Unarguably he was one of the most-read writers from the African continent, selling more than 8 million copies. His book Things Fall Apart is the most widely read book in African literature and the most translated. While a whirlwind of tributes has poured in in the wake of Achebe’s death, we have been left to ponder his contributions to African literature and the literature body generally, and to see if he rightfully deserved the continent’s honor: The father of modern African literature. And while at it, also weigh the relevance of his work to the present generation.

Faisal Kiwewa, the Director of Bayimba Cultural Foundation, spoke on “Arts and Arts Education: Lovely or Essential?” on 12th March 2012 at The Hub in Kamwokya. It hinged on principles gleaned from Eliot W. Eisner’s The Arts and the Creation of Mind and the verve of Bayimba’s work with local artists.

Startjournal hereby publish the 2nd runner-up of Femrite’s Writing Competition under the theme ‘My Uganda @50?. The short story ‘My Uganda @50’ is written by Kaigo Betty.

The Lantern Meet of Poets is made up of mostly university students who share one thing in common. They were born in the 1980’s—at the time when the National Resistance Army (NRA), now the National Resistance Movement (NRM), allegedly liberated this country from bad governance. During this first themed recital and performance, they sounded out their splintered voices from within the revolution. The writing, though familiarly presented, managed to achieve a simmering hyper-realism in the audience.

Startjournal hereby publish the 1st runner-up of Femrite’s Writing Competition under the theme ‘My Uganda @50?. The short story ‘Dependence’ is written by Muriel Baguma.

Startjournal hereby publish the 1st winner of Femrite’s Writing Competition under the theme ‘My Uganda @50′. The short story ‘A-fiftieth at Fifty’ is written by Linda Lilian.

Joachim Buwembo claims that he wrote The Ugandan Paradox to be able take part in the bonanza of cash squandering sure to ensue as government heads the celebrations of Uganda marking 50 years of Independence. In this book review, Iwaya Mataachi concludes that “The Ugandan Paradox is about a Uganda in decay, with a hero scarcity. All the people Joachim Buwembo meets know something is going wrong, and Buwembo himself understands this more than others.”

For poetry lovers and those who wish to improve in both their writings and performances, African Writers Trust provided an opportunity to interact with one of Africa’s leading poets. The Ghanian poet Nii Ayikwei Parkes visited Uganda and shared his knowledge with the locals.

Summoning the Rains is a collection of short stories by ethnically diverse African women, published by Femrite after their 3rd Writers’ Residency. In this review, Serubiri Moses wishes to explore the representations of women and young girls in the book and relate these images to social and political paradigms, both current and past.

Can a writer earn a living in Uganda? Who is a writer anyway? Does a journalist qualify as a writer? Iwaya Mataachi has interviewed Ugandan writers Beverley Nambozo, Jackee Batanda, Akiyo Michael Kasaija, Joachim Buwembo, and Beatrice Lamwaka to find out.

At an evening of poetry to commemorate the month long US celebration of the Black History Month in February at the Makerere University Institute of Technology, poetry took on a new meaning, that of being a mouth piece for social change. Elizabeth Namakula reviews this event and also looks at the Lantern Meet of Poets at the National Theatre March 17th.

This writers’ residency, organised by Femrite (Uganda Women Writers Association) in partnership with The Swedish Institute, is the first of its kind in Uganda. On the whole, it has been a successful endeavour. For the year 2010 it was held in Jinja. It attracted participants from Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, and of course Uganda. The fruits from the 2010-series are documented in a publication by Femrite: ”World of Our Own”. This short story collection was launched on November 24th 2011. Lillian A. Aujo reviews.

“When women’s writing talks about sexuality, its accomplishment is twofold: it works at breaking down the silence around sexual taboos, as well as revealing ways in which women both lack and execute power within sexual and gendered experiences.” Canadian Jessica Veaudry has reviewed the Ugandan novels “The Official Wife”, “Cassandra”, and “Memoirs of a Mother”.

The story Butterfly Effect was written by Beatrice Lamwaka, and was short-listed for the 2011 Caine Prize for African writing, a prize that many writers on the continent aspire to win. The nominaton has strengthened Beatrice’s belief in herself as a writer. However, when she writes, she says it is important she does it without the conscious nagging of being a short-listed winner of this prestigious prize.

Discovering accurate transcriptions of the Ganda standard tune, Gganga Alula, in the works of ethnomusicologist Peter Cooke spoke directly about the life of a song. If the true essence of our traditional culture is preserved, then we’re going to find better solutions to our problems, perhaps utilizing this very poetic wisdom. Serubiri Moses attempts to shed more light on preservation of the essential African arts.

“Cultural diversity finds its amplification in the knowledge of languages. Art is not reserved for a small circle of people. Art is for everyone.” Samuel Lutaaya explores the relation between Art and Language using the recent LaBa! Street Art Festival as a backdrop.

In the midst of the proliferation of entertainment joints extolling the virtues of “baby take off your clothes’’ music, a remarkable revolution of poetry is taking place, in the Kampala suburb of Kira Road, at a gallery called Isha’s Hidden Treasures. What started last November with an audience of 15 people has now turned into a much-anticipated meeting of minds. Achola Rosario reviews the event.