Cultural differences elicit scholarly conversations from diverse fields of the humanities and social sciences. For example, Ngugi wa Thiong’o upholds the first language as a means of preserving African culture and, effectively, an antidote against imperialism. Referring to Franz Fanon, Homi Bhabha associates elevation of cultural differences with the politics of polarity. For Bhabha, when communities only focus on the mastery of their own language and culture, it becomes a recipe for othering that threatens the national fabric.

The knowledge of the other’s culture and one’s own leads the person to the middle space, which Bhabha proposes as the strategy of co-existence in pluralistic nations such as Kenya. The Kenyan citizenry, and more so the youth, ought to understand the cultural values of the different Kenyan communities to access this middle space. Such an understanding is likely to reduce conflict and foster national cohesion.

It is upon this canon that Andrew Nyongesa and John Mugubi on behalf of Nsemia Inc. Publishers hereby make a call for stories written in English from different regions of Kenya. The stories should employ the autobiographical style that captures what the family and community of the narrating persona emphasized on between five and eighteen years. Through vivid description, the writers should capture, among other things, the physical environment, childhood activities, initiation and other ceremonies, parenting styles, foods, music and dances, and the most cherished values in 4000 words. The use of vernacular words is allowed as long as their translations are provided.

The deadline for submission is 30th November 2020. Send your submissions in Microsoft Word format to [email protected] or [email protected] and copy to [email protected].