On the 15th of October 2013, there was a spoken word competition held at Imax theatre in Nairobi. It was a part of an African journey of words organized and sponsored by The Goethe Institute . The Spoken Word Project, was in five African cities before arriving in Nairobi, partnering with local poetry organizations in each place. Their Kenyan partner is Kwani Trust.

On the 15th of October 2013, I won the Nairobi slam, which is an occurrence that I will not soon forget. As a thank you, to all of  the organizers of this project, of that night and my fellow poets who performed with such excellence, I was transported after every introduction, I will write about my trip.

My journey to Mali, did not start on the 15th of October 2013. It started long before. So I’d like to give you some the stops I made along the way. This introduction, is dedicated, to young and old poets and poetry enthusiasts.

Words are wind, without ears to hear them.