USIU Student's Poems Encourage Kenyans To Talk About Sex
The field is currently being tested by a handful of skilled writers...
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Erotica is the go-to spot for pleasure through words often drawing comparisons to the 'pornography' of written literature. In Kenya, it is a field that only the bold explore.
One of the most famous erotic writers in the country is Philip Etemesi, known for his famous Etemesi Tales which ran on three blogs, including his own, setting wild fantasies on Kenyan women who happen to read them.
The field, which includes sexually explicit details as a primary feature and contains more sexual details than romance novels or stories, is currently being tested by a handful of skilled writers and one of them is Eliseus Bamporineza.
He wrote a series of poems compiled in a book titled All About Her and Me which specialises on love and romance inspired by his relationship with his girlfriend.
Cover page of Eliseus Bamporineza's book 'All About Her and Me'. /COURTESY
Speaking to Viral Tea, Bamporineza disclosed that he was inspired to write the book to demystify the taboo that his home country, Burundi, has in place in terms of kissing or cuddling one's lover, viewed as a public offence.
"I grew up in a family that only spoke quarrelling and violent language. I never saw my father and mother expressing love even for a single day. As I grew up, I found out it was almost the same scenario in most of the surrounding families. Hardly could one hear a man calling her wife “my babe, my sweetheart."
"So I wrote that book, one, as a way to tell my story, two, as a call for awareness and a revolt to do away with societal standards that enslave us and prevent us from freely expressing our feelings and emotions," he says.
Bamporineza further explained that the book gives a voice to women in terms of sex and allows her the room to be the initiator and the ability to enjoy it.
"Every poem, written at a particular time, conveys a unique message and thrilling experience the author and his lover share. Some poems deliver a message of comfort, hope, courage, and determination to those who love each other amid tribulations of this world or are rejected by their communities because their way of love challenges the status quo.
"While sexual act has been seen as benefitting only men, this book gives voice to both partners. It tells us that a fulfilling intercourse is not just about mere moaning. A woman can also express the pleasure she feels from arousal to the act and suggests styles that make her enjoy it better," the book describes in part.
This writer asked to sample one of his poems for clarity, which goes as follows:
Between Her Legs / Eliseus B.
Between her legs
Stands a gate that gives way to life.
Every time I open it, it makes an electrifying sound,
And I get so hypnotized that I do it for another round.
Zigzagging inside such a den of bliss, I feel super safe
As my steps in turn her lips into vibrating strings.
Between her legs
I find a food more succulent than honey.
The food that heals me and ignites my mood.
Those antipathetic to it told me it is a bait on the hook
And warned me not to taste it or else
I will drown in that inebriating brook.
Little do they know there flows a lake of elixir
That rejuvenates me and can cure my ills.
Between her legs
Gushes a holy water that purges me of sins,
And spills the purest cream that bears oil
To anoint me – the worshipper of her gracious soul.
The poem attracted delightful reactions from a Kenyan writer who expressed awe in the styling of his words in the piece which he termed as bringing to reality the story of the exciting games in the bedroom.
"From Burundians, some were speechless to read such kind of erotic poetry from their fellow Burundian writer. According to them, it takes assertiveness to write on such controversial topics, particularly from a very conservative society," he added.
The book is available for sale on Amazon Kindle for Ksh365.04 (US$3) and Ksh973.44 (US$8) on Paperback.
A couple in bed. /FILE
Eliseus Bamporineza Profile
Born of a Burundian father and Rwandan mother, Bamporineza is a Tujenge Africa Foundation (TAF) alumnus and African Leadership Academy-Mastercard Foundation (ALA - MCF) scholar, poet, and one of the beneficiaries of the Aspire Leaders Institute founded at Harvard University.
Prior to joining the United States International University-Africa (USIU) in August 2019, he attended a one-month pre-university orientation program in July 2019 at the University of Rochester in New York, United States. He is currently in his fourth year of studies, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, concentrating on Foreign Policy and Diplomacy with a minor in Philosophy.
Bamporineza won the 2014 edition of the East African Students Essay Writing competition and wrote a play titled Amunguranka Ni yo Mazikesha on democratic values, ranked first in the national competition. Brilliant in natural sciences, he ranked third in the National Exam for entry into the medical field of studies at the university in 2018.
He has authored a debut poetry book Born to Be Human that narrates life experiences, patriotism, environment, love, and romance with a stylistic tone. The main subject of his poetry is love.
Other achievements include:
- He has participated in the African Writing and Reading Residency in Kampala-Uganda 27 April- 2 May 2021 organized by the Africa Writers Trust.
- He planned and run a Poetry Workshop and Contest from August 16 to August 19, 2021 in Bujumbura – Burundi. The project was sponsored by Mastercard Foundation and Africa Leadership Academy
- He Participated in the Tanzania International Model United Nations 2021 (TIMUN) in Zanzibar from 22 to 26 August 2021 and has been certified.
- He Participated in the African Union Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference May 10-11, 2022 whose contribution will facilitate the creation of an Africa – owned Humanitarian Agency.
- In February 2022, his AU-EU Essay (The AU-EU Partnership that Reaches the Underprivileged African) got selected as one of the top contributions ahead of the AU-EU Summit 2022.
- He Participated in the African Union Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference May 10-11, 2022 whose contribution will facilitate the creation of an Africa – owned Humanitarian Agency.
An image of the USIU-Africa library. /USIU.AC.KE
