Susan Nalugwa Kiguli
Encyclopedia
Susan Nalugwa Kiguli, born on June 24, 1969 in Luweero District, Uganda
, is an internationally recognized Ugandan poet and literary scholar. Currently (as of 2011) a senior lecturer at Makerere University
, Kiguli has been an advocate for creative writing in Africa, including service as a founding member of FEMRITE
, as a judge for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
(African Region 1999), and as an advisory board member for African Writers Trust
. As a poet, Kiguli to date remains best known for her collection The African Saga; as a scholar, for her work on oral poetry and performance.
(2008); the Poetry Africa
Festival in Kwazulu –Natal, South Africa (2009); the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya (2007); and the Leeds Centre for African Studies, University of Leeds, United Kingdom (2005).
In addition to her critically acclaimed collection The African Saga (ISBN 978-9970901005), which won the National Book Trust of Uganda Poetry Award (1999), Kiguli has also written poems for children – four of which were featured by Books LIVE as Animal Portraits by Susan Kiguli (Note of Affection #4, Love Africa Carnival) and selected by readers as “one of the most loved Love Notes of its month.” Kiguli has discussed her own childhood reading experiences in an interview with BooksLIVE.
Kiguli has also contributed poetry for children to the collection Michael's Eyes: The War against the Ugandan Child, an international collaborative effort “intended to raise the global awareness of the situation in Northern Uganda,” particularly concerning the troubles caused by the Lord's Resistance Army
.
Kiguli poem’s were also featured in Eye of the Storm: A Photographic Journey Across Uganda / L'oeil du Cyclone: A travers l' Ouganda, with photography by David Pluth and Pierre-Francois Didek.
Kiguli has also been featured by Ultra Violet: Indian feminists unplugged, and by Department of English & Creative Writing, Lancaster University
.
as “the leading intellectually astute voice in contemporary East African poetry,” Kiguli was an American Council of Learned Societies
Fellow for 2010, with her research focusing on “Oral Poetry and Popular Song in South Africa and Uganda: A Study of Contemporary Performance.”
On the same general topic, Kiguli’s recent intellectual contributions include “The Symbolism of Music Festivals in Buganda: The case of Ekitoobero and Enkuuka y’omwaka,” in Performing Community (2008) and “Mapping the Dream of Cultural Continuity: Songs at Enkuuka y’omwaka” in Performing Change (2009).
Alex Smith also found noteworthy Kiguli’s comments on A Hundred Silences, the third collection of poems by Gabeba Baderoon
.
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, is an internationally recognized Ugandan poet and literary scholar. Currently (as of 2011) a senior lecturer at Makerere University
Makerere University
Makerere University , Uganda's largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning, , was first established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees from the University of London...
, Kiguli has been an advocate for creative writing in Africa, including service as a founding member of FEMRITE
Femrite
FEMRITE - Uganda Women Writers' Association is an NGO based in Kampala, Uganda, whose programs focus on developing and publishing women writers in Uganda and—more recently—in the East African region...
, as a judge for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers is an initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation to unearth, develop and promote the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth. It's flagship are two literary awards and a website...
(African Region 1999), and as an advisory board member for African Writers Trust
African Writers Trust
African Writers Trust 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."The current...
. As a poet, Kiguli to date remains best known for her collection The African Saga; as a scholar, for her work on oral poetry and performance.
Education
- 2005 Ph.D. English. The University of Leeds. Leeds, United Kingdom.
- 1996 M.S. Literary Linguistics for Teaching English Language and Literature. University of Strathclyde. Glasgow, United Kingdom.
- 1994 M.A. Literature. Makerere University. Kampala, Uganda.
- 1991 B.A. Education. Makerere University. Kampala, Uganda.
Poetry and Performances
Kiguli has participated as a poet and reader in numerous literary festivals and conferences, including most prominently the International Literature Festival BerlinInternational literature festival berlin
right|alt=alt text|logo ILB|thumb|ILB logoThe International Literature Festival Berlin also known as ILB,is an annual event based in Berlin. The festival takes place in early autumn and its purpose is to present contemporary developments in prose and poetry from all around the world...
(2008); the Poetry Africa
Poetry Africa
Poetry Africa is an international poetry festival held annually in Durban, South Africa.More than twenty poets, predominantly from South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent, participate in the 7–10 day Poetry Africa, an international poetry festival that is based mostly in Durban, South...
Festival in Kwazulu –Natal, South Africa (2009); the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya (2007); and the Leeds Centre for African Studies, University of Leeds, United Kingdom (2005).
In addition to her critically acclaimed collection The African Saga (ISBN 978-9970901005), which won the National Book Trust of Uganda Poetry Award (1999), Kiguli has also written poems for children – four of which were featured by Books LIVE as Animal Portraits by Susan Kiguli (Note of Affection #4, Love Africa Carnival) and selected by readers as “one of the most loved Love Notes of its month.” Kiguli has discussed her own childhood reading experiences in an interview with BooksLIVE.
Kiguli has also contributed poetry for children to the collection Michael's Eyes: The War against the Ugandan Child, an international collaborative effort “intended to raise the global awareness of the situation in Northern Uganda,” particularly concerning the troubles caused by the Lord's Resistance Army
Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army insurgency is an ongoing guerrilla campaign waged since 1987 by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group, operating mainly in northern Uganda, but also in South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo...
.
Kiguli poem’s were also featured in Eye of the Storm: A Photographic Journey Across Uganda / L'oeil du Cyclone: A travers l' Ouganda, with photography by David Pluth and Pierre-Francois Didek.
Kiguli has also been featured by Ultra Violet: Indian feminists unplugged, and by Department of English & Creative Writing, Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...
.
Scholarship and Criticism
Praised by the poet and critic Alex SmithAlex Smith
Alexander Douglas Smith is a professional American football player and starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Smith was drafted with the 1st-overall pick in the 1st round of the 2005 NFL Draft by San Francisco from the University of Utah...
as “the leading intellectually astute voice in contemporary East African poetry,” Kiguli was an American Council of Learned Societies
American Council of Learned Societies
The American Council of Learned Societies , founded in 1919, is a private nonprofit federation of seventy scholarly organizations.ACLS is best known as a funder of humanities research through fellowships and grants awards. ACLS Fellowships are designed to permit scholars holding the Ph.D...
Fellow for 2010, with her research focusing on “Oral Poetry and Popular Song in South Africa and Uganda: A Study of Contemporary Performance.”
On the same general topic, Kiguli’s recent intellectual contributions include “The Symbolism of Music Festivals in Buganda: The case of Ekitoobero and Enkuuka y’omwaka,” in Performing Community (2008) and “Mapping the Dream of Cultural Continuity: Songs at Enkuuka y’omwaka” in Performing Change (2009).
Alex Smith also found noteworthy Kiguli’s comments on A Hundred Silences, the third collection of poems by Gabeba Baderoon
Gabeba Baderoon
Gabeba Baderoon is the 2005 recipient of the DaimlerChrysler Award for South African Poetry.She was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on February 21, 1969. She currently lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa and Pennsylvania, USA....
.