The Storymoja Hay festival 2011 is the main thing on my mind this Friday as. As we wait to enjoy yet another weekend, the literary extravaganza that we saw in Nairobi over the last weekend past weekend still intrigues me. I haven't missed the Storymoja Hay Festival just yet although that isn't too much on achievement seeing as its only three years old. In previous years I have even run sessions; In 2009 I run a session on internet dating with very few people attending. Last year I was to run a session with John Kiriamiti (whose runaway best seller My life in Crime is set to become a feature film) which didn't quite pan out with logistical reasons. Our Facebook and love in the new generation with Stephen Musyoka and the #tobeanafrican twitter competition went pretty well.

This year I was not encumbered with any sessions so I could just enjoy the festival as a spectator. Well not really. The paper I work for was a sponsor for the gig and I needed to represent. My face was seen at the festival until some people were tired of seeing it (told you @bobbui).

I didn't seem to be at many of the sessions for some reason. I suppose I was enjoying the festival like I used to enjoy those Music and Drama festivals which is basically going around and showing my mug. I didn't really attend too many sessions. One with Ben Okri (it took me long enough to bring up his name. I have beef with this jamaa I bought his book – I still cant remember its title to this day - at Sarit and couldn't get past page 80. I had to give the bloody book away. Nkt) who was on “charm offensive defcon 10” where he read some of his work.

There was a rather nice poetry session with Sitawa Namwalie of "Cut off my tongue" and "Homecoming" and Yusef Komunyakaa he of the Pulitzer Prize winning poetry and name that has to be copy and pasted or there shall be typos. Their pieces were based on tumultuous times in the history; Sitawa concentrated on the euphoria after the rainbow revolution in 2002 and the madness after the election where everything went so wrong in 2007. Yusef (note how I have skirted the guys last name which is only beaten by Arsenals number one keeper at the moment) concentrated on the Vietnam war and Hurricane Katrina which are periods in US history the Americans would probably want to brush under the carpet pretty fast. That session was pretty cool.

The coolest had to be one where several poets were doing the whole "deconstructing (thanks for this word Ngugi Wa Thiong'o) poetry" route. The peeps I remember were the aforementioned Yusef, Tony Mochama aka Smitta, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo the puesic queen, James Wamathai whose Wamathai.com has exploded onto the scene after that birthday party with our good pal Kenyan Poet doing facilitation duties. There were some other poets on that panel although I didn't know their name. Anyway as the session run, Caroline Nderitu of the flowery poetry walks in an has a listen and all poetry rivalry breaks loose. Tony decides to bring out his usual I "predicted the Carol Nderitu school of poetry in 90's." Uncharacteristically, Nderitu (that's Caroline not Carol or Caro as she doesn't really appreciate that) ) took to the stage and defended her poetry explaining that "Caroline Nderitu's poetry never died but just went global." Damn. These two have been at it for the better part of a decade and I look forward to more drama now that V.S Naipaul and Paul Theroux buried their hatchet.

Away from the sessions proper there were quite a few other things going down. Eddie Grey and his band performed during dinner opening proceedings. Also performing was our good frenemy Anto Neosoul. On stage there was also the storytellers from 'Frisco (San Francisco: how often does a Nairobian get to say "nani from 'Frisco? Work with me) to give us stories. The miros decided to tell us their experiences in England and the US.

The most compelling story was by Asian(read Indian) radio station East FM radio breakfast presenters Aleem and Seema . They told of how the guy proposed live on air and how she accepted to marry him. For me the interesting part was how they didn't mention anything about kissing in the story. They work for two years, he proposes and she leaves in a huff for Mombasa. She then returns days later and accepts his proposal after insisting the man ask for her hand from her brother. That's a great story but there is a really huge gap between working and suddenly being fiancé and fiancée in its telling. No mention of kissing after work in the corridors etc. It must be the Bollywood method of story telling I suppose. All that missed was some people in the background singing as the two conducted their love affair. Or maybe my imagination is a mite overacting this fine day.

 P.S. Best Mojito hands down at the Festival was at the Up Loung.

>> Similar links

:: Dinning with the Storymoja Hay festival stars

:: Storymoja Hay Festival's British Council Wrap-Up Party

:: Storymoja Hay Festival 2011 « maybe i'm a little bit over my head

:: Writers are Listeners – Storymoja Hay Fest 2011 :: Storymoja

>> Last year's Storymoja Hay festival

:: Sights from Storymoja Hay Festival 2010 – NairobiLiving

:: British Flavour Boosts Cultural Event

:: Dreams in a time of War by Ngugi Wa Thiongo (book launch)

:: How to be rich in Africa (The Book Launch)

:: Ngugi Wa Thiongo, an Open Myk and reggae night

:: A word with Prince Edward

:: East African Writers Summit: The Writers are coming...

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