bantu Mwaura (1969 – 2009). Brother, friend, truth teller. Mourned and deeply missed.
“Shailja Patel brings out what it means to be a woman in Empire”
–San Francisco Chronicle
“one-woman poetic explosion”
–SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation)
“sets her audience on a collision course with what they know and how they learned it. Stunning and politically charged theatre that will leave you moved, awakened, angry…inspired.”
–Daily Nation, Kenya
DATE: Thursday, July 9th
VENUE: Wasanii Restaurant, Kenya National Theatre
TIME: 7 PM
Followed by Discussion With Audience
Event is FREE, with voluntary contributions requested to Kenya PEN.
NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN
www.shailja.com
