Conversations and Interviews
The following Conversations and Interviews, drawn from the Ituĩka workshop on Literary Translation and Creative Writing, is our documentation of the work that happened in Naivasha on the 11th and 12 of November 2021. The workshop was first of its kind to focus explicitly on Kenyan languages other than English and Kiswahili. To remember this important and defining event in Kenyan literary ecology, we share the sessions, conversations, and interviews as an archival project for remembrance and research.
Assimilation among African Languages. Karimi Nyaga reflects #Ituika
Doreen Karimi Nyaga looks at the challenge of assimilation of African languages spoken by fewer people into the widely spoken languages around them. In her case, she has been actively ...promoting Kiembu language through writing and translation, and hoping that more writers do the same so that its not assimilated into the Gikuyu widely spoken around them.[+] Show More

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Assimilation among African Languages. Karimi Nyaga reflects #Ituika
Doreen Karimi Nyaga looks at the challenge of assimilation of African [...]
Doreen Karimi Nyaga looks at the challenge of assimilation of African languages spoken by fewer people into the widely spoken languages around them. In her case, she has been actively ...promoting Kiembu language through writing and translation, and hoping that more writers do the same so that its not assimilated into the Gikuyu widely spoken around them.[+] Show More

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We are rich in our African Languages and we can do great things with them. Peter Mburu reflects.
Dr. Peter Mburu Kuria has done extensive work in Gikuyu orthography [...]
Dr. Peter Mburu Kuria has done extensive work in Gikuyu orthography and phonology. He has written in Gikuyu since he was young and has continued to encourage others to do ...so. In his reflection of the workshop, he also explains what Ituĩka means in the Gikuyu language: as a concept of passing the button from one generation to the other. He sees the work of the Ituĩka Literary Platform as a move from the neglect of our languages to taking them back and owning them. To recognize that we are rich in our African languages, and we can do things with them.[+] Show More

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Self-discovery while translating in African Languages - John Titi Namai reflects. #ItuĩkaWorkshop
John Titi Namai reflects on his first attempts to translate into his [...]
John Titi Namai reflects on his first attempts to translate into his mother-tongue, Kinyala. Being among other translators and writers in Kenyan African languages at the Ituĩka workshop became a ...process of self-discovery in his creative pursuits, especially since he was using Kinyala for the first time. He also reflects on the challenge of navigating the different dialects of the Luhya language when it comes to identifying the correct use of words and phrases.[+] Show More

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The importance of exemplars in African language writing - Kefah Onchanga reflects. #ItuikaWorkshop
Kefah Onchaga, who wrote in Kiswahili and subsequently translated his [...]
Kefah Onchaga, who wrote in Kiswahili and subsequently translated his story into Ekegusii and English, speaks about the importance of following the example others have set in writing in African ...languages, while also paving your own way and determining your own destiny in literary work. Among his influences include Pauline Kea and Wallah Bin Wallah among others.[+] Show More

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Publishing in Ekegusii - what are the limits? Georginah Nyatichi Makini reflects.
Georginah Nyatichi Makini, who is a pursuing a PhD in Kiswahili and [...]
Georginah Nyatichi Makini, who is a pursuing a PhD in Kiswahili and taking steps to write more in her mother tongue, Ekegusii, reflects on the importance of first language publishing.

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On writing and translating into Kikamba - Paul Nganga reflects on the Ituĩka workshop
Paul Nganga reflects on his experience at the Ituĩka Writing and [...]
Paul Nganga reflects on his experience at the Ituĩka Writing and Translation Workshop. He challenges writers, readers and publishers to look at African Languages beyond use for schools alone.

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Sahara Abdi on the challenge of translating from Somali to English - - The Ituĩka Workshop
Sahara Abdi, who wrote in Somali and will translate into English and [...]
Sahara Abdi, who wrote in Somali and will translate into English and Kiswahili, reflects on storytelling in Somali and the challenges that come with translating from her mother tongue into ...another language, such as English. She challenges writers to keep practicing and writing in their mother tongues if they are to gain proficiency in their own languages.[+] Show More

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Bonface Nyamweya on the Interaction between African Languages - The Ituĩka Workshop
In this interview from the Ituĩka Writing and Translation Workshop, [...]
In this interview from the Ituĩka Writing and Translation Workshop, Bonface Nyamweya reflects on the issue of interaction between African Languages and other questions on writing and translation between Kenyan ...languages. His contribution to the anthology will be in Ekegusii.[+] Show More

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Dr Doseline Kiguru on Literary Activism in Sub-Saharan Africa - The Ituika Workshop
Dr. Doseline Kiguru put the Ituika workshop in context of the larger [...]
Dr. Doseline Kiguru put the Ituika workshop in context of the larger research project led by Prof Madhu Krishnan at the University of Bristol. Dr. Kiguru's research focus is on ...East Africa, and she looks at Activism from two main perspectives: 1. Activism from the text itself, in terms of what its talking about, and its role in literary Activism with a given social cultural context. 2. The Platforms that host literature, and how they are a form of literary Activism.[+] Show More

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Introductory Session - The Inaugural Ituika Writing & Translation Workshop
In this introductory session, participants of the Ituika Writing and [...]
In this introductory session, participants of the Ituika Writing and Translation workshop introduced themselves and the work that they do.

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Challenges and Opportunities - Ituĩka Writing and Translation Workshop
The participants of the inaugural Ituĩka Writing and Translation [...]
The participants of the inaugural Ituĩka Writing and Translation Workshop shared the challenges they faced while writing in their languages, and how they subsequently navigated these while translating ...their stories. In this highly interactive session, they also spoke about what they learned by working in African languages.[+] Show More

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Prof Mukoma Wa Ngugi on the craft of writing - Ituĩka writing and Translation Workshop
Prof Mukoma wa Ngugi's interest in writing in African languages and [...]
Prof Mukoma wa Ngugi's interest in writing in African languages and translation is best captured in his critically acclaimed book - The Rise of the African Novel: Politics of Language, ...Identity and Ownership. For the Ituĩka writing and Translation Workshop, he shared ideas on the creative process and the broader issues of language and translation. This interactive session helped the participants to think through originating good story with strong characterization, dialogue, description, conflict resolution and other aspects of creative writing.[+] Show More
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