Debunk Quarterly, a new journal from Kenyan media outfit Debunk, launched at the Alliance Française Nairobi on Tuesday, February 13, 2024.
Also read: Debunk Barbara Achermann Fellowship recipients announced.
On Tuesday evening, Nairobi residents were treated to the launch of the newest literary journal in town, Debunk Quarterly. It was a colourful evening of literary discussion moderated by a masterful Mohamed Amin Abdishukri reminiscent of when Nairobi Noir launched at the same venue in 2020. On stage were Debunk Quarterly contributors A.K. Kaiza, Kiprop Kimutai, Paul Goldsmith, Dalle Abraham, Asha Ahmed Mwilu, Hadassah Saya, Diana Chepkemoi, and Wanja Michuki.
Contributors read aloud from their essays showing the diversity of the offerings in the journal. Kaiza spoke about his walkabouts around Kampala his adopted hometown. Kimutai spoke about his visit to Saint-Paul de Vence for his James Baldwin residency. Abraham shared on growing up in the government quarters in Marsabit. Goldsmith’s essay was on his life on the coast of Kenya. Mwilu spoke about the relationship with her two fathers as a child. Michuki spoke about swimming and the important place it played in her life. Saya spoke about her struggles with mental health and suicide ideation. Perhaps the standout contribution was from Chepkemoi who became a domestic slave in Saudi Arabia after her father died and lived to tell the tale.
It was an evening of raw emotion as the audience listened to the stories as well as some of the backstories. It was too long a session with nine people who had a lot to share, some who were published for the first time, even for such a good moderator at the reins. It started at 7:30 pm and two hours later they had to end the show. Apart from it being a pretty long evening, it was perhaps a new dawn for Kenyan letters.
Here are SOME of the readings captured by my not-so-great cell phone from the evening;
You can get the publication from good bookshops around Nairobi; we saw proprietors of Nuria, Soma Nami, and Cheche Books so I am sure you can find a copy there. We are waiting on information for those from outside Nairobi who will want a copy.
See you in three months. Hopefully.
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