Mildred Barya

Last updated

Mildred Barya
BornMildred Kiconco Barya
Kabale District, Uganda
Occupationwriter
NationalityUgandan
Alma mater Makerere University
GenrePoetry
Notable worksThe Price of Memory: After the Tsunami, Give Me Room to Move My Feet
Website
mildredbarya.com

Mildred Kiconco Barya is a writer and poet from Uganda. [1] She was awarded the 2008 Pan African Literary Forum Prize for Africana Fiction, and earlier gained recognition for her poetry, particularly her first two collections, Men Love Chocolates But They Don't Say (2002) and The Price of Memory: After the Tsunami (2006). [2] [3]

Contents

Barya has also worked as journalist and travel writer. From August 2007 to August 2009, she served as Writer-in-Residence at TrustAfrica, a Pan-African foundation based in Dakar, Senegal. She graduated from MFA program at Syracuse University, New York, in 2012, a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Denver in 2016. She had been a member of the Creative Writing Faculty at Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA). [4] She has lived and worked in Germany, Botswana, Kenya and Uganda. Besides her career as a writer, Barya has also worked as a Human Resource Advisor for Ernst & Young in Uganda, [5] [6] [7] and currently teaches Creative Writing as a faculty member of the University of North Carolina at Asheville. [8]

Barya is a founding member [9] and serves on the advisory board of African Writers Trust, [10] "a non-profit entity which seeks to coordinate and bring together African writers in the Diaspora and writers on the continent to promote sharing of skills and other resources, and to foster knowledge and learning between the two groups." [11]

Education

Born in Kabale District in southwest Uganda, Barya attended Mwisi Primary School and Kigezi High School. In 1996, she was awarded a full government scholarship to attend Makerere University in Uganda. She graduated in 1999 with a BA in Literature. She also while at college joined FEMRITE—Uganda Women Writers Association, where she worked closely with Goretti Kyomuhendo, then Program Coordinator, and Violet Barungi, then FEMRITE editor. [6] [12] [13]

In 2000, Barya took certificate courses in Information, Communication and Globalisation at the International Women's University, Vifu, in Hamburg, Germany. In 2002, she studied Editorial Practices and Publishing Management at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. From 2002 to 2004, she rejoined Makerere University to earn a master's degree in Organisational Psychology. [6] [7]

In 2006–2007, Barya held a writer's residence fellowship at the Per Sesh Writing Program in Popenguine, Senegal, under the instruction of Ayi Kwei Armah. [2]

Writing and critical reception

Barya's first published collection of poems, Men Love Chocolates But They Don't Say, won the Ugandan National Book Trust Award for 2002. [2] Her second collection, The Price of Memory: After the Tsunami, also received favourable critical attention as shown by the two reviews cited below.

Yusuf Serunkuma Kajura, a reviewer for The Weekly Observer (Uganda) claimed that Barya's "poetry blossoms on indigenous African imagery, rhetorical devices and ideas, easily comparable to Okot p'Bitek's long poem, Song of Lawino ." But Barya's poetry "is an enthusiastic trumpet, subtly blown for the woman in society, unlike Lawino's defence of the traditional African values." [14]

Gaaki Kigambo, a reviewer for Uganda's Sunday Monitor , claimed that "Barya's subjects are informed by the things we are used to. In this era of mobile telephony, everyone will identify with Mathematically Proven Love." Kigambo also stated that such poetry "reveals the romanticist in Barya." [15]

Regarding Barya's third collection of poems, Give Me Room To Move My Feet (2009), Peter Nazareth, Professor of English at the University of Iowa, USA, claimed that "the poet breaks down and mends herself through spirituality, religion, and poetry, bringing back to life what seemed to be dead" and that Barya "never stops loving Mother Africa." [16]

Barya's short fiction has appeared in FEMRITE anthologies, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, African Love Stories, Picador Africa, and Pambazuka News . An excerpt from her novel What Was Left Behind earned her the 2008 Pan African Literary Forum Prize for Africana Fiction, as judged by Junot Diaz, the Dominican-American Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction writer and essayist. [3] [7] She is a contributor to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa , edited by Margaret Busby. [17]

Awards

Published works

Poetry

Short fiction

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monica Arac de Nyeko</span> Ugandan writer

Monica Arac de Nyeko is a Ugandan writer of short fiction, poetry, and essays, living in Nairobi. In 2007 she became the first Ugandan to win the Caine Prize for African Writing, with her story "Jambula Tree". She had previously been shortlisted for the prize in 2004 for "Strange Fruit", a story about child soldiers in Gulu, Northern Uganda. She is a member of FEMRITE – Uganda Women Writers Association and the chief editor of T:AP Voices. She taught literature and English at St. Mary's College Kisubi before proceeding to pursue a Master in Humanitarian Assistance at the University of Groningen. Her personal essay "In the Stars" won first prize in the Women's World, Women in War Zones essay writing competition. She has been published in Memories of Sun, The Nation, IS magazine, Poetry International and several other publications. She is one of the writers announced as part of the Africa39 project unveiled by Rainbow, Hay Festival and Bloomsbury Publishing at the London Book Fair 2014. It is a list of 39 of Sub-Saharan Africa's most promising writers under the age of 40.

Mary Watson is a South African author. In 2006 she won the Caine Prize for African Writing and in 2014 was named on the Africa39 list of writers from sub-Saharan Africa aged under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature.

Glaydah Namukasa is a Ugandan writer and midwife. She is the author of two novels, Voice of a Dream and Deadly Ambition. She is a member of FEMRITE, the Ugandan Women Writer's Association, and is currently (2014) its Chairperson. She is one of the 39 African writers announced as part of the Africa39 project unveiled by Rainbow, Hay Festival and Bloomsbury Publishing at the London Book Fair 2014. It is a list of 39 of Sub-Saharan Africa's most promising writers under the age of 40.

Ayeta Anne Wangusa is a Ugandan writer and activist. A founding member (1995) of FEMRITE, the Uganda Women Writers Association, Wangusa first achieved broader recognition in literary circles for her novel Memoirs of a Mother (1998). She was also a founding member (2009) of the African Writers Trust, currently serving on the advisory board. She is a contributor to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.

FEMRITE – Uganda Women Writers' Association, founded in 1995, is an NGO based in Kampala, Uganda, whose programmes focus on developing and publishing women writers in Uganda and—more recently—in the East African region. FEMRITE has likewise expanded its concerns to East African issues regarding the environment, literacy, education, health, women's rights and good governance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goretti Kyomuhendo</span> Ugandan novelist and literary activist (born 1965)

Goretti Kyomuhendo is a Ugandan novelist and literary activist. A participant at the inaugural International Literature Festival Berlin in 2001, Kyomuhendo has been internationally recognised for her novels such as Waiting: A Novel of Uganda's Hidden War. She was the first Programmes Coordinator for FEMRITE—Uganda Women Writers Association, from 1997 to 2007. She founded the African Writers Trust in 2009, after her relocation to London, Great Britain, in 2008.

Violet Barungi is a Ugandan writer and editor. She has edited several publications published by FEMRITE. Her published books include the novel Cassandra. She has worked as a book Production Officer at the East African Literature Bureau (1972–77), senior Book Production Officer at Uganda Literature Bureau (1978–94) and an editor at FEMRITE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Writers Trust</span>

The African Writers Trust (AWT) was established in 2009 as "a non-profit entity which seeks to coordinate and bring together African writers in the Diaspora and writers on the continent to promote sharing of skills and other resources, and to foster knowledge and learning between the two groups."

Susan Nalugwa Kiguli is a Ugandan poet and literary scholar. She is an associate professor of literature at Makerere University. Kiguli has been an advocate for creative writing in Africa, including service as a founding member of FEMRITE, a judge for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and an advisory board member for the African Writers Trust. As a poet, Kiguli is best known for her 1998 collection The African Saga, as a scholar, and for her work on oral poetry and performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Matthias Mulumba</span> Ugandan writer and valuation surveyor

Ivan Matthias Mulumba is a Ugandan writer and valuation surveyor. He is the author of two collections of poems, Poetry in Motion and Rumblings of a tree, and a novel, The Honking. His work has appeared in The Kalahari Review, Reader's Cafe Africa, Africa Book Club, Munyori literary journal, Lawino-magazine, and Sooo Many Stories. He was nominated for the 2018 Young Achievers Awards.

Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva is a Ugandan writer, poet, actress, literary activist, and biographer. She is the founder of the Babishai Niwe (BN) Poetry Foundation formerly The Beverley Nambozo Poetry Award for Ugandan women, which began in 2008 as a platform for promoting poetry. It has since grown to include all African poets and runs as an annual poetry award. In 2014, the award will extend to the entire continent, targeting both men and women. The same year, the foundation will also publish an anthology of poetry from poets of Africa. She is also the founder of the Babishai Niwe Women's Leadership Academy..Nambozo joined the Crossing Borders Scheme British Council Uganda in 2003 under the short stories genre. She was nominated for the August 2009 Arts Press Association (APA) Awards for revitalising poetry in Uganda after initiating the Beverley Nambozo Poetry Award, the first poetry award for Ugandan women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilda Twongyeirwe</span> Ugandan writer and editor

Hilda Twongyeirwe is a Ugandan writer and editor. For ten years, she taught English language and literature in secondary school, before she retired to do development work in 2003. She is an editor, a published author of short stories and poetry, and a recipient of a National Medal of the government of Uganda in recognition of her contribution to women's Empowerment through Literary arts (2018). She is also a recipient of a Certificate of Recognition (2008) from the National Book Trust of Uganda for her children's book, Fina the Dancer. She is currently the coordinator of FEMRITE, an organization she participated in founding in 1995. She has edited fiction and creative nonfiction works, the most recent one being, No Time to Mourn (2020) by South Sudanese women. She has also edited others including; I Dare to Say: African Women Share Their Stories of Hope and Survival (2012) and Taboo? Voices of Women on Female Genital Mutilation (2013).

Beatrice Lamwaka is a Ugandan writer. She was shortlisted for the 2011 Caine Prize for her story "Butterfly Dreams".

Jackee Budesta Batanda is a Ugandan journalist, writer and entrepreneur. She is a senior managing partner with Success Spark Brand Limited, a communications and educational company, and a co-founder of Mastermind Africa Group Limited, a business-networking group. In 2006, Batanda worked as a peace writer at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego. She was later awarded a research fellowship at the highly competitive Justice in Africa fellowship Programme with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2008. In 2010, Batanda was International Writer-in-Residence at the Housing Authors and Literature Denmark, where she commenced work on her novel, A Lesson in Forgetting. In 2012, she was also featured in The Times alongside 19 young women shaping the future of Africa. That same year she was also a finalist in the 2012 Trust Women journalism Awards. She has been writer-in-residence at Lancaster University in the UK. She was selected by the International Women's Media Foundation as the 2011–12 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow. During the fellowship, she studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for International Studies and other Boston-area universities, and worked at The New York Times and The Boston Globe.

Lillian Tindyebwa is a Ugandan writer living in Kampala. She is the author of numerous books, notably the novel Recipe for Disaster, published in 1994 as part of the Fountain youth series. She is a founding member of FEMRITE, and the founder of Uganda Faith Writers Association.

<i>The price of memory after the tsunami</i> 2006 poem collection by Mildred Barya

The price of memory after the tsunami is a collection of 63 poems by Ugandan author Mildred Barya, published in 2006. The poems are divided into three sections: "Poems of pleasure and pain", "Poems of weakness and strength", and "poems of identity and renunciation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Rwakasisi</span> Ugandan writer

Rose Rwakasisi is a Ugandan author, editor, short story writer, curriculum developer and educator. She was the deputy head teacher of Old Kampala Secondary school, Nakasero secondary school and Kyamate Secondary School in Ntungamo. She is the director of St. Luke secondary schools and a teacher of Biology.

Lillian Aujo is a Ugandan author. In 2009, she was the winner of the Babishai Niwe (BN) Poetry Foundation's inaugural BN poetry prize. In 2015, she was longlisted for, and won the Inaugural Jalada Prize for Literature for her story "Where pumpkin leaves dwell".

Amalion is a multilingual independent academic publishing house based in Dakar, Senegal.

References

  1. ↑ "Poets sip from Kiconco's chalice". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Barya, M. K. (June 2008). "Bio", MildredBarya.com. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  3. 1 2 Pan African Literary Forum (May 2008) Archived 5 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine . "Writing Contest Results", PALF. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  4. ↑ "Creative Writing – Faculty" Archived 27 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine , Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) (2013). Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "Who We Are: Our Staff", Trust Africa (2008). Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 Barya, M. K. (7 March 2006). "Creating an enabling environment for writers" Archived 6 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine . Crossing Borders No. 10. British Council Arts. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 Barya, M. K. (June 2008), "Press Release", MildredBarya.com. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  8. ↑ "Mildred Barya | Department of English". english.unca.edu. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  9. ↑ Barya, Mildred. "The future of African writing: personal reflections". Pambazuka News, 10 August 2011. Issue 544. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  10. ↑ "Advisory Board", African Writers Trust. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "What is African Writers Trust?" African Writers Trust. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  12. ↑ Musoke-Nteyafas, Jane. "Ugandan Writers: Meet Mildred Barya Kiconco" Archived 9 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine , AfroLit, 10 March 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  13. ↑ Caples, LaKeisha L. "I try to highlight social issues affecting women – Violet Barungi" Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine , AfricanWriter.com. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  14. ↑ Kajura, Y. S. (26 April 2007). "Poetry with answers" Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine , The Weekly Observer. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  15. ↑ Kigambo, G. (16 April 2006). "Barya the romanticist unveiled" [ permanent dead link ], Sunday Monitor (Uganda). Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  16. ↑ "Give Me Room To Move My Feet", Amalion Publishing. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  17. ↑ Odhiambo, Tom (18 January 2020), "'New Daughters of Africa' is a must read for aspiring young women writers", Daily Nation (Kenya).
  18. ↑ MKB (24 August 2008). "One writer's postcard (the Pan African Literary Forum in Ghana)". Mildred Barya's House of Life. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  19. ↑ "Winner of the 2015 Sylt Foundation African Writer´s Residency Award announced!". Sylt Foundation. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  20. ↑ "UNCA assistant professor Mildred K. Barya wins 2020 Linda Flowers Literary Award". Mountain Xpress. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  21. ↑ "Mildred Barya, Ph.D." University of North Carolina Asheville. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.