13 April 2023, to mark Mwalimu @ 102, I presented 38 Reflections on Mwalimu Julius Nyerere to Prof. Abdulrazak Gurnal, winner 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature (Pic.1 right) and Hon. Leila Mohamed Mussa Zanzibar Education Minister (3rd left Pic. 2).
African Books Collective
Mkuki na Nyota

📍Samora,Dar es Salaam

Makamu wa Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania Mhe. Dkt. Philip Mpango akinunua vitabu katika madukambalimbali jijini Dar es salaam  ikiwemo Duka la Mkukina Nyota pamoja na Duka la Pauline’s Bookshop kwalengo la kujisomea vitabu hivyo vilivyoandikwa

Nje ya wizara ya nishati na madini kuna historia nzuri. Upo mtambo wa kwanza uliozalisha umeme Dar es salaam.

Ulifungwa mwaka 1932 kwenye kituo cha kwanza cha umeme Kurasini. Uwezo wake ulikua Kilowatt 80 tu.

Ulitumika Dar, ukapelekwa Arusha na Bukoba na kumaliza kazi 1967.

Dar es salaam, ni jiji la kihistoria (hasa ya ukombozi wa Afrika). Ningependa kuona sehemu hizi zinaangaziwa zaidi.

Kwa mf. wangapi wanapita Br. ya Msasani bila kujua kuwa Eduardo Mondlande (Muasisi wa Demokrasia ya Msumbiji) aliishi mtaa ule.

Hizi ndio 'Blue Plaques' zetu.

But this hype is created by influencers. Where is our Bongo version of #booktok ? Local publishers can’t compete with the marketing machine of their American and EU peers. When was the last time you notice a locally published Tamil, Thai etc author? We have to publicize our own.

Mkuki na Nyota And finally the famous English selling point “you need it” while this may be arguable it is a lived reality among most - we want to learn it, to improve it and so people tend to read with that intent with the assumption that they’re good with Kiswahili (or kitakupeleka wapi 😂)

Mkuki na Nyota “Out of sight out of mind” - the kiswahili books don’t get as much airtime as their English counterparts. I mean you get the hype foreign books get on social media and all over the place.

Kudos for #KalamuSalamu that’s a good place to start with the promotion of Tanzanian books

Mkuki na Nyota Options - I think there are limited options in Kiswahili as compared to English books which has so many. I mean if you ask me, I am yet to come across a Kiswahili self help book and these are quite popular especially among the age groups that make the majority of these bookclubs.

Mkuki na Nyota Could it be that it starts with the name 😄 “Bookclubs” - and so I bet the first thing that comes to mind for most is books (in English) and not vitabu (vya Kiswahili). A subconscious influence?!

Mkuki na Nyota Nadhani sababu kubwa ni taarifa ya mahali pa kupata vitabu vya Kiswahili. Lakini pia, sina hakika kama waandishi wa Kiswahili wanatumia majukwaa kama mitandao ya kijamii kutangaza kazi zao. Pia tunahitaji kuongeza ubunifu na wigo kwenye vitabu vya Kiswahili ili kuwe na chaguzi.

Jane Shussa Mkuki na Nyota Kiswahili kina vitabu vya fasihi zaidi. Si kila msomaji anapenda ujumbe usio wa moja kwa moja (fiction).

Msomaji anayetafuta maarifa mahususi kwenye eneo lake anaishia na hivi vya Ki’ngreza. Tuhamasishe watu wenye taaluma nyingine kuandika kwa Kiswahili kwa lugha bunifu.

Christian Bwaya Mkuki na Nyota Kabisa...kuwe na ubunifu zaidi katika maandiko yao.

Mkuki na Nyota In my bookclub we have comfortably read Mzee Ruksa, My life, My Purpose and other Mkuki na Nyota books. We need original quality books.

Most Tanzanian authored books are hastily written, of poor content, often translations of foreign books with lack of research prior to writing.

Mkuki na Nyota khalifa said #PALESTINE 🇵🇸 ☭🌹 Vitini vya nyambari nyangwine vimetuharibu...hatujazoeshwa kusoma vitabu..only summary

The Citizen /April 19 2024
Featured us as a rizz-leading book club among others available in Dar es Salaam, Promoting reading culture campaign.

Grab your copy Pg. 13&14

Dar es Salaam's literary oasis: A dive into the city's book club culture thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/…

We love to see book clubs growing and spreading in Tanzania. But why so few Tanzanian authored books? Is it a quality issue, language (kiswahili kigumu kuliko kiingereza), lack of awareness of existence of the book etc? Please help us see how we can improve this as publishers 🙏🏾

“Some people have even found romance - one of the founders found her husband in the bookclub”

#FeaturedInPrint

#Books &Love