Creative of the Week: Laura Ekumbo

Laura Ekumbo @Laura_Ekumbo) is a growing, learning, developing (insert other synonyms for work in progress) individual with boundless opportunities, and the capacity to achieve anything teachable. She is a multidimensional human being in every way, and realises that her answer to this question always changes, but the one thing that remains constant is growth. The reductionist bio would be – performing artist (actor, poet, singer) and writer who is passionate about telling stories and encouraging/promoting self-reflection, self-discovery, self-love, and self-acceptance so we can all, better, give the best version of ourselves to the world.

1. Did you always know you wanted to be a poet/writer?

No, I did not! I never really fully appreciated poetry for myself until I first encountered spoken word in high school. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of this story; my then English teacher invited Spoken Word Artists to our library during one of our English classes, they performed and I was completely taken by that method of self-expression, I wrote my first performance poem that day, and I knew I didn’t want to stop. That was during my O-Levels.

2. What is your creative process like?

Irregular and haphazard. There’s inspiration; then words either show up or have to be coaxed by reading thesaurus’ or looking up definitions of the words that showed up; then if they’re not crap, I keep them, and edit, and rewrite, and edit and edit, until I feel like maybe I might have the courage to share it with someone whose opinion I trust; then the rest depends on their response.

3. How much do your life experiences influence your work?

This is an odd question.

Very much.

4. Who are your favourite poets and why?

Some of them are:

Alysia Harris, because she’s incredibly raw and incredibly talented in performance and writing. Her passion and dedication to the craft is inspiring!

Sarah Kay, because she helped me write my first poem. (Shihan falls into this area too.)

Raya Wambui, because she has such a wonderful soul and that is evident in her poetry.

Joyner Lucas, because he’s a brilliant story teller.

Warsan Shire. Yrsa Daley-Ward. Pavana. because.

5. What are your thoughts on poetry in Kenya, what challenges have you faced as a poet and how do you think we can improve on the craft?

I always struggle with this question. The last time I answered it, I thought I knew enough about it to comment. Now I’m sure I don’t know enough about it to comment. Poetry is an all-encompassing word, and under that umbrella there’s anthologies, blogs, chapbooks, videos, albums, performance poets, and poets who don’t perform their work, career poets, and poets who are only interested in the opportunity for self-expression and nothing else, punchline poets (who am I to say they’re not poets). I can only comment on the small part of the Spoken Word scene I’ve encountered in Nairobi, and Nakuru. Based on that knowledge, I know that it can be very beautiful, but it can also be ugly and it can let petty squabbles among its residents, destroy it. Spoken Word is definitely getting more attention, that’s undeniable. More people are becoming aware of a Spoken Word scene that has existed in Kenya for long (lol, Kennet B would probably know how long) and that’s wonderful. It’s progress.

I think there is a lot of ego, and an unnecessary need to define and categorise everything sometimes. The commercialisation of art corrupts it, to an extent – and Spoken Word is not exempt from that corruption. Don’t get me wrong, money is important, and for artists to continue creating good work, we need to be able to eat, and pay rent, and move around; that requires money. But money complicates things a little, so there’s a lot that needs to be figured out. We need to educate ourselves about the bulk of the work – selling your product (if you want to sell it), protecting your product, branding, public relations; because creation is a very small part of the process. I think, for Spoken Word artists who want to live off of their craft, there need to be more resources and we (all of us) need to contribute to putting structures in place to support ourselves, and those structures can’t be built unless we put our egos aside and build – together.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is having to deal with a lack of respect for my craft from prospective clients. Another challenge is trying to figure out where and how I fit in the market.

We can improve our craft by encouraging experimentation and growth and supporting one another. We can improve our craft by focusing on our craft, and dedicating time, effort, and yes, money, towards becoming better writers and performers – and that means reading more, writing more, performing more, and being open to criticism of your work without taking it as a criticism of you as an individual. We can improve our craft by improving our standards; if you want to be a professional, be a professional! Take it seriously. If you don’t want to work on your professionalism – don’t be surprised when you’re not treated like a professional. We can improve our craft by improving our language (whether that’s Sheng, Dholuo, Gikuyu, Kiswahili, English etc. or even a mixture) – carpenters can’t create without their tools – a poets tools is an understanding of whatever language you choose to express yourself in.

That answer ended up being longer than I thought it would be, and there’s still so much more I want to say…

6. You have been part of many stage productions including, ‘We Won’t Forget’ on Terrorism and Post Election Violence. What has the experience of preparing for these performances been like?

I joined the cast as a poet, and transitioned into being an actor for the production. The first stage of our preparation was round table type discussions and research, the second stage was content creation based on our research and conversations, the final stage was bringing the stories and characters to life. It is one of the most intensive preparation experiences I have ever endured. It was emotionally taxing and intellectually challenging. The process of becoming the 2, and now 3 characters I play was, and is incredibly humbling, depressing, eye opening, and heartbreaking. To understand the magnitude of emotional investment that goes into We Won’t Forget, you’d have to see it.

Having lived in a bubble for most of my life – not knowing a lot about my country and its history (a topic I address in an article I wrote for StoryZetu called ‘My Kenyaness’) – being a part of productions that explore the history of my people (even beyond borders) and our heritage is a phenomenal opportunity and privilege I appreciate, tremendously!

7. What work/project are you most proud of?

The article I just talked about up there – ‘My Kenyaness’.

Stage production – Spring Awakening & We Won’t Forget

Poem – Aging

8. What advice would you give an aspiring poet that you wish you had gotten when you were starting out?

There is no easy way; there is only commitment, dedication, and hard work. Passion won’t take you all the way, but it’ll keep your feet moving when they really hurt from all the hard work! And there’s room for you! There’s room for everyone. You don’t have to conform to any standard but your own, decide what you want to do with your poetry and why, and let that be your guide; the rest is white noise. If you really want it, do the work necessary to match your ambitions.

9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Making mistakes, learning, growing. Definitely still performing, but having progressed in my abilities. Still dreaming and taking risks. Selling a chapbook.

Dates for my upcoming projects are May 7^th, May 17^th, June 9^th 10^th and 11^th, and many more throughout 2017. If you follow my social media pages, or request to be added to my mailing list by direct messaging me your email address, I’ll keep you updated.

But 5 years is a long time, and life is forever evolving. I don’t mind not knowing where I’ll be in 2022.

Bonus Question

10. If you could have written any existing poem by another poet, which piece would you have written and why?

Flashy Words by Shihan, just because it’s a great poem. Look it up and you’ll understand.

Check out Laura’s work and profile below.

Facebook Page – Laura Ekumbo

Twitter – @Laura_Ekumbo

Instagram – @laura_ekumbo

Website – lauraekumbo.wordpress.com

For booking – BookLauraEkumbo@gmail.com