By this time, several of the young contributing poets should have been warming up for a five-day cultural gala showcasing about 20 art pieces specially painted to illustrate 20 selected poems in the fourth-coming poetry anthology featuring 16 alumnae of PMM Girls’ School in Jinja. The event was scheduled for Monday 14th to Friday 18th June 2021.
Luigi Giussani High School located in Kampala suburbs of Kireka was the organizer and hosting school. The school’s director got carried away with excitement on learning that one of his former students, Alex Muleke did the paintings. The gala would have been a celebration of twining of poetry and painting. Besides tour of the painting gallery, there would have been poetry renditions by the young poets and the host school’s students. Several partner representatives of Luigi Giussani High School, personalities from the literary, as well as art and design fraternities were expected to be there with at least two of them to deliver keynote addresses. One or two of the poets and the painter were to participate in a thirty minute or so conversation on art, life, and passion. It was to be relayed on social media channels, live. The cultural gala organized under the theme, “Beauty is the Splendor of Truth” would have been graced by the Italian Ambassador to Uganda among other dignitaries. The event would have been the perfect precursor to the launch of the Poetry Anthology later in the year.
As it were, Coronavirus, in a form of a second wave had other plans. With countrywide partial lockdown to slow the second wave of the virus in force, prep for the event is on hold. Mood has not been dampened, nevertheless. The lockdown will surely come to pass. Advantage has been taken of the lockdown to curate the anthology – design it as suitably as possible and have it ready for print. (It is a painstaking process, I promise you)
Hopefully, the lockdown will end soon so that plan for the exhibition is awakened.
