I choose to open the new year, writing home about identity.
Between the 5th and the 23rd of January, 2015, the Lantern Meet of poets is going to be engaging the public in a series of discussions on the topic of identity.
The Lantern Meet of Poets is a poetry house found in Uganda. It is a platform for poetry lovers to meet and share experiences through the weapon of the word that has been around for the past eight years. It uses poetry as means of communication especially when discussing societal issues. This is done through sharing poetry.
Every year, the Meet (as it is commonly known) organises a number of poetry recitals where poems on a selected theme are shared. A recital is a poetry production by various poets that is organised to share poems.
This year, The Lantern Meet of Poets is organising a poetry recital on the theme of identity. There are many questions that have been asked about being Ugandan especially during the time of the ID project. Do we all know the meaning of our names? Do we know the circumstances surrounding our birth? Is our birth connected with the name we were given? Does it matter any way having the name that we hold? These and more are the questions that we want to ask of ourselves when discussing about our identity.
As we prepare for this particular recital (23rd & 24th), we would like to share our experiences; how and what we think of this. Soon we shall be knocking at your door asking you to share with us what you think of the meaning of your name, the name of your village, the features in Uganda. The bigger question of the day is about Uganda; why is this country called Uganda? Is it our concern to know? Is it even relevant that we know anything of our identity?
The climax of this discussion shall be held at the recital which will take place on the 23rd & 24th of January 2015 at the National Theatre, main auditorium at 1800 hours.
We look forward to having you take part in this arrangement.
Thank you very much,
Management,
The Lantern Meet of Poets
