NINA UMUTESI, also known for her artist name as Nina Salim, does French poetry in a style she calls poesie de l’ame (poetry of soul), which according to her is magic way of healing the poet and as well as people who listen to it.
This style, she describes, doesn't have rules except writing poetic lines that come deeply from one’s soul. The poem has, later, to be recited in hypnotic or relaxed tones, blended with an emotional instrumental that arouses one’s imaginations and feelings. "I use instrumentals because they have their own poetry. So, when I combine their rhythm with my voice, my recitation comes out more deeply. I also select instrumentals that are unique and deep,” she said.
Nina adds that this style is also used in movies or theatre and varies depending on the kind of the movie and the intonation of the voice of a poet.
At the age of 17, she started writing poetry and later in 2013 when she found herself penning poetic verses about her deep feelings and personal life, she discovered that she was a poetess. At the time, she was writing poesie lyrique (lyrical poetry).
"Reading French poetry collections and attending a course called lettres moderne (loosely translated as modern letters) in high school motivated me to keep writing more poems,” she said.
She also uses her spoken word style in cinema and believes that it’s one of the best channels to promote different kinds of art, especially poetry.
Nina shares that all the movies she has written and directed are poetic. They include "Hymn”, a short film that demonstrates the feelings of a mother who has lost her unborn child and "Poetria’ which is about a muse of poets in a Latino-Arabic world – it is now in post-production phase.
She said that she has enhanced her poetry writing skills through the lectures and network she gained from Writers Space Africa (WSA-Rwanda) when she joined in 2020.
In 2016 while in Burundi, she organised an event called "Muslim Woman Awareness" where she also performed on stage for the first time. Her first theatre piece is called "Esralada" which aims to empower Muslims.
In 2018, she performed at Impact hub at an event called "A woman was born to create" where she and her team performed a poetic and musical theatre titled "Orpheline" which also won a prize as the best performance. She has also performed at events like A Pen, The Theater Day and Spoken Word Rwanda.
Some of her notable poems include L'encre, la nuit du mental, Orpheline, Entrouvre, fumée de l'âme.
The challenge she still faces is that most people in Rwanda don’t understand French poetry and sometimes it’s hard to get its market in order to make enough money. However, she tries to position her art on high stages so that people can feel and be healed by it, hence transforming their lives for better.
For more information, you can visit her Instagram pages: Ninasalarts and Nina Salim.