“It’s still not the same after all these lies and hearts/The misconception of who an African is/So let me tell you who an African isn’t/We are not human objects to pity/Summarized in pamphlets with starving children and lack of water/No we are not zoo animals to be petted/My hair might have amazed you/But keep your hands to yourself. ”
Bonita’s voice is born for performing poetry. When she speaks, all the words dance with their rhythm. I used to think that poetry performance is about the rhythm and euphony between each line, but Bonita has the power to enchant every syllable with vitality.
Standing on stage, she gives a theatrical birth to written words. I remember sitting in the audience, watching her recite her poem “Alkebulan” during the African Family performance on UWC Day. Alkebulan, the ancient word for Africa, resonates louder and louder like drum beats each time she speaks. Although at that point of the year, I only had the chance to admire her from afar, I was intrigued deeply by this mesmerizing girl from Uganda.
It was not until later in the year, as I joined the church group on Sunday, that I got to speak with Bonita. During the Sunday service, she’s the one who danced most ardently to the gospel music. Her braids bounce as she grooves, filling the air with her usual casual outgoingness that comforted my anxiety being a newcomer to this church. After service, I dared to approach her and we had a fascinating discussion about poetry.
Bonita was first inspired to step into the world of poetry in middle school, during a school poetry event. A local Ugandan poet, Zombie, performed a poem about sexual assault in front of everyone. Bonita said that for the first time, she felt how words can make people shudder, and touch hearts with such intimacy. Zombie was the poet who inspired her to write her soul on paper and compelled her to share her words with the world.
Bonita’s Rhymer’s Poetry Club
If you take a look at Bonita’s Facebook page, you will be surprised at how much of a local celebrity she has become with her words and poems. Being the leader of her school’s Rhymer’s Poetry Club, she organized countless “Poetry Slams”, or events for people to share and compete their poems, across her country. Her words reach not only the ones in the poet community but also children like her once were, new and timid to the world of literature.
Bonita In Front of the Church
Bonita During Poetry Performance
For Bonita, poetry is beyond just writing down stanzas on paper. She told me that when it comes to performative poetry, it is very important for the poet to recite their poems. It’s when poets no longer focus on the written words that poetry can return to its most original, melodic form, with a focus on intonation, gesture, projection, and expression. In her theater of poems, she looks directly into the audience’s eyes and challenges them with the role of the Ugandan, the black, the woman, and most importantly, her own heart.