Ngwatilo Mawiyoo

(Kenya, 1983)

Biography

Drawing from her musical background and her work as an actress, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo is acclaimed as ‘a priest of the art of performed poetry’. She has performed in venues in East Africa, Europe and North America, such as the 2009 Stockholm Poetry Festival.

An undisputed young master of the written word, Ngwatilo’s first collection of poems Blue Mothertongue (2010) is ‘crafted with beautiful pace and intelligence’, a worthy testament of her times.

Her poems may also be found in literary journals around the world, including Kwani? published by The Kwani Trust and The Literary Review published by Farleigh & Dickinson University.

Bibliography

Poetry
Blue Mothertongue. Chapbook. Kwani, Nairobi, 2010

Music
Introducing Ngwatilo. 2011

Links
Ngwatilo Mawiyoo's page on Badilisha Poetry X-change
Video of the poem ‘Two clocks’, directed by Tom Vandas
TedxNairobi talk, ‘Framing the future’
Profile and 8 poems, with German translations, on Lyrikline
Poem ‘The end of the love affair’ set to music on World Literature Today