Mildred Barya

 

Mildred Kiconco Barya muwandiisi era omutontomi okuva mu Uganda.Yaweebwa ekirabo kya 2008 ekya Pan African Literary Forum Prize for Africana Fiction,ng'era mu kusooka yasimibwa olw'emirimu gye egy'okubeera omutontomi, nadala okusinga muz eyasooka ez'emirundi ebbiri, okwali eyitibwa, ''Men Love Chocolates But They Don't Say'' eyali eya 2002, wamu n'eya 2006 eyitibwa, ''The Price of Memory: After the Tsunami''.

Barya yakolako nga munamawulire era eyali awandiika ng'agenze okutambula mungendo empaanvu. Okuva mu Gwomunaana mu 2007 okutuuka mu Gwomunaana mu 2009, yali awereza omuwandiisi omukugu mu kitongole kya TrustAfrica, ekitongole ekigata abantu mu Afrika nga kisinziira mu kibuga Dakar mu ggwanga lya Senegal. Yatikirwa okuva mu pulogulaamu ya MFA ku Yunivasite ya Syracuse, mu New York mu 2012, Diguli ey'okusatu mu kuwandiika nga obigye mundowooza okuva ku Yunivasite ya Denver mu 2016. Yali omu kubaali mu kibiina ekigata abawandiisi nga babigya mubirowoozo kutendekero erisomesa okusiiga ebifanannyi mu Alabama. [1] Yabeerako era n'akolerako e Girimaani, Botswana, Kenya wamu nemu Uganda. Nga ogyeko omulimu gwe ogw'okubeera omuwandiisi, Barya yakolako nga omuwi w'amagezi ku avunaanyizibwa ku nsonga z'abakozi muba Ernst & Young abasinganibwa mu Uganda, nga ensangi zino asomesa kuwandiika nga obigya mu birowoozo era nga y'omu ku bali mutendekero erya Yunivasite ya North Carolina mu Asheville.

Barya y'omu kubaatandikawo ng'era awereza ku kakiiko akawi k'amagezi mu kibiina ky'abawandiisi ekya African Writers Trust, " ekibiina ekyatondebwa okutakola magoba, wabula okukungaanya n'okukwanaganya abawandiisi okuva mu Afrika nga bali mu bifo okwetoloola ensi yonna wamu n'abawandiisi abali ku semazinga, okutumbuula okugabana obukodyo, wamu n'ebikozesebwa ebirala, n'okubiriza enkulakulana y'amagezi, wamu n'okuyigirizibwa wakati w'ebibiina byombi."

Okusoma kwe

Yazaalibwa mu Disitulikiti ye Kabale mu bukiikakkono bwabugwanjuba bwa Uganda, Barya yasomera ku Mwisi Primary School wamu ne Kigezi High School.Mu 1996, yaweebwa basale enzijuvu nga gavumenti yeeyali agenda okumusasulira ebisale byonna ku Yunivasite y'e Makerere mu Uganda. Yatikirwa mu 1999 nene Diguli mu By'enjigiriza mu bikwatagana mu biwandiike. Yeegata ku kibiina ekigatta abakyala abawandiisi bweyali ku yunivasite, ng'eno yakerelayo bukubirire ng'ali ne Goretti Kyomuhendo, eyali omukwanaganya wa pulogulaamu, wamu ne Violet Barungi eyali omusunsunzi w'ekibiina kino, ekya FEMRITE.

Mu 2000, Barya yasoma koosi ya satifikeeti mu by'obubaka, eby'empuliziganya wamu n'okumannya engeri bizineensi oba ebitongole kyebitandika okukolamu ku mutendera ogwe'ensi yonna, nga yagisomera ku International Women's University mu Vifu, mu kibuga Hamburg e Girimaani. Mu 2002, yasomera eby'okubeera nga wenyigira mu by'okusunsula ebiwandiike wamu n'okudukanya eneeyisa n'embeera y'abantu okuva ku Yunivasite y'e Moi esinganibwa mu Eldoret mu ggwanga lye Kenya. Okuva mu 2002 okutuuka mu 2004, yaddamu okwegata ku Yunivasite y'e Makerere okufuna Diguli ey'okubiri mungeri abantu gyebeeyisaamu mu bitongole.

Mu 2006 okutuuka mu 2007, Barya In 2006–2007, Barya yalina eky'okubeera omuwandiisi omukugu bweyali mu Per Sesh Writing Program mu Popenguine ekisinganibwa e Senegal, wansi w'amateeka aga Ayi Kwei Armah.

Okuwandiika n'okuwakanyizibwa kweyali afuna

Ebitontome Barya byeyasooka okufulumya kwaliko kyebaali bayita, Men Love Chocolates But They Don't Say, n'awangula engule ya Ugandan National Book Trust Award mu 2002. Eky'okubiri, kyali kiyitibwa, The Price of Memory: After the Tsunami, nga nakyo kyafuna okuwakanyizibwa nga bwekiwandikiddwa wansi wano.

Yusuf Serunkuma Kajura, addamu okuyisa amaaso mu mpapula za The Weekly Observer mu Uganda yagamba nti engeri Barya gyeyali agatagatamu ebitontome bye ng'asinziira ku ndowooza ye eya Afrika, nga by'ekuusa ku birowoozo,osobola okugigerageranya ku kitontome kya Okot p'Bitek ekiwaanvu ekyali kiyitibwa oluyimba lwa Lawino oba ''Song Of Lawino''." Naye ebitontome bya Barya kubeera nga kunyumirwa omulere ogubeera gufuuyibwa mu bitundu ewasingwanibwa abakyala, obutefaananyizira ngeri Lawino gyeyali alwanirira eneeyisa y'obuwangwa mu Afrika."

Gaaki Kigambo, addamu okuyisa amaaso mu mpapula z'amawulire ga Sunday Monitor mu Ugansda, yagamba nti, '' Ebintu Barya byeyatekako esira obubaka bwabigya nga ku bintu byetwamanyiira. Ku mulembe gw'amasimu, buli omu asobola okumannya omukwano ogukakasiddwa n'ebibalo by'okubala ." Kigambo era yagamba nti ebitontome eby'ekika kino bigyayo omukwano omungi oguli mu Barya."

Okuteeka esira ku bitontome bya Barya eby'omulundi ogw'okusatu, nga bino byali biyitibwa ,''Give Me Room To Move My Feet '' nga byali mu 2009, Peter Nazareth omukenkufu w'olulimu oluzungu ku Yunivasite ye Iowa mu ggwanga lya Amerika, yagamba nti," omutontomi amenya menya n'addamu okwegata ng'ayita mu mwoyo, ediini wamu n'ebitontome, n'akomyawo mu bulamu ekyali kisuubirwa okubeera ng'eky'afa" ng'era nti Barya, '' talekera ng'awo kwagala butaka bwe obwa Afrika."

Ebiwandiiko bya Barya ebimpi byeyakola ng'abigya m,u mutwe bya;abibwako mu biwandiiko by'ekibiina ekigata abakyala abawandiisi, ku mikutu gya '' ku mikutu egifulumya ebikwatagana ku mawanga agali mu luse olumu ne Bungereza, Kungero za Afrika ez'omukwano, Picador Africa, wamu ne ku mikutu gya Pambazuka egy'amawulire. Akatundu akatono akagibwa mu katabo keyayita ''What Was Left Behind'' kamuweesa ekirabo kya 2008 ekya ''Pan African Literary Forum Prize for Africana Fiction'', nga kyalamulibwa Junot Diaz, owa Dominican-American Pulitzer Prize ekyamuwanguza eky'okubeera omuwandiisi w'ebintu ng'abigye mutwe, wamu n'engero enyiimpi. Y'omu ku bawandika mu biwandiiko bya 2019 ebya New Daughters of Africa, nga bino byasunsulwa Margaret Busby.

Awaadi

• Mu 2008, yaweebwa engule ya Pan African Literary Forum Prize for Africana Fiction
• Mu 2015 yawangula ekirabo kya Sylt Foundation African Writer´s Residency Award
• Mu 2020 yafuna engule ya Linda Flowers Literary Award for creative non-fiction entry "Being Here in This Body"

By'awandiise nebifulumizibwa

Ebitontome

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• "A fragile heart", "If I was" in  Femrite Publications. 2009. ISBN <bdi>978-9970-700-18-9</bdi>.
• "Stormy heart", in  (2014). A thousand voices rising: An anthology of contemporary African poetry. BN Poetry Foundation. ISBN <bdi>978-9970-9234-0-3</bdi>.

By'agye mu mutwe ebiimpi

• "Raindrops", in  (2001). Words from a Granary. FEMRITE Publications. ISBN <bdi>9970-700-01-4</bdi>.

• "Scars of Earth", in  (2006). African Love Stories. Oxfordshire, UK: Ayebia Clarke Publishing. ISBN <bdi>0-9547023-6-0</bdi>.
• "Effigy Child", in  (2006). Gifts of Harvest. FEMRITE Publications. ISBN <bdi>978-9970700042</bdi>.
• "Effigy Child", in  (2008). Dreams, Miracles & Jazz. Picador Africa. ISBN <bdi>978-1-77010-025-1</bdi>.
• "What was left of us", in Pambazuka News, 2008.
• "Black Stone", in Per Contra: An International Journal of the Arts, Literature, and Ideas, 2012. Reprinted in New Daughters of Africa, Margaret Busby, ed., 2019.