Njeri Wangari

Njeri Wangari is an acclaimed Kenyan poet and spoken word artist. Often described as a poet extraordinaire, she is one of Kenya’s most celebrated and influential spoken-word artists.

Arguably one of Africa’s pioneer poetry bloggers, Wangari is also one of the mavericks of the spoken word and open mic movement in Kenya. This effort earned her online title ‘The KenyanPoet’.

Njeri’s journey into poetry began in 2004 riding the crest of a ‘new wave’ of keen interest among Kenyans in ‘spoken word’ performance born with the publication of Kwani! launched by the Binyavanga Wainaina.

Hailed among the most talented Kenyan poets and performers, she has come to be known as the voice of reason and change in the Kenyan poetry circles due to the content and theme of her poems which range from Culture, religion, human rights, technology and everyday challenges in Kenyan society.

Wangari is a published poet.

Her first collection- Mine and Mind Fields; My Spoken Words is a 114-page collection which contains over 40 poems that explore themes on; Urban Blues, Love, Identity, Traditions, Cultural changes, Exploitation and Politics among others in 2010.

Wangari’s poetry has appeared in Badilisha Poetry, The East African, Kwani!, Msafiri & Down River Road magazines.

She has performed at the Intra Africa Trade Fair, BBC Contains Strong Language, Kwani & Story Moja Festivals, Global Voices Summit, Tedx Nairobi & Still Water Middle School in Minnesota.

Poems published

Brands

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Margaretta wa Gacheru

PHD, Journalist, Arts Correspondent, Nation Media Group

“Years ago, the Ghanaian writer Ayi Kwa Armah wrote the now-classic novel, The Beautiful Ones are not yet born. At the time that he wrote, Njeri indeed was “not yet born.” But for me, her first published collection of spoken words, “Mines & Mind Fields” proves that in her we can see that at last one of the ‘beautiful ones” has finally been born, and she is Njeri Wangari”

Joseph Ngunjiri

The Sunday Nation writer

"She is one of the most respected female poets in Nairobi today. Njeri Wangari has a powerful voice, and she knows how to put it to good use. Whenever she takes to the podium to recite a poem, she has her enthusiastic audience applauding all the way."

WORK

Mines & Mindfields; My spoken words

An Urban Blues Collection explores people struggles in an urban context in which one finds a shift in the boundaries that hitherto defined male-female roles and relationships. The voice of Njeri identifies with the urban woman who seeks to escape from the claws of a traditionally male-dominant culture while at the same time bringing out the struggles and doubts of the urban male trying to find his place in a seemingly new world order.

In this collection, her poetry holds brief in the manner of protest not against social order rather it highlights an emerging social disorder caused by disenchantment with the rigours of a somewhat colonially imposed urban life with its extolled virtues and attendant vices. Njeri juxtaposes both the disillusionments of the locals who cross over to the other side, reaching out to attain the assurances of modernity and the dilemmas of those who remain behind, as it were, stuck in the native way of life.

Across Borders – An anthology of new poems from the Commonwealth.

This anthology features brand new work from Fred D’Aguiar, Sonnet L’Abbe, Efe Paul Azino, Isabelle Baafi, Hinemoana Baker, Dzifa Benson, Kayo Chingonyi, Tishani Doshi, Nafeesa Hamid, Nick Makoha, Roy McFarlane, Alvin Pang, Sivinee Ramlochan, Melizerrani T. Selva, Elfie Shiosaki, Saradha Soobrayan, Ellen Van Neerven & Njeri Wangari.

The poems are the result of Across Borders – a commonwealth poetry postcard exchange project created and organised by VERVE Poetry Festival with Birmingham 2022 Festival and BBC Contains Strong Language Festival 2022, which ran over the summer of 2022.

Poems

Wangari’s poetry has appeared in Badilisha Poetry, The East African, Kwani!, Msafiri & Down River Road magazines.

She has performed at the Intra Africa Trade Fair, BBC Contains Strong Language, Kwani & Story Moja Festivals, Global Voices Summit, Tedx Nairobi & Still Water Middle School in Minnesota.

In 2022, her poetry was published in the Across Borders – An anthology of new poems from the Commonwealth.

Her 2nd poetry collection, Arrested Tongues is due in 2024.

The POET

Festival & Performances

BBC Contains Strong language

Birmingham 2022 Festival, Commonwealth Games

TedX Nairobi 2010

Poetry Workshops

Njeri is passionate about nurturing the next generation of poets. She has worked with learning and publishing institutions to offer poetry writing and performance workshops.

Her workshops cover: