Gaborone to Nairobi: Literary feasts rule the land

I CANNOT recall who said seven days without reading a good book makes one weak! The author is not the issue here but the substance of what was said. In days gone by, individuals moved from physical sites to another in search of facts and what catches their fancies. In the case of yours sincerely, moving from one website to another is what gives me pleasure and I hope you will find a few treasures on this page.
This week the website of the Gaborone Book Festival is our first port of call. Did I hear anyone ask where Gaborone is? That is easy it is the capital of Botswana, the land of nature’s splendor and adorable people.
Now that you know where Gaborone is located, you may be right to ask why another book festival on the continent of Africa where the myth says citizens are too tied down to read.  The organisers of the yearly festival informed browsers that the main reason setting up the Book festival is to “encourage and inspire people of all ages in Gaborone and beyond to read and share the transformative power of reading.”
To the organisers taking up a book is not only for passing examinations but that the art of reading is part of “essential life skills needed at any point in one’s life.” To a troubled mind, this objective may bring out more questions like how essential a life skill is reading for people who live in Lagos or Abuja? No need to get started on the living conditions that make reading a pleasure.
Let us focus on Gaborone, Botswana where it is said in the 80s and 90s most men emigrate to South Africa, nine months in a year. Do not lay an egg; remember it is just a myth. So, what kind of serenity exists in Gaborone? I leave you to dig deeper.

THE Gaborone Book Festival, is in the third year running and takes place in the second week of September. This year it took palace from September 17 to 19. As a result of Covid-19 it was held virtually. It has as its theme “Changing Botswana and Africa one book at a time. Our time, Our stories.” The intention of the organisers is to “create sustainable platforms that will bring together readers, authors, publishers and thinkers together. At the moment none of these platforms exists especially book nights or a book festival in Gaborone.”
Now that a platform is set, up to inform and allow authors to perform their creativity let us observe how the Book festival faired. There are four pillars on which the festival stands; namely Book Nights, Monthly Book reviews, a yearlong school program. The annual Book festival featured local and other African authors. This three-day event had participants such as Phatsimo Ruele, an elite professional tennis player who authored “Passion and Purpose: Diary of A Christian Athlete,” Thabo Katlholo, Helon Habila, Gaongalelwe Tiro, Ompelege Moreosele, Itumele Garebatshabe, Dikatso Selemogwe, Nandi Manentsa, Botho Lejowa, Shubnum Khan, Outlwie Tsipane, Lorraine Sithole, Kane Motswana and Thalefang Charles. The Master of Ceremony was Cathy Malejane and the moderators were carefully selected.

The name Onkgopotse Tiro, a South African who was in exile in Botswana may not ring a bell in the heads of many people but he was assassinated in Botswana with a parcel bomb in the 1970s like Nigeria’s Dele Giwa in the 1980s, as a result of the apartheid regime. At the Book festival, his story was brought back to life by this nephew Gaongalelwe Tiro who has authored a book Parcel of Death: The Biography of Onkgopotse Abram Tiro. Ms. Lebogang Joan Pillar, an attorney who is also an avid reader led Tiro in the conversation.
On Day 2, the line-up explored Botswana’s emerging writing talents, the deep challenges that widowed black women endure, and intricate stories of immigrants. Listening to the heart rending stories from Unlimited Beginnings: Memoirs of women who defiled fate” edited by Nandi Manentsa and published by Red Soil Publishers makes words jump out of the pages Bonolo Phaladze was in conversation with Nandi Manentsa and Lorraine Sithole a literary activist.
A super engaging line-up that also included award winning Professor Helon Habila, he spoke about immigrants. The book chat on Day 2 was with Botho Lejowa and Ompelege Moreosele, a session that was moderated by Moitshepi Matsheng.
On the final day, mental health issues during a pandemic was tackled by Dikatso Selemogwe. The focus on Bessie Head a literary enigma who left South Africa during apartheid and set up a home in Serowe, Botswana was moderated by Priscillar Matara, who describes herself as a book lover, creative writer, journalist, entrepreneur, filmmaker and overall dreamer. The conversation explored the role the Bessie Head Trust in the literacy space in Botswana and globally.
As it is said all politics is local, the organisers included the role of Mogolokwane (ululation) in contemporary Setswana culture during Day 3. A very informative and joyful session which had 3 older women of Mogolokwane Association sharing their knowledge of the traditional practice. Ms. Lorato Modongo, a social psychologist moderated the session. Thalefang Charles, an author and travelholic and Kane Motswana, a highly experienced and talented tracker and guide discussed and shared their travel experiences in Botswana. The session moderator was Letlhogonolo Chris Moremi.
According to one of the participants, “Gaborone Book Festival never fails to deliver a wonderful experience with amazing panelists and conversations!! From the festival itself to the book nights, I always enjoy each experience. I cannot wait to join the virtual experience this year”.
The Festival was co-founded by Keikantse Phele, Kenanao Phele and Katlego Phele. Keikantse and Kenanao are also curators of the Festival. The co-founders continue to make strides by organising this event each year with dedication and passion. According to them, though the festival was virtual they believe that they will reach more audience since the event was on Live on Facebook and Zoom.
In an email exchange, one of the co-founders Ms. Keikantse phele, a Human Rights lawyer, with a focus on working with marginalised communities, expressed her feelings for the way the virtual conference went. She wrote, “[t]his year’s Festival though virtual attracted many followers and viewers on social media, which shows the power of social media as everyone is able to watch the live session or watch videos. The traction is great. The Festival was a success seeing that the conversations were thought provoking, deep, light and easy. We are also observing a growth of quality published books, as we featured three new young Batswana authors at the festival.”

Nairobi International Virtual Book Fair
COMING close on the heels of The Gaborone Book Festival is the Nairobi International Virtual Book Fair, September 24-26, 2020. The website has a list of 12 big names (never mind that Dr. Tom Odhiambo is listed twice!). Among notable participants are Raila Odinga, a former Prime Minster of Kenya and currently African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa; Lawrence Njagi, Chairperson of Kenya publishers association, his Vice, Simon Sossion; Professor Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, who needs no introduction.
If Professor Kitheka Wa Mberia needs introduction, it is because he is listed as an author and publisher. He was born 65 years ago and he is “is a prolific and innovative poet who writes in free verse. He often employs innovative graphic forms, playing with the visuality of poetry. Wa Mberia has published four poem collections: Mchezo wa Karata (1997), Bara Jingine (2001), Redio na Mwezi (2005) and Msimu wa Tisa (2007). His poems became the first Swahili poems to be dramatised at the Kenya National Theatre, in 1988.” I guess with that introduction you have a good idea of the good old professor.
To be sure that not all the speaker are locals, Hugo Seter, the president of International Publishers Association and Ms. Bodour Al Qasimi, the Vice President of the same association are also on the bill. Also on the bill is Samuel Kolawole, the President of the African publishers Network (APNET). The other female, Ms. CAS Maureen Mbaka, on the list is a Kenyan government official at the Ministry of ICT, innovation and Youth Affairs. The other government official is Dr. Julius-Jwan, he is the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Vocational and Technical Training.
Just in case you are wondering, what vocational and technical training got to do with a book fair, please let us share with you the journey of this technocrat. Prior to Dr. Julius Jwan’s appointment as a Principal Secretary( PS) in March 2020, he was Director/Chief Executive Officer at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). Previously, he worked as the Director – Programmes and Technical Services at the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC). Prior to joining the Commission, he was a senior lecturer at Moi University, a tutor at Kaimosi teachers’ college and a teacher at a secondary school. Can you now draw the connection? If not just, make sure you listen to him during the fair.
If the list of speakers look very impressive then you should visit the website to have a glimpse of the programme.

*Ade-Odutola, poet, culture activist, teaches at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA