I’m driving to Craggy Gardens when a baby bear leaps out of the woods on the right side of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I’m not driving fast on the snaking, hairpin bends, so it’s easy to slow down and watch the little black bear. I’m excited because it’s the first time I’m seeing a bear. […]
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
The Year of the Hare
It’s that time of year when I think about the next classes for Spring, and if time permits, beyond Spring. The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna magically fell into my lap while I was browsing. I was skimming through the selected poems of Herbert Lomas online when I saw Arto’s book listed at the […]
On Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing novel
This is not going to be a review. I came to this great novel via my compatriot and mentor in Syracuse, Arthur Flowers. He left me a phone message praising the novel and also suggesting that it reminded him of some of the strategies I was dealing with (or needed to pay attention to) in my novel manuscript. The […]
Summer snapshots in Asheville
Summer is my favorite season because of all the sun to harvest. Mountains to climb. The heat doesn’t bother me. Before summer, I first fell in love with autumn when I experienced the four seasons for the first time. That was in 2009. The love didn’t last because it was tainted with sadness. I’d know on […]
Just a tiny, weeny bit about my father
May 1st When dad died I wanted to touch people. A few minutes after I got the news, I was thirsty, very thirsty, so I started drinking water and more water. Hours later, I wanted to hug people and just get lost in their warm, strong arms. Not just friends but strangers too. But mostly, […]
Reading for pleasure, the deliciousness of it to surprise you.
I haven’t read for pure pleasure in a long time. I’d almost forgotten the feeling, the thrilling joy of the gullible trip. This means I’ve lately been reading with alloyed delight, having all kinds of intentions in mind: discovery, study, theory, criticism… This week I found myself with the right amount of time and mood […]
Pursued by “Love After Love”
Derek Walcott’s poem: “Love After Love” has been pursuing me for the last couple of months. I’m beginning to understand why. Today when I was thinking about this month’s blog post, it occurred to me that I should write about that poem and how it has stalked me in mysterious ways. I call it stalking […]
Current African Literature Sample
Often I’m asked, besides Chinua Achebe and Amos Tutuola, which other African writers should one read? But the most frequent question is: who are the contemporary African writers? The answer is: very many, living on the continent and the Diaspora, but mentioning names and titles of their works isn’t enough, because sometimes it is hard […]
Ofi Press Magazine interview
Thought I should share an interview in the International Poetry and Fiction from Mexico City. To read, click this link to the site of Ofi Press Magazine. In company is Zdravka Evtimova, Sayed Gouda, among others. The poetry section has samples of my poems and others from around the world. Enjoy.
What we remember: chickens, cows, dogs.
This post is about chickens, cows and dogs. It is dedicated to my family and composed of threads that my siblings and I have come up with. Sometime back I wrote about how we remember, inspired by the way memory and imagination work to recreate past narratives. Then, I didn’t specifically have the nonfiction genre […]
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MKB: Dear Nyakisa, Good news! "The Animals of My Earth...
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Nyakisa Beth: Will it be available in Uganda?...
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Wm Epes: Dr. Barya: Hope you are well. Enj...
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