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Tom
Jalio is a Kenyan poet, editor, runner, and winner of the BN Poetry
Award 2014. You can follow him on Twitter for updates on his life
@tjalio Recently, we got a chance to have a chat with him, about
winning the BNPA, his writing, and his life as a runner. You
can watch him
read
his winning poem, There
Was Once Something Special Here,
on http://youtu.be/OG8s5GfHQns
Tom
Jalio is a Kenyan poet, editor, runner, and winner of the BN Poetry
Award 2014. You can follow him on Twitter for updates on his life
@tjalio Recently, we got a chance to have a chat with him, about
winning the BNPA, his writing, and his life as a runner. You
can watch him
read
his winning poem, There
Was Once Something Special Here,
on http://youtu.be/OG8s5GfHQns
Lawino:
Hello
Tom. Let’s start this chat with you telling us about yourself.
Hello
Tom. Let’s start this chat with you telling us about yourself.
Tom Jalio:
I’m that wallflower who likes to take a backseat in social
settings, and watch others audition for roles in my writings without
them knowing it. I like theatres and cinemas, hiking, and running. I
love to go offline, off the radar, to feed the solitude my muse
craves for. Novels help me travel around the world mentally and
challenge me to keep improving my writing skills.
I’m that wallflower who likes to take a backseat in social
settings, and watch others audition for roles in my writings without
them knowing it. I like theatres and cinemas, hiking, and running. I
love to go offline, off the radar, to feed the solitude my muse
craves for. Novels help me travel around the world mentally and
challenge me to keep improving my writing skills.
When
not bench-warming on social media, I play for Manuscript FC as a
striker of grammatical errors. I beat the offside trap of poor
sentence construction, dribble past lines of repetition, win fouls
against mispunctuation, red-card spelling mistakes, take penalties
against inconsistency, score goals of brevity, and free-kick
publishability to readers so they can have something to cheer about.
In other words, I’m an editor (but would have been a footballer in
another life).
not bench-warming on social media, I play for Manuscript FC as a
striker of grammatical errors. I beat the offside trap of poor
sentence construction, dribble past lines of repetition, win fouls
against mispunctuation, red-card spelling mistakes, take penalties
against inconsistency, score goals of brevity, and free-kick
publishability to readers so they can have something to cheer about.
In other words, I’m an editor (but would have been a footballer in
another life).
I
have contributed
to over ten publications since 2007, including Parents,
Sunday
Standard,
ICT
Village,
The
Anvil,
KenyaImagine
and UP Magazine. I am a columnist for the Star newspaper,
writing
about running and theatre,
and
I was featured
in the 2010 Young Writers’ Project, alongside Caine Prize winner
Okwiri Oduor. I have been published in the short story anthology,
Nairobi
Grit,
and
in the poetry anthology, A
Thousand Voices Rising.
Above it all, I won the 2014 Babishai Niwe Poetry Award.
have contributed
to over ten publications since 2007, including Parents,
Sunday
Standard,
ICT
Village,
The
Anvil,
KenyaImagine
and UP Magazine. I am a columnist for the Star newspaper,
writing
about running and theatre,
and
I was featured
in the 2010 Young Writers’ Project, alongside Caine Prize winner
Okwiri Oduor. I have been published in the short story anthology,
Nairobi
Grit,
and
in the poetry anthology, A
Thousand Voices Rising.
Above it all, I won the 2014 Babishai Niwe Poetry Award.
I
run. I started
running in primary school. I twice missed out narrowly on a podium
finish in high school, and thereafter I encountered professionals in
town races I couldn’t compete with. But I have a growing collection
of finisher’s medals and certificates, especially from the Nairobi
Stanchart Marathon. The initial motivation was just to challenge
myself, but I discovered a sense of serenity while at it that made it
a hobby.
run. I started
running in primary school. I twice missed out narrowly on a podium
finish in high school, and thereafter I encountered professionals in
town races I couldn’t compete with. But I have a growing collection
of finisher’s medals and certificates, especially from the Nairobi
Stanchart Marathon. The initial motivation was just to challenge
myself, but I discovered a sense of serenity while at it that made it
a hobby.
Lawino: So
how did you get into poetry?
how did you get into poetry?
Tom Jalio: It’s
the other way round, actually. Poetry came into my life, while I was
in high school, with the malicious intention of robbing me of marks
in the literature side of English exams. A piece could be ten lines
long, with like twenty questions after it, and it would draw thirty
different interpretations in a class of forty students. Luckily, I’d
grown up reading the simple yet powerful piece, Don’t
Quit, on
the wall of my parents’ house. It made me aspire to connect with,
not confuse, readers. I’d take plain papers from my mother’s
office, write poems on them and pin them on the notice board in
class. Since writing letters to girls was the in-thing at the time, I
gravitated towards love poems, but it was all just literary practice
on my part.
the other way round, actually. Poetry came into my life, while I was
in high school, with the malicious intention of robbing me of marks
in the literature side of English exams. A piece could be ten lines
long, with like twenty questions after it, and it would draw thirty
different interpretations in a class of forty students. Luckily, I’d
grown up reading the simple yet powerful piece, Don’t
Quit, on
the wall of my parents’ house. It made me aspire to connect with,
not confuse, readers. I’d take plain papers from my mother’s
office, write poems on them and pin them on the notice board in
class. Since writing letters to girls was the in-thing at the time, I
gravitated towards love poems, but it was all just literary practice
on my part.
Lawino: You
told us that you used to publish poetry in social media until you
thought about the BN Poetry Awards.
told us that you used to publish poetry in social media until you
thought about the BN Poetry Awards.
Tom Jalio:
Indeed,
when I went to university, I graduated from the notice board to
Facebook notes, where my love for love poems rubbed some people the
wrong way. After I won the BNPA, my old classmate, Julia Wanjeri,
reminisced those days via a Facebook post, saying, “For the longest
time, I thought Jalio was the oddest creature. Fella lived in his own
world. Walking around with scribbles on the back of his hand, donning
this weird, black cap, writing words that only he could understand,
ignoring the unwritten rule: you just do NOT write about love in
campus. It murders a youngling’s swag.”
Indeed,
when I went to university, I graduated from the notice board to
Facebook notes, where my love for love poems rubbed some people the
wrong way. After I won the BNPA, my old classmate, Julia Wanjeri,
reminisced those days via a Facebook post, saying, “For the longest
time, I thought Jalio was the oddest creature. Fella lived in his own
world. Walking around with scribbles on the back of his hand, donning
this weird, black cap, writing words that only he could understand,
ignoring the unwritten rule: you just do NOT write about love in
campus. It murders a youngling’s swag.”
Lawino: She
had a crash on you (Laughs). During
the awards ceremony you had to perform your poem,There
Was Once Something Special Here.
Was that the first time you were performing before a crowd? What
difference did you find between writing poetry and performing it?
had a crash on you (Laughs). During
the awards ceremony you had to perform your poem,There
Was Once Something Special Here.
Was that the first time you were performing before a crowd? What
difference did you find between writing poetry and performing it?
Tom Jalio: Yes,
that was my first poetry performance. Writing is hard because you do
a lot of editing to perfect your work, but performance is
spontaneous. Even if you’ve rehearsed, once a word leaves your
mouth, that is it; so there’s less room for error. A brilliant
piece can sound pathetic in the hands of a shy performer, but being
assertive is out of character for me, so I had to try and assert
myself to make others feel the value of my poem. But in the end I
loved the challenge and feel it made me a better person. It lit
something in me, and now I would like to write lyrics for songs, more
than just write for spoken word.
that was my first poetry performance. Writing is hard because you do
a lot of editing to perfect your work, but performance is
spontaneous. Even if you’ve rehearsed, once a word leaves your
mouth, that is it; so there’s less room for error. A brilliant
piece can sound pathetic in the hands of a shy performer, but being
assertive is out of character for me, so I had to try and assert
myself to make others feel the value of my poem. But in the end I
loved the challenge and feel it made me a better person. It lit
something in me, and now I would like to write lyrics for songs, more
than just write for spoken word.
Lawino: It’s
been over five months now since you won the BN Poetry Awards. How has
it changed your life?
been over five months now since you won the BN Poetry Awards. How has
it changed your life?
Tom Jalio: I
have been writing poems for about a decade now, but I never thought
of it as much more than a private hobby. So winning made me
acknowledge that I am indeed a poet. I have since included poetry in
my feature report on the latest Stanchart
Marathon
and I started taking a second look at poetry ideas I had long left
unattended.
have been writing poems for about a decade now, but I never thought
of it as much more than a private hobby. So winning made me
acknowledge that I am indeed a poet. I have since included poetry in
my feature report on the latest Stanchart
Marathon
and I started taking a second look at poetry ideas I had long left
unattended.
At a personal level,
it was a bit overwhelming. Suddenly, I was being pulled aside every
minute for photographs, interviews, and autographs. It felt surreal.
When I got back to Kenya, friends who heard of the cash prize
jokingly reminded me they have M-Pesa accounts. I couldn’t log on
to Facebook without finding friend requests, and my followers on
Twitter overtook the number of people I followed. I feel like I
should spawn lyrical magic every time I post something, yet
inspiration is not an everyday thing. Then I went to Storymoja
Festival and rubbed shoulders with more accomplished artists. This
brought me down to earth. I felt like a donkey in a horse’s race.
it was a bit overwhelming. Suddenly, I was being pulled aside every
minute for photographs, interviews, and autographs. It felt surreal.
When I got back to Kenya, friends who heard of the cash prize
jokingly reminded me they have M-Pesa accounts. I couldn’t log on
to Facebook without finding friend requests, and my followers on
Twitter overtook the number of people I followed. I feel like I
should spawn lyrical magic every time I post something, yet
inspiration is not an everyday thing. Then I went to Storymoja
Festival and rubbed shoulders with more accomplished artists. This
brought me down to earth. I felt like a donkey in a horse’s race.
My hectic work
schedule has kept me from doing any immediate literary follow-ups,
but I don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. I’m definitely going to
beg, bribe, and bully my muse for more of that award-winning stuff.
schedule has kept me from doing any immediate literary follow-ups,
but I don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. I’m definitely going to
beg, bribe, and bully my muse for more of that award-winning stuff.
Otherwise, when
I left Uganda, after the award ceremony, it dawned on me that I had
represented not just myself but my country, and so I bought patriotic
attire. Among the things I admired in my brief stay in Kampala was
the food I ate in Club 5 Restaurant. The meal
had posho, matooke, rice, tilapia, nakati, sweet potatoes, and
groundnut sauce. In Nairobi, you have to visit all the restaurants
just to get half of that variety.
I left Uganda, after the award ceremony, it dawned on me that I had
represented not just myself but my country, and so I bought patriotic
attire. Among the things I admired in my brief stay in Kampala was
the food I ate in Club 5 Restaurant. The meal
had posho, matooke, rice, tilapia, nakati, sweet potatoes, and
groundnut sauce. In Nairobi, you have to visit all the restaurants
just to get half of that variety.
Lawino:
Marry a Ugandan woman, and then you’ll eat that kind of food every
day (Laugs). So tell
us about your upcoming novel, which you say is based on your
experiences as an amateur long-distance runner.
Marry a Ugandan woman, and then you’ll eat that kind of food every
day (Laugs). So tell
us about your upcoming novel, which you say is based on your
experiences as an amateur long-distance runner.
Tom
Jalio: It’s
called All
in a Day’s Workout, and it
started
as a fictional account of my experiences in the gym. At first I
intended it to be three short articles of about five hundred words
each, for a daily newspaper, but the more I wrote it, the more I
realized it had life as a longer piece of work. Essentially,
in the book, I’m
going to take myself out of my body and put a caricature that is more
engaging. Someone not so fit, not so serious. I like the creative
freedom that gives me, and I’m eager to venture outside my comfort
zone of nonfiction. I haven’t touched it in a while due to
professional distractions, but I have a twelve-chapter outline with
two chapters drafted so far. I intend it to be humorous, and to
counter myths
and stereotypes about Kenyans in athletics. Our country is famous for
running but has a shortage of literature on the subject, so as a
Kenyan runner-writer, I am well-placed to fill that gap.
Jalio: It’s
called All
in a Day’s Workout, and it
started
as a fictional account of my experiences in the gym. At first I
intended it to be three short articles of about five hundred words
each, for a daily newspaper, but the more I wrote it, the more I
realized it had life as a longer piece of work. Essentially,
in the book, I’m
going to take myself out of my body and put a caricature that is more
engaging. Someone not so fit, not so serious. I like the creative
freedom that gives me, and I’m eager to venture outside my comfort
zone of nonfiction. I haven’t touched it in a while due to
professional distractions, but I have a twelve-chapter outline with
two chapters drafted so far. I intend it to be humorous, and to
counter myths
and stereotypes about Kenyans in athletics. Our country is famous for
running but has a shortage of literature on the subject, so as a
Kenyan runner-writer, I am well-placed to fill that gap.
Lawino:
Shall we see a poetry book from you as well?
Shall we see a poetry book from you as well?
Tom
Jalio: Of
all my attempts at topical collections, the one that has the most
promise is the one from which Letter
of Rejection,
published in A Thousand
Voices Rising,
came from. At the moment, I only have one other poem in the
collection, Letter
of Application,
but I have a list of thirteen poems inspired by that line of
thinking, that is love poems in the form of letters. That might be
too short for a proper book, so maybe I’ll do it as a chapbook.
Jalio: Of
all my attempts at topical collections, the one that has the most
promise is the one from which Letter
of Rejection,
published in A Thousand
Voices Rising,
came from. At the moment, I only have one other poem in the
collection, Letter
of Application,
but I have a list of thirteen poems inspired by that line of
thinking, that is love poems in the form of letters. That might be
too short for a proper book, so maybe I’ll do it as a chapbook.
≈≈
Download pdf, epub, mobi
≈≈
Also in this issue
Short
Fiction
Playing Games in the Delta by Lauri Kubuitsile
In Her Sister’s Shadow by Hannah Onoguwe
Jar of misfortune by Mulumba Ivan Matthias
Jaw’ed Angel by Yazeed Dezele
Poetry
Like My Mind by David Ishaya Osu
The Plan by David Ishaya Osu
A Cancellation by Ali Znaidi
I’m Unlike My Mother by Liz Leppy
Spoken Word
Inside the Mind of a Happy Side Dish by Acen Miriam Carolyne
BN Poetry Awards
Special
Interview with Tom Jalio
