Mildred Kinconco Barya

Mildred Kiconco Barya (1976- ), born Owemigisha Patricia on 1 August 1976, is a writer and poet from Uganda. She was awarded the 2008 Pan African Literary Forum Prize for Africana Fiction, but remains best known for her poetry, particularly her first two collections, [http://www.amazon.com/dp/9970988808/ Men Love Chocolates But They Don't Say] (2002), and [http://www.mallorypublishing.co.uk/biblio/1856571025.htm The Price of Memory: After the Tsunami] (2006). Barya, M. K. (2008, June). "Bio." MildredBarya.com Retrieved June 14, 2008 from http://mildredbarya.com/?page_id=2] Pan African Literary Forum. (2008, May). "Writing Contest Results." PALF. Retrieved June 14, 2008 from http://www.panafricanliteraryforum.org/contest.html]

Barya has also worked as journalist and travel writer, and currently (as of 2008 until July 2009) serves as Writer-In-Residence at Trust Africa, a pan-African NGO based in Dakar, Senegal. Barya also currently resides in Senegal, although she has previously lived and worked in Germany, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda. Besides her career as a writer, Bayra has also worked as a Human Resource Officer for Ernest & Young, both in South Africa and Uganda.Trust Africa. (2008) "Who We Are: Our Staff." TrustAfrica.org. Retrieved June 14, 2008 from http://www.trustafrica.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=123&Itemid=103&lang=en] Barya, M. K. (2006, March 7). "Creating an enabling enivronment for writers." Crossing Borders #10. British Council Arts. Retrieved June 14, 2008 from http://radiophonics.britishcouncil.org/magazine/issueten/] Barya, M. K. (2008, June). "Press Release." MildredBarya.com Retrieved June 14, 2008 from http://mildredbarya.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/press-release.pdf]

Education

Born in the Kabale district of southwest Uganda, Barya attended Mwisi Primary School and Kigezi High School. In 1996, she was awarded a full government scholarship to attend Makerere University in Kenya. She graduated in 1999 with a BA in Literature. She also while at college joined FEMRITE -- Uganda Women Writers Association.

In 2000, Barya took certificate courses in Information, Communication and Globalisation at the International Women’s University, Vifu, in Hamburg, Germany. In 2002, she studied Editorial Practices and Publishing Management at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. From 2002-2004, she rejoined Makerere University to earn a Masters degree in Organisational Psychology.

In 2006-2007, Barya held a writer's residence fellowship at the Per Sesh Writing Program in Popenguine, Senegal, under the instruction of Ayi Kwei Armah.

Critical Reception

Barya's first published collection of poems, "Men Love Chocolates But They Don’t Say", won the Ugandian National Book Trust Award for 2002. Her second collection, "The Price of Memory: After the Tsunami", also received favorable critical attention as shown by the two reviews cited below.

Yusuf Serunkuma Kajura, a reviewer for [http://www.ugandaobserver.com/ The Weekly Observer] (Uganda), claimed that Barya's "poetry blossoms on indigenous African imagery, rhetorical devices and ideas, easily comparable to Okot p'Bitek's long poem, Song of Lawino." But Baryas poetry "is an enthusiastic trumpet, subtly blown for the woman in society, unlike Lawino’s defence of the traditional African values."Kajura, Y. S. (2007, April 26). "Poetry with answers." The Weekly Observer. Retrieved June 14, 2008 from http://www.ugandaobserver.com/new/archives/2007arch/ent/may/ent2007042611.php ]

Gaaki Kigambo, a reviewer for the [http://www.monitor.co.ug/ Sunday Monitor] (Uganda), claimed that "Barya’s subjects are informed by the things we are used to. In this era of mobile telephony, everyone will identify with Mathematically Proven Love." Kigambo also stated that such poetry "reveals the romanticist in Barya."Kigambo, G. (2006, April 16). "Barya the romanticist unveiled." Sunday Monitor. Retrieved June 14, 2008 from http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/insights/Barya_the_romanticist_unveiled.shtml]

Barya's short fiction has appeared in FEMRITE anthologies, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, African Love Stories Anthology, Picador Africa, and Pambazuka news. Likewise, an excerpt from her novel "What was Left Behind" earned her the 2008 Pan African Literary Forum Prize for Africana Fiction, as judged by Junot Diaz, the Dominican-American Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction writer and essayist.

Published Poetry and Fiction

Poetry

* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/9970988808/ Men Love Chocolates But They Don't Say] . (New Vision Publications, Uganda. 2002). (ISBN 9970-9888-0-8)
* [http://www.mallorypublishing.co.uk/biblio/1856571025.htm The Price of Memory: After the Tsunami] . (Mallory Publishing, Devon, UK. 2006). (ISBN 1-85657-102-5)

Short Fiction

* "Raindrops." [http://www.amazon.com/dp/9970700014/ Words from a Granary] . Edited by Violet Barungi. (FEMRITE Publications, Ltd. Kampala, Uganda. 2001). (ISBN 9970-700-01-4)
* "Effigy Child." [http://www.amazon.com/dp/9970700049/ Gifts of Harvest] . Edited by Violet Barungi. (FEMRITE Publications, Ltd. Kampala, Uganda. 2006). (ISBN 9970-700-04-2)
* "Scars of Earth." [http://www.ayebia.co.uk/publications_als.html African Love stories] . Edited by Ama Ata Aidoo. (Ayebia Clarke Publishing, Ltd. Oxfordshire, UK. 2006). (ISBN 0-9547023-6-0)
* "Land of my Bones." [http://www.picador.co.za/books.php Dreams, Miracles & Jazz] . Edited by Helon Habila & Kadija Sesay. (Picador Africa, South Africa. 2008). (ISBN 978-1-77010-025-1)
* "What was left of us." [http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/African_Writers/45624 Pambazuka News] . (2008).

References