Wanikosesha usingizi Tanzania ya siku hizi, Uloikata mizizi Na kusahau misingi Uliyosimika siku nyingi   Ndotoni unanijia Kwa kilio na hasira ‘Nisuta kukosa dira Na kunidai uhuru Ulopigania siku nyingi   Wanikumbusha amani Haiji bila ya haki Na ukombozi wetu thabiti Haukuja bila ya dhiki Na damu za wafianchi

[I wrote this essay in 2018, and posted it on a blog which has since been closed (Tanzanian cyber laws, censorship and all). Today, somebody asked in our Tanzanian writers' group, where are the writers in what is currently happening in Tanzania. I thought about this piece again, and thought to repost here. I hope we will find our collective courage to speak. Anyway, here we go!] It’s been a while since I have written publicly. Every time I pick up the pen to write, the warnin

Siamini! Masikio yenu mmetia pamba wananchi mwatuona vyura wapiga kelele za kukoroma   Na kamusi mmezichoma hamjui maana ya haki wala...

Sometimes, you write a poem and put it on the shelf, because times have changed. Sometimes, you bring it back because history repeats...

2024 went silently by.  There were so many things you could complain about, but you didn’t. You felt as though you had no right to...

In April, I took a masterclass by Leone Ross (who is so wonderful. I highly recommend her class to other writers. I met such talented...

Can we still say Happy 2024 in April? The last year or so has been the most hectic yet exciting time of my life.  Although my pockets (or...

At a time when the world is burning, I have reserved my words to myself, not wanting to add fire to an already raging inferno. Silence...

The boys took off their shirts and tossed them outside the field. Their sweaty small chests glistened in the sun. I envied the flatness...

Happy 2023 in February!!! 2022 ended on the highest of notes for me. On November 24, 2022, I was announced as one of the winners of the...

Today, I got my first rejection as an academic writer. Some of you don't know this, but besides being a writer, I am also a doctoral...

Check out my poem recently published by Brittle Paper! I am very excited to share this poem which found a home in Brittle Paper. I have...

Long overdue, but I am finally sharing these poems from June, 2021, two of which were featured in the Finnish-African Literature Arts...

I live on Radio Street, in Finnish, Radiokatu. Most days when my research gives me trouble, which it always does, I think of it as a sign...

No one lives in the house we grew up in. It smells like old dust, and in December when Dar es Salaam is hot and humid, it smells like wet...

Gravity wins when the fiery sun falls into the glittering sea, and the sky stains with hues of red. A light breeze strokes the calming...

Mornings at my brother’s house is a hectic battle of wills between my niece, her mom, and a comb. My three-year-old niece winces and...

By Neema Komba Every summer when the river dries up, mother and I go fishing. Mother stands in the middle of the river where there is...

I have wanted to create a website for my writing for quite some time, but I somehow never got to it. There was always one excuse after...