Susan Nalugwa Kiguli (born 24 June 1969 in Luweero District, Uganda) is a Ugandan poet and literary scholar.Gandtschi, Ali. "Susan Kiguli (Uganda)". Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin, 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2011. She is an associate professor of literature at Makerere University. Kiguli has been an advocate for creative writing in Africa, including service as a founding member of FEMRITE,"History of FEMRITE", FEMRITE – Uganda Women Writers' Association. Retrieved 22 August 2011. a judge for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (African Region, 1999), and an advisory board member for the African Writers Trust."Advisory Board", African Writers Trust. Retrieved 24 August 2011. As a poet, Kiguli is best known for her 1998 collection The African Saga,The African Saga.World Social Forum. "Susan Kiguli (Uganda)". Poetic Voices at the World Social Forum Nairobi, Kenya, 19–23 January 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2011. as a scholar, and for her work on oral poetry and performance.ACLS, "Fellows and Research: Susan Nalugwa Kiguli F'10." American Council of Learned Societies: Advancing the Humanities, 27 July 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.

Education

2005: Doctor of Philosophy in English, The University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomNalugwa Kiguli, Susan (2005) Oral poetry and popular song in post-apartheid South Africa and post-civil war Uganda : a comparative study of contemporary performance [Doctoral thesis, University of Leeds] 1996: Master of Science in literary linguistics for teaching English language and literature, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom 1994: Master of Arts in literature, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda 1991: Bachelor of Arts education, Makerere University

Poetry and performances Kiguli has participated as a poet and reader in numerous literary festivals and conferences, including the International Literature Festival Berlin (2008); the Poetry Africa Festival in Kwazulu–Natal, South Africa (2009);"Susan Kiguli (Uganda)". 19th Poetry Africa Festival, 5–9 October 2009. Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Nata. Retrieved 21 September 2011. the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya (2007); and the Leeds Centre for African Studies, University of Leeds, United Kingdom (2005).

In addition to her critically acclaimed collection The African Saga,The African Saga, (). which won the National Book Trust of Uganda Poetry Award (1999),"FEMRITE Achievements and Milestones." FEMRITE – Uganda Women Writers' Association. Retrieved 22 August 2011. Kiguli has also written poems for children – four of which were featured by Books LIVE, as "Animal Portraits by Susan Kiguli (Note of Affection No. 4, Love Africa Carnival)"Smith, Alex. “Animal Portraits by Susan Kiguli (Note of Affection #4, Love Africa Carnival)", Books LIVE: The internet newspaper for SA books, 9 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2011. and selected by readers as "one of the most loved Love Notes of its month."Smith, Alex. "Hogging the Apple: Susan Kiguli’s experience of reading Gabeba Baderoon’s poetry", Books LIVE: The internet newspaper for SA books, 4 February 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2011. Kiguli has discussed her own childhood reading experiences in an interview with BooksLIVE.Little Hands @ Books LIVE. "Susan Kiguli’s formative reading experiences", Books LIVE, 17 March 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2011.

Kiguli has also contributed poetry for children to the collection Michael's Eyes: The War against the Ugandan Child,Michael's Eyes: The War against the Ugandan Child. an international collaborative effort "intended to raise the global awareness of the situation in Northern Uganda," particularly concerning the troubles caused by the Lord's Resistance Army.Granqvist, Raoul J., ed. Michael's Eyes: The War against the Ugandan Child. Institutionen för Moderna Språk. Umeå universitet. Umeå, Sweden, 2006.

Kiguli's poems were also featured in Eye of the Storm: A Photographic Journey Across Uganda,Eye of the Storm: A Photographic Journey Across Uganda / L'oeil du Cyclone: A travers l' Ouganda with photography by David Pluth and Pierre-Francois Didek.

Kiguli has also been featured by Ultra Violet: Indian feminists unplugged,Kiguli, Susan. "Two poems." Ultra Violet: Indian feminists unplugged, 1 January 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2011. and by Department of English & Creative Writing, Lancaster University.Kiguli, Susan. Translating "Sing Like A River" into "Yira Ng'o Mugga". Crossing Borders Open Day, Department of English & Creative Writing, Bowland College. Lancaster University, February 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2011. Her work is included in the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.Odhiambo, Tom, "'New Daughters of Africa' is a must read for aspiring young women writers", Daily Nation (Kenya), 18 January 2020.

Scholarship and criticism Praised by the poet and critic Alex Smith as "the leading intellectually astute voice in contemporary East African poetry," Kiguli was an American Council of Learned Societies Fellow for 2010, with her research focusing on "Oral Poetry and Popular Song in South Africa and Uganda: A Study of Contemporary Performance.”

On the same general topic, Kiguli’s recent intellectual contributions include “The Symbolism of Music Festivals in Buganda: The case of Ekitoobero and Enkuuka y’omwaka,” in Performing CommunityPerforming Community (2008) and "Mapping the Dream of Cultural Continuity: Songs at Enkuuka y’omwaka” in Performing ChangePerforming Change. (2009).

Alex Smith also found noteworthy Kiguli's comments on A Hundred Silences,A Hundred Silences the third collection of poems by Gabeba Baderoon.

Published works

Anthologies

Poems "I laugh at Amin","My mother in three photographs" in "Weeping landa" in

References

External links "When Kiguli treated us to a poetry fest " "Animal Portraits by Susan Kiguli (Note of Affection #4, Love Africa Carnival)" "Susan Kiguli’s formative reading experiences" Webcast at the Library of Congress 16 November 2011