FeedEpiphanie Mukasano's Kilimanjaro On My Lap Launched at Kalk Bay Books
Annemarie Hendrikz welcomed the guests who filled Kalk Bay Books on Thursday night to celebrate the launch of Epiphanie Mukasano’s Kilimanjaro On My Lap.
Hendrikz spoke on behalf of Anne Schuster, saying it was an honor to represent Dakini, a project established in memory of Margaret Legum, the writer, economist and political activist whose debut collection of poetry Learning to Saunter appeared shortly before her death in 2007.
Dakini (in Buddhist mythology, the Dakini are goddesses of life changing moments) aims to offer the opportunity of publishing a first collection to emerging women poets. Hendrikz said, “To the poet, both the act of creating poetry and the public display of her poems offer life changing moments; to the reader and the listener, the experience of poetry offers life changing moments.”
The Dakini project was conceived as an ongoing and inter-connected cycle of inspiration and generosity – and one which seeks to ensure that the poet herself gets support during the creative writing process and some financial recognition for her publication gift that stretches beyond the standard – small – percentage of royalties. The intention is that each ‘first collection’ re-invests half of the profits towards the next.
Gabeba Baderoon, who was scheduled to introduce the new collection, was unable to attend as she was “stuck in America” according to Hendrikz. The British Consulate had neither granted her a visa to travel via the UK nor had it released her passport for alternative arrangements. “Obviously poets are even more dangerous than we thought.”
Hendrikz relayed a message from Baderoon: “Anne is a guardian angel of writing who has created a space for very individual voices to flourish. As a reader and fellow writer, I am deeply grateful to her. Like everyone who loves her, I send her all my love and wishes for a full recovery.
She also shared Baderoon’s high praise for the collection: “Epiphanie writes with immense power as a poet. And she’s needed that power because of what she’s had to go through in order to live and write here. She has used writing to help make a new life, to grow roots, to create community, to shift people’s perspectives. She’s done a radical thing, writing from inside a marginalized point of view that is often dangerous, showing its complexity and losses, as well as its memories and resilience. Like all good writing, her work taught me how to see the world differently.”
Malika Ndlovu, of the Badilisha poetry exchange, and her bamboo rainstick welcomed Epiphanie Mukasano with a rousing salutation. She acknowledged the “great power and beauty of women owning their voice” as Mukasano had done in this collection.
After acknowledging the mentoring she’d received from Schuster and Baderoon, the poet read in a soft-spoken voice. Simple and elegant, the poetry records her experience under the adverse circumstances of life in Rwanda and the courage it takes to be “Counting My Blessings” as a refugee in a foreign city.
Kilimanjaro On My Lap is available from Kalk Bay Books, Clarke’s Bookshop, Long Street, and from Anne Schuster.
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Book details
- Kilimanjaro on My Lap by Epiphanie Mukasano
EAN: 9780620461535
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Aug
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