'The Meet' in their 4th Poetry Recital at National Theatre

The Lantern Meet of Poets will hold their 4th Poetry Recital under the theme "Footprints of Verse –an Odyssey." Come early this Saturday and grab your seat in the main auditorium of the National Theatre. At 6pm, the curtain will rise. Don't say I didn't tell you…

I don't know about you but I've not forgotten the hum and strum that coloured that evening toward the close of August 2009 when the Lantern Meet of Poets gathered in the National Theatre auditorium to give their ever increasing fans their Third Grand Recital.

It was a full house and I remember thinking that more than inspiring artistic creativity, this urban group of impassioned writers would forever be remembered for helping poetry find acceptance in Uganda.

The animated audience were fed on a glut of the impressive poems carefully selected and delivered to complement the theme of the night, A Fresh Coat of Paint. But most memorable was the homage and living tributes paid to connoisseurs gone and living -Okot p'Bitek, Henry Barlow, Dr. Susan Kiguli, Prof. David Rubadiri, Richard Ntiru and Prof. Timothy Wangusa, to mention.

Now, The Meet, as they are popularly known, will have their next recital this Saturday, February 6 at the National Theatre auditorium –and I can hardly contain myself! I mean they have seemingly done it all: poems that embody the universal human experience; tears and laughter, poverty and affluence, spirituality and degeneration, joy and hurt –think of every imaginable subject. And last time, the presentation was given a backdrop pf drum, guitar and violin music, what is it going to be this time, I wonder. What is going to be that extra zing?

Guy Mambo smiles simply and says if you liked the previous recitals this one is going to be bigger and better. And if you were in my shoes, what would you add, honestly? Well, see you this Saturday at the National Theatre, and don't worry because it's all free.

Authors' Forum Comes to the National Theatre

The Authors' Forum has solidified its position as one of the most inspirational happenings on Uganda's social calendar, and become the balm that assuages the fears of many in a country where a poor reading culture and disrespect of intellectual property have long been bemoaned.

Concerned with nurturing talent and helping authors conquer writing hurdles, the Authors' Forum is a brainchild of Mr. Robert Bake, one of Uganda's Christian-inspirational authors, motivational speaker and the Managing Director of the World of Inspiration. It also links people who have new ideas with people who want to fund those ideas.

Five months since its launch in Kampala, the Authors' Forum continues to attract more formidable forces in the literary world as those who attended the November 2009 edition have testified about the electrifying presentation from Dr. Moss Mashamaite, a famed South African author and businessman. 

Now it has found a permanent home at the National Theatre which part of the Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC). This month’s edition, indeed, will be in the National Theatre Auditorium this Wednesday, February 3, starting 5:00p.m. Entrance fee: 15,000 shillings.

This time around, "The focus is on wealth creation," says Bake. "We're looking at how authors can raise funding through our work, and how we can use our works to influence positive values in society."

The guest of honour is Prof. Peter Kasesenene.