Austin Bukenya

Austin Bukenya (born 10 February 1944) is a Ugandan poet, playwright, novelist and academic administrator.
newvision.co.ug. Retrieved 7 May 2014. He is the author of the novel ''The People's Bachelor'',"The People’s Bachelor – the greatest Ugandan novel"
, edirisa.org. Retrieved 8 May 2014. and a play, ''The Bride''.The Bride… a review Words on Austin Lwanga Bukenya’s The Bride
joankivanda.wordpress.com. Retrieved 7 May 2014. He has taught languages, literature and drama at Makerere University in Uganda and universities in the UK, Tanzania and Kenya since the late 1960s. He has also held residences at universities in Rwanda and Germany. Bukenya is also a literary critic, novelist, poet and dramatist. An accomplished stage and screen actor, he was for several years Director of the Creative and Performing Arts Centre at Kenyatta University, Nairobi.Austin Bukenya
, badilishapoetry.com. Retrieved 7 May 2014.

Early life and education

Bukenya, who prefers to be called Mwalimu, was born in 1944 in Masaka town, Southern Uganda, where his father worked as a policeman. His family later moved to Kitukutwe 15 miles from Kampala. His father was a staunch Catholic who would narrate biblical stories which he would alternate with his mother's folk stories. According to Bukenya, these stories inspired his imagination.The Future for Young Writers is Online – Bukenya
redpepper.co.ug. Retrieved 7 May 2014.

He attended Gayaza primary school and joined Kisubi Seminary where he studied three languages, French, English and Latin. This would soon inform his literary thinking and future academic career. His growing passion for literature was soon cemented at Namilyango College, where he took his O- and A-level exams.Student Alumini
namilyangocollege.sc.ug. Retrieved 7 May 2014. In 1965, he went to Dar es Salaam University where he continued to nurture his keen interest in Language and Linguistics in addition to a growing interest in Kiswahili. He studied the Language Linguistics and Literature and Education (LLLE) for his undergraduate course. Most of Bukenya's writings are in Kiswahili, he attributes this to his grandmother, whose roots can be traced back to Dar es Salaam. He was also inspired by linguistic teachers including Wilson Whitely, a British author famous for his book ''Kiswahili: the Rising of a National Language''. Bukenya joined Makerere as a postgraduate student in 1968 and later developed the oral literature course. He also studied at universities in Madagascar and England, and took his higher degrees at Makerere and Kenyatta Universities. He has taught languages, literature and drama at Makerere University in Uganda and universities in the UK, Tanzania and Kenya since the late 1960s.

Writing

A poet, a novelist and a keen actor, Bukenya was introduced to theatre and inspired to become a writer by his parents who were strong believers of Kiganda traditions. This immersion of theatre in everyday life was also a part of Bukenya’s education who grew up in a Ugandan village where he “witnessed numerous performances of children’s traditional songs and dances, games and rhythms” that inspired and influenced his writing career. Bukenya wrote his first prizewinning play in 1964, based on stories told to him by his mother. He has since written numerous plays and radio dramas, but only managed to publish two of his plays, ''The Secret'' and ''The Bride''.

Bukenya’s works include ''The Mermaid of Msambweni'', ''The Bride – a play in four parts'', and ''John Ruganda’s The Floods'', among others. He has taught in Kenya at Kenyatta University, and also Bayreuth University, Department of African Studies in Germany. His recent publication, ''A Hole in the Sky'', focuses on the need to protect the environment and honours the late Kenyan Environmental activist and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai. Bukenya's work has been featured on the pan-African poetry platform Badilisha Poetry Radio. He is an honorary member of FEMRITE.FEMRITE Membership
femriteug.org. Retrieved 7 May 2014.

Published works

Novels

*

Plays

*
*

Literary Criticism

*.

Educational books

* ,
* , with Jane Nandwa and muyigai Gachwanga
* , with Wanjikũ Mũkabi Kabĩra and Duncan Okoth-Okombo
* , with Arnold Curtis and James Park
*
* , with Jane Nandwa

Anthologies

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Poems

*Naturally, in
"A Dancer's Challenge"
in Badilishapoetry, 2014

References

External links

"Professor Bukenya: Chinua Achebe Inspired My Writing"

"‘Stop discriminating against humanities’ ""Literature growth in Uganda "

"I got it"

"Africa Must Embrace Traditional Values or Perish"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bukenya, Austin
Living people
1944 births
People from Masaka District
Makerere University alumni
Ugandan male short story writers
Ugandan short story writers
20th-century Ugandan poets
Ugandan novelists
Makerere University academics
Ugandan dramatists and playwrights
People educated at Namilyango College
21st-century Ugandan poets
Male novelists
Ugandan male poets
20th-century short story writers
21st-century short story writers
20th-century male writers
21st-century male writers