The Pen Review: Issue 02

By Youth Literacy Organisation

This collection contains poems, on various themes, by young Rwandans between the ages of 15 and 30. It's published on World Poetry Day 2016.

The Pen Review is a literary journal publishing original short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and short reviews in English and, occasionally, in Ikinyarwanda and French.

It is published twice every year by Youth Literacy Organisation (YouLI), a youth-led nonprofit NGO whose mission is to advance literacy and learning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781329987197

Book preview

The Pen Review: Issue 02

The Pen Review: Issue 02

This collection of poems was published in Kigali, Rwanda, on Monday, 21 March 2016—World Poetry Day.

Copyright

Cover photo by Hervé Irankunda—Fisherman in a canoe, on a foggy Lake Kivu.

Original file downloaded from the photographer’s Flickr page

All rights reserved to the author.  More on www.herveir.com

The Pen Review is a bi-annual literary journal publishing original short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and short reviews in English and, occasionally, in Ikinyarwanda and French.

For more information, visit www.thepen.review

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Copyright © 2016, by Youth Literacy Organisation (YouLI).

ISBN 978-1-329-98719-7

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

All authors retain the rights to their own and any copying or sharing of their work for financial gain is prohibited.

Views expressed within the content of the Review are not necessarily those of YouLI as a whole or its leadership.

To learn about the mission of YouLI, visit www.youli.org.rw

Acknowledgements

THANK you to everyone who contributed with their poem to this collection, which wouldn’t exist without your beautiful lines.

For the continued support, trust and energy, thank you to the Kigali Public Library and the entire team at Village Group;

Thanks a lot to Dr. Lee Slater for your time and enthusiasm.

Thank you to Théo Gakire and the team at Select Kalaos who worked to bring this collection into print.

Preface

POETRY continues to stand out as one of the forms of creative writing that young people, especially aspiring book writers and storytellers in Rwanda, are inclined to use.  In this space, they convey and deliver their thoughts and messages, and ultimately unwind stories they have always wanted to tell.

It is without a doubt that poetry offers space and time to explore and invent styles that fit the writers’ desires.  There are no limitations; anything can be said in a new form — each time.  Rules can be broken and new ones can be formed, resulting in constantly evolving and creative means of self-expression.

The instantaneous nature of poetry cannot be left out, as there is great value in encouraging young writers