Ngwatilo Mawiyoo

Poet and writer Ngwatilo Mawiyoo’s new research explores the lives of 20 rural Kenyan families over 200 days. She plans to share her experience on Kenyan and international radio and other digital platforms, and thereafter publish a book of poems (and essays), to follow her critically acclaimed first collection, Blue Mothertongue (2010). The collection explores notions of identity as they manifest in her native Nairobi and the African diaspora. Ngwatilo has previously showcased her work on various international stages across Africa & Europe, and has been translated to Swedish and German. She also enjoys collaborating with musicians and other artists to collectively ‘tell’ poetry in an aesthetic she dubs ‘Puesic’ [pew-zik]. Her 6track E.P album Introducing Ngwatilo (2011) showcases some of her solo and music-based collaborations. In conjunction with the Africa Centre in South Africa, Ngwatilo is an Artist-in-Residence at Bundanon Trust, Australia in April 2013.