Scottish Poetry News: June 2017

The Skinny's regular poetry column speaks with a fresh and exciting voice – Kayo Chingonyi – about his new collection Kumukanda. We also visit Babbity Bowster on 25 June to experience quality poetry while raising money for refugees

Feature by Clare Mulley | 31 May 2017

On the other end of a crackly line, Kayo Chingonyi is speaking about his debut collection, Kumukanda. Translated, the title means ‘initiation’, and is the name for the traditional coming of age rite for boys from the Luvale tribe – part of his own cultural heritage. The compilation of poems, some from previous publications and others completely new, is exceedingly powerful; by turns furious, tender and bittersweet, taking as it does the overall theme of in-betweens. Ancestry versus contemporary rites of passage. The ambiguous versus the undeniable. Who you are, and who you choose to be seen as, versus who others perceive you to be.

A young wordsmith of mixed cultures, who has had experience of both the northern and southern English poetry scenes and travelled widely around the world, Chingonyi is well versed in tackling matters of identity. So, did spending time up North have an influence on his writing in any way? “I studied my first degree in Sheffield," says Chingonyi, "...it was good for my writing, because it was easy to connect to that kind of world – I could just walk into lots of open mics. The title and ‘atmosphere’ of the work came about first in 2013, when I was on residency at Cove Park in Scotland. During the course of the residency, my mind kept coming back to the idea of ritual and that became the title. Having the title also gave new shape to work I had already published.”

He goes on to talk about certain poems in more detail. “The title poem has a special significance, and is one I struggled to write. Another is H-O-R-S-E (an incredibly evocative poem about playing basketball – Chingonyi conjuring the figure of his late father into the game with himself) which thinks about our relationship with parents, and how we emulate them. My dad was very tall, and the sport of basketball has a very obvious relation to masculinity and how we measure up to a father figure.”

Grieving and memory are central threads; Kayo details moments around the loss of his mother in harrowing, photographic detail. Even after several days have gone by, the image of her yellow suit at the laying out remains vivid, ‘The bones of her skull vitiate a face that once / stunned grown men into mumbling stupors.’ Another particularly vibrant thread throughout is music – his experiences of endlessly rewinding and repeating songs. Was it music he first fell in love with, or playing with words? “My first interest was in learning song lyrics, then I started to write my own song lyrics for fun. For me, the two aren’t separable.”

So far, the response to Kumukanda has been very positive in spite of its challenging and under-represented content. “It’s an affirmation of a particular kind of selfhood," Chingonyi suggests of his work. "...particularly in terms of Black boyhood and manhood – which gets a very limited showing in mainstream popular culture – and gives approval to others who want to speak as well. I was influenced by the likes of Roger Robinson and Jacob Sam-La Rose, and am now passing on the message by exploring these themes. There’s a certain kinship with younger poets, and often I’ve found people are very open to hearing a different perspective, particularly abroad.” And what, in a nutshell, would be his message to any aspiring young poet writing now? “Anyone who has the aspiration to write is going against the inclination to passivity which helps capitalism thrive. If you have decided to write, you have already done a bold thing. Follow that initial boldness, and try to challenge yourself in surprising ways.”

In other news:

The Callum Macdonald Memorial Award winners were announced last month, a unique prize which rewards publishers with a connection with Scotland or Scottish culture. The winner this year was Hugh Bryden of Dumfries-based Roncadora Press (also the winner in 2009), with the pamphlet Sheep Penned by poet Hugh McMillan. He was presented with the winning quaich and a cheque for £1,500 at a ceremony at the National Library of Scotland on 11 May. In second place was Duncan Lockerbie of Aberdeenshire-based Tapsalteerie Press, for the pamphlet tilt-shift, by Kate Tough, who received a cheque for £600.

In events news, get down to Babbity Bowster on Glasgow's Blackfriars St on 25 Jun for their gala day, which is being held between 1-6pm at in aid of the Scottish refugee council. In a nutshell, it is a day designed especially for bringing people together, celebrating differences and embracing the contributions we all make to our society, through the mediums of art, poetry, music and food. The programme will feature Ghazi Hussein, Palestinian born poet, writer and bafta award winning playwright, poets Ryan Van Winkle and Rachel Amy, movement artist and performance maker Sky Reynolds and Scottish musician and composer Finlay MacDonald, with Kueche catering company – Syrian, Congolese and Iraq cuisine specialists – providing the food.

Kumakanda is out now, published by Chatto and Windus, RRP £10

The Babbity Bowster Gala Day is on 25 June and is in aid of the Scottish Refugee Council http://theskinny.co.uk/books