About MKB

Mildred Kiconco Barya is a North Carolina-based writer, educator, and poet of East African descent. She teaches and lectures globally, and is the author of four full-length poetry collections, most recently "The Animals of My Earth School" released by Terrapin Books, 2023. Her prose, hybrids, and poems have appeared in Shenandoah, Joyland, The Cincinnati Review, Tin House, New England Review, and elsewhere. She’s now working on a collection of creative nonfiction, and her essay, “Being Here in This Body”, won the 2020 Linda Flowers Literary Award and was published in the North Carolina Literary Review. She serves on the boards of African Writers Trust, Story Parlor, and coordinates the Poetrio Reading events at Malaprop’s Independent Bookstore/Café. She blogs here: www.mildredbarya.com
Author Archive | MKB

Madness, bloodshed, and Africa’s hope.

Madness is upon us and Somali militants have claimed responsibility. The BBC reports; The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab has said it was behind twin blasts which hit the Ugandan capital Kampala on Sunday, killing 74 people. In a statement in Mogadishu, spokesman for the group Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage threatened more attacks. A Ugandan official […]

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it’s been passion and pride this June

I’ve confirmed it. If there’s anything that unites millions of fans across the globe, it’s the World Cup soccer. It’s got many of us up and shouting in queer places at odd hours, betting and speculating, giving 101% support to the teams we want to win.

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Stoku, the new literary form according to Ben Okri

Ben Okri is back. This time not with just a new book but a new experimental form in the name of Stoku. In his own words, “A stoku is an amalgam of short story and haiku. It is a story as it inclines towards a flash of a moment, insight, vision or paradox.”

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Volcano Iceland (Eyjafjallajökull)

Earth gyrating, rolling and splitting Fiery tongues spitting, hurling rocks Unleashing fury. Beauty unexpected

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Moving forward & Ithaka poem

 Just realizing March is passing me by without an entry. It shouldn’t be. It’s been a good month, ending rather so quickly compared to February which seemed quite long, yet it had the shortest months. I guess it’s because many of us wanted to see the sun, so Feb kind of dragged its feet to […]

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Micere Mugo: young, beautiful and soulful

Ah, am sated. I’ve ticked the month of February off because it’s done. Finished. The Mugo celebration this weekend released dynamite it’s going to take a while to ‘recover.’ I’m not complaining. I’m commemorating.

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Earth changes. Hearts cry for Haiti

Apart from New Year resolutions that lead to dramatic life changes, year end can spell beyond belief disaster, as is the case with Haiti, 2010, and the Indian Ocean earthquake of 2004 that became the terrible Tsunami. The one thing to count on is hope. Hope manifests clearly amid this punch of doom.

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Don’t worry much about Santa Claus

And so the year comes to an end just like that, in spite of the warning from the calendar. And life once more means packing bags, catching a bus, a train, a plane, shuffling through doors with signs on the opposite end: anything to declare. Yes. my self.

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Amiri Baraka at 75 still hitting the gong strong

Let me begin with a confession: I love memorials. I’d never miss a memorial service, whether the person being celebrated, honored, and remembered is known to me or is a stranger. I just like being in the audience, bearing witness to the outpourings of unforgotten love, heroic deeds and all the extraordinary larger than life […]

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A word about my new customized theme

I’ve been searching for a web theme that expresses stuff am passionate about. My previous theme: fallen leaves was a very good one because of the various shades and richness the leaves projected, not to say the philosophical underpinnings beneath fallen leaves, the connection to the human condition, our nature as beings who fall and […]

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