Talking Tales

Description

In Talking Tales a variety of women tell their stories in prose and poetry. They cast their nets wide, hauling in themes that celebrate as much as they castigate and mourn. There is the delight of discovering oneself on the cusp of womanhood, and of hearing about success in the fight for women's emancipation. There is also the wonder at the restorative power of love. However, the murkier side of human life is explored too: the failed search for love, unwanted advances, misunderstood affinities, incest, betrayal, disillusionment, unfruitful enterprise, domestic violence, corruption, brutality, injustice, the capriciousness of fortune...The realistic, the near-fantastic and the bizarre all find their place here. The themes are handled with forthrightness and humour as the writers take full advantage of the possibilities inherent in the different ways of telling tales: poetic, epistolary, expository, and straightforward narrative.

Sujets

• Collection
• Collections

Informations

• Publié par: Femrite Publications
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789970480029
• Langue: English

Extrait

Talking Tales
Edited by
Violet Barungi
FEMRITE PUBLICATIONS LIMITED
KAMPALA
FEMRITE PUBLICATIONS LIMITED
P.O. Box 705, Kampala
Tel: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
www.femriteug.org
Copyright FEMRITE Uganda Women Writers Association 2009
First Published 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission of FEMRITE.
ISBN 978-9970-700-21-9
Printed by:
Good News Printing Press Ltd.
Plot 11/13 Nasser Lane Opp. Railways Goodshed
P.O. Box 21228 Kampala, Uganda
Tel: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Contents
A Brush with Death
Goretti Bukombi
Paddling
Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva
Tales from Mombasa
Constance Obonyo
Just a Note
Lillian Tindyebwa
Bloody Victory
Sylvia Kankunda
Fate s Unpleasant Ride
Laura Byaruhanga
Monica the Rebel Nun
Winnie Munyarugyerero
Making Ends Meet
Hilda Twongyeirwe
Singing for the Queen
Patricia Olwoch
Deadly Slumber
Bananuka Jocelyn Ekochu
1000 hrs
Patricia Olwoch
Afraid of My Love
Violet Barungi
It is Never Just a Name
Jennifer Okech
Search for Kato
Barbara Oketta
Kekeyu
Philo Nabweru
My World yet Not My Own
Pricilla Rwandarugali
Warped Justice
Edna Namara
Yesterday s Heroes
Rose Rwakasisi
Village Queen
Beatrice Lamwaka
My First Kiss
Grace Atuhaire
Poetry
Introduction
Before you is Talking Tales, a collection of works fom the FEMRITE workshops held in Kampala, Uganda in January 2009. I had the honor of working with the women of this important organization as they crafted many of the fine pieces you have before you. The women whose work appears in this anthology represent the diversity and richness of modern-day Ugandan experience. Their creative work is diverse and individual as their faces.
One of the most remarkable aspects of FEMRITE is the emphasis on inter-generational communication and collaboration. The senior women of FEMRITE preserve on paper their memories of life before, during, and after the battle for independence, while the younger members-heirs to this struggle-document their reality. The result is a kaleidoscopic, panoramic view of a vital and rich culture as seen through the eyes of a remarkable coalition of women.
Here you will find works on subjects that are deeply personal as the workings of the body to poems that engage the ideas of major philosophers and leaders. Here, the personal is political and the political is human. This is art for the sake of art and for the sake of humanity.
I invite you to open this collection and enter a world within these women s worlds. Invite your senses and your mind to engage with the beauty of imagination and the searing ideas contained within. With the three genres of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, the women of FEMRITE let the world know that the future has arrived.
Tayari Jones
Assistant Professor
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Rutgers-Newark University
A Brush with Death
By Gorretti Bukombi
I don t know how I had tiptoed into this magnificent palace. I felt like Alice in Wonderland, not knowing exactly where I was, and yet enjoying a glimpse of the splendour of the heavenly endowments. Everywhere I turned, I was scorched by the sparkling and glittering of the diamonds which had been lavishly splashed all over the place. Some of the diamonds formed canopies like plants and trees in the forest. The dazzling light made me dizzy, resulting in my feeling like I was going crazy. It also blinded my vision to all other things.
Suddenly, all knowledge from the Sovereign and Majestic Throne streamed through me like water. Though I could not see this Seat of Honour because it had been obscured by the blast of light which looked like an endless garment, it was clear to me as Gospel truth that the Seat of Power indeed existed here. It was the source and the centre of everything that happened, and the focal point of every soul that existed in the palace.
Intense light and wave-like radiations kept on whacking me like water, as if it were some kind of ritual to elevate me to the required standard. Before I could understand what was going on, to my great amazement, I saw my whole life displayed on a screen; nothing was hidden and nothing was left out. It was like a movie, scene after scene they came and went. I felt as transparent as glass and yet at the same time, I was feeling like a feather hanging in space.
Fortunately, I did not need the Professor of Geography or Ecology to give me any lecture about my location because the knowledge of the Ultimate Reality of the Presence of God automatically flowed through my veins like blood. I uttered no word for my lips had been glued together by the glamour and splendour of what was in my midst, and the consequent revelation of who I truly was. I had never imagined, not even once, that I was a child of such a mighty King nor that I belonged to such a great Kingdom. Nor had I ever correctly estimated my value to the One who made me. It was a day of surprises for me to know how much I was loved and treasured, to know how much I owned, and where I truly belonged.
The Father s love was so abundant that it engulfed me like an amoeba. There was a lot of joy and excitement in the air. A sweet but faint classical kind of music kept on blowing in like an evening breeze. I knew without any doubt that I was home. I comfortably settled in a seat that had been reserved for me, and fitted in it perfectly. I heaved a sigh of relief like a traveller who had finally reached his destination and was finding rest at last after a very long journey. Righteousness was the most outstanding impression of this place, and peace; the peace that surpasses all human understanding was governing every activity. Like a dove arriving in a new nest, I fidgeted with myself in finding my balance on the new planet. Positioning myself like a senior citizen who had just received his retirement benefits, I calmed myself, and started to partake of the splendour and glory, which was just the beginning of more pleasurable things to come in this land that flowed with milk and honey.
I had just never seen anything like it in my whole life! It was so much beyond imagination that it felt like fiction. It was shining so brilliantly, so sparklingly and so dazzlingly that I got totally overwhelmed. The deep overpowering impression the light left on me made me feel as if I was drunk. In addition to the light, there was a kind of magical grip on things in the entire palace; there was unmistakable power that magnetically kept everything in place. I also noticed a unique system that ensured everything was orderly and perfect to the highest standard. I marvelled at the tight scrutiny and the strong control systems that were in operation.
I felt like a bird, as I realised that I was actually soaring around in space. I got puzzled at first, but it quickly dawned on me that the burden of my body had been eliminated from me. I neither saw nor felt my body anywhere near me. I was operating in a completely new and strange dimension. Although I was aware of what was happening in the palace, I realised that the information and the knowledge I got did not come to me through any of my senses. I do not recall that I saw anything, using my eyes, let alone hearing by my ears. It was quite amazing, but I was aware of everything I needed to know! This amazing place was dominated by the Light, and the loving effect emanating from it. Surprisingly, the place was homely, interesting and endowed with heavenly angelic activities.
Lots of people , who appeared to have many similarities with one another, filled the huge hall to capacity. In fact it appeared crowded but no one looked uncomfortable or unhappy. I did not recognise anyone I knew, but we all seemed to be mysteriously connected with each other. In oneness, we were all focused on the Light, and the major activity we were all engaged in was worship and praise. We were excited to be there, enjoying the love, peace and the wonder that we found ourselves immersed in. There was no doubt that this was the place of perfect peace and rest. I personally felt an extreme sense of relief from some huge burden that had been pressing me down, though it was not immediately clear what that burden was. There were no troubles here, no worries and no pressures. I do not remember wanting or needing anything while I was in this strange place. I just felt free, whole and fulfilled. I cannot remember how I had got to this place in the first place, how long I stayed there, or how I left it, but for sure, I knew that I missed it after I had left.
The next adventurous episode I remember was when I was flying in the ceiling of a building, and then I peeped at my body below me, lying motionless on a bed! I even recognised the clothes I had put on that day. However, I did not feel bothered by what I saw. As I kept on flying around in that boundless space, as that seemed to be my only preoccupation at the time, I kept seeing this body, but I was like a spectator, just looking at it from above. As far as I was concerned, I had no problem with myself at all. The real me was up there, in perfect health and, in fact, feeling just so great! I had never felt finer than I did at that time. I was so overjoyed, so energetic and felt so empowered that I just continued to enjoy myself, zooming around in space like