This week, we mourn the loss of one of Kenya’s boldest voices in non-fiction and reportage, look in on multimedia and interdisciplinary revivals of literary works in Hong Kong, and celebrate the poetry of one’s native tongue in Mexico. Read on to find out more!
Wambua Muindi, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Kenya
In Kenya, the year began on a sombre note for writers and readers, as on January 11, Rasna Warah breathed her last. Her prolific and bold body of work includes Triple Heritage: A Journey to Self-Discovery (1998), Mogadishu Then and Now: A Pictorial Tribute to Africa’s Most Wounded City (2012), War Crimes: How Warlords, Politicians, Foreign Governments and Aid Agencies Conspired to Create a Failed State in Somalia (2014), and Unsilenced: Unmasking the United Nations’ Culture of Cover-Ups, Corruption, and Impunity (2016)—this latter work stemming from her stint as an editor with UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. A Kenyan of South Asian extraction, Warah was a committed social critic and brought this fire to her journalism and writing. Her courageous journalism, passionate writing in local dailies, and numerous X quips on national, regional, continental, and world politics endeared her to the digital public, where she remained active before and during her diagnosis of breast cancer in 2022. The loss of her voice and talent is immense, demonstrated by the outpouring of grief and reverential eulogies, and standing as a testament to the power of the pen. Among others, this grief was displayed in the tribute poem by writer Tony Mochama, celebrating Warah’s career and detailing her courage and commitment to social justice. Rest in power Rasna Warah!
On January 15, the Kenyan Readathon 2025 challenge released the schedule for its sixth edition. Spanning four months from March to September, this year promises to be an immersive experience for the enthusiasts of Kenyan literature. Pioneered by Lexa Lubanga, the Kenyan Readathon is an extended reading marathon dedicated to celebrating and promoting Kenyan literary voices, and the reading schedule is a guide that—while normally reserved for September—will start in March. Throughout the duration of the readathon, readers are encouraged to share their reading experiences using the hashtag #KenyanReadathon, which we encourage you to check out, as it is a wonderful way to keep tabs on the richness of Kenyan culture and stories. As is the custom, the schedule will culminate with an event in September, the venue of which will be publicized later in the year.
René Esaú Sánchez, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Mexico
As many of you surely did, I spent my winter vacation traveling—and I went to places where Spanish was not the official language. Removed from my native tongue and through conversations with my partner, I was reminded of how much our language carries: love, fear, confusion, nostalgia, and countless emotions that we can only express in this way.
Our return to Mexico coincided with an event held by the Ministry of Culture on January 24, where women writers in Indigenous languages gathered to reflect on what it means to create and speak in their mother tongues; poets such as Celerina Sánchez and Margarita León were joined by Kity Peña and other writers from Panama.
In sharing her experience, Sánchez spoke on how she never attended a bilingual school; when she began speaking Spanish, it was in an environment that excluded her native Mixtec. For her, writing then became a refuge, a way to reconnect with her origins and her true self: “Poetry saved me. It allowed me to express and value my roots. That’s how I wrote my first book when I was thirty years old.”
For Andrea Lino, who comes from an Emberá community in Panama, language and sound are tied to geography—to the rivers and mountains where we grow up. Thus, writing and singing for her are challenges shaped by family and nature: “I keep my grandmother’s drum, which inspires me. I have sacrificed myself by climbing mountains and following rivers. I keep my ancient songs and dances; I am always in my land, where the monkeys howl. That is where I come from.”
So, what does your mother tongue carry? What does it bring to the world when you say “I love you”? Does it feel like a mountain or a river? Do you hear a drum, a harp, or a flute? In any case, how beautiful it is to exchange geography, sounds, and, of course, poetry.
Charlie Ng, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Hong Kong
These days, Hong Kong’s cultural landscape is vibrant with cross-media experimentation, fostering dialogues and interconnections between literature, visual arts, and performance. As part of House of Hong Kong Literature’s 2024 season, the institution partnered with the art space Pointsman to put on “Retro Hong Kong,” an exhibition of literature-inspired work featuring new multimedia pieces by four local artists: Ho Sin Tung, Tse Jantzen, Au Hoi Lam, and Wong Winsome. Running from December 21 to January 17, this exhibition was curated by Chang Hoi Wood as a response to four Hong Kong literary classics, including works by Leung Ping Kwan, Huaiyuan, and Chung Ling Ling. The artworks aimed to encourage cross-generational dialogue by blending personal reflections with contemporary societal observations, thereby revitalizing the original texts.
Moreover, Hong Kong literary works also serve as rich sources of inspiration for the performing arts. Theatre du Pif, a local English performing group founded thirty years ago, presented a piece entitled “Must I Cry” at the Cultural Centre Studio Theatre from January 17 to January 19. This performance, inspired by Xi Xi’s works Flying Carpet: A Tale of Fertillia and 港島吾愛, merged memoir and fantasy to explore themes of nostalgia, loss, and identity through imaginative narratives. Performers Bonnie Chan and Jean Curran combined whimsical visual elements with vibrant set designs featuring iconic Hong Kong imagery and symbolic aspects, recreating memories and familiar cityscapes that resonated with local audiences.
The Hong Kong Film Archive has announced the program “Dancing Between Words and Images: Hong Kong Film and Literature,” highlighting the intricate relationship between the two artforms. This event will showcase seventeen films from the 1940s to the present, divided into thematic sections such as “Adaptations from Classic Literature” and “Her Stories in the City.” Screenings will be accompanied by talks featuring filmmakers and scholars, aiming to deepen audience understanding of literary adaptations and their cultural significance. Additionally, the accompanying exhibition “City Portraits: Hong Kong Film and Literature” will be open until May 4, providing audiences with a deeper understanding of the interplay between cinematic and literary narratives.
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