Bantu Mwaura
Encyclopedia
Bantu Mwaura was an award winning performing artist, director, playwright, storyteller, poet and university lecturer from Kenya
. He was also a political and human rights activist and a cultural theorist who has worked mostly with civil society using theatre and performance in human rights and developmental work.
Bantu's poetry has been published in several journals and anthologies in English, Swahili
and Gikuyu
. He has been commissioned by organisations such as the World Council of Churches
and the World Social Forum to write and perform poetry in international fora, performing poetry and spoken word in Europe, the United States and several countries in Africa. In Kenya, Bantu appeared in the monthly poetry slams organised by Kwani?
, the leading East-African based literary magazine. Bantu was part of the Poetry Africa
programme at the World Social Forum
in Nairobi in 2007. He has taught poetry, storytelling and playwriting in different universities in Kenya and the United States and his plays have been performed in Kenya, Zimbabwe, the US and the UK.
Bantu's poetry focused mainly on social and political issues, examining how society is ordered and how socio-economic and political issues impact on the advancement of society at large. In doing so his poetry was principally concerned with examining the African continent, its politics, its history and its place in the international arena.
Bantu undertook his PhD in Performance Studies
at the New York University
and also had a Masters degree in Theatre Studies
from Leeds University (UK) and another Masters in African-American and African Studies from the Ohio State University
(US). His research was largely focused on examining how performance theory interfaces with theatre practice in Africa, how culture impacts and has been impacted upon by real politics, and on the politics of performance space.
Bantu was also the founding editor and editor-inchief of Jahazi – a journal on the arts, culture and performance.
Mwaura died in 2009 what was initially thought as an assassination
, but later was proven to been a suicide
. He left widow Susan and two daughters.
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. He was also a political and human rights activist and a cultural theorist who has worked mostly with civil society using theatre and performance in human rights and developmental work.
Bantu's poetry has been published in several journals and anthologies in English, Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
and Gikuyu
Gikuyu language
Gikuyu or Kikuyu is a language of the Bantu family spoken primarily by the Kikuyu people of Kenya. Numbering about 6 million , they are the largest ethnic group in Kenya. Gikuyu is spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi. Gikuyu is one of the five languages of the Thagichu subgroup of the...
. He has been commissioned by organisations such as the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
and the World Social Forum to write and perform poetry in international fora, performing poetry and spoken word in Europe, the United States and several countries in Africa. In Kenya, Bantu appeared in the monthly poetry slams organised by Kwani?
Kwani?
Kwani? is a Kenyan literary journal. The magazine grew out of a series of conversations that took place among a group of Nairobi-based writers in the early 2000s. Its founding editor, Binyavanga Wainaina, spearheaded the project shortly after winning the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing...
, the leading East-African based literary magazine. Bantu was part of the Poetry Africa
Poetry Africa
Poetry Africa is an international poetry festival held annually in Durban, South Africa.More than twenty poets, predominantly from South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent, participate in the 7–10 day Poetry Africa, an international poetry festival that is based mostly in Durban, South...
programme at the World Social Forum
World Social Forum
The World Social Forum is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemonic globalization...
in Nairobi in 2007. He has taught poetry, storytelling and playwriting in different universities in Kenya and the United States and his plays have been performed in Kenya, Zimbabwe, the US and the UK.
Bantu's poetry focused mainly on social and political issues, examining how society is ordered and how socio-economic and political issues impact on the advancement of society at large. In doing so his poetry was principally concerned with examining the African continent, its politics, its history and its place in the international arena.
Bantu undertook his PhD in Performance Studies
Performance Studies
Performance studies have been growing as an academic field since the 1960s. Performance studies believe in the social act of Doing as it takes performance itself as the object of inquiry.The process of defining it becomes a practice in performance studies itself...
at the New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and also had a Masters degree in Theatre Studies
Theatre studies
Theatre studies is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psycho-biological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also encompasses the study of theatrical aesthetics and semiotics...
from Leeds University (UK) and another Masters in African-American and African Studies from the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
(US). His research was largely focused on examining how performance theory interfaces with theatre practice in Africa, how culture impacts and has been impacted upon by real politics, and on the politics of performance space.
Bantu was also the founding editor and editor-inchief of Jahazi – a journal on the arts, culture and performance.
Mwaura died in 2009 what was initially thought as an assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
, but later was proven to been a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. He left widow Susan and two daughters.