If you are passionate about poetry and reading stories, count yourself lucky! The monthly poet club is back and will be on today at Goethe Institute to promote the culture of reading in the country.

Poet club is a forum for experienced and upcoming writers, journalists and literary critics, who meet to share and discuss articles, poems and current trends in literature and journalism with the aim of enhancing their creativity.

The one-day event will feature Burundian poet and member of ‘Bashingantahe’ Sébastian Kathihabwa, who will read passages from his short novels and talk about the ‘Bashingantahe’.

‘Bashingantahe’ is a Kirundi term to mean ‘traditional cultural leaders’ who commit themselves explicitly to humanistic values.

According to Kathihabwa, ‘Bashingantahe’ were traditionally answerable to their community and had to ensure that the instrument of creative art was not misused in order to cause wars, oppression and suffering.

Today, the ancient system of the ‘Bashingantahe’ has to face realities of urban life and the complexity of a globalized world.

Living in a hybrid culture, between tradition and modernity, is also the scene and challenge for the characters in the presented in Kathihabwa’s novels.

The poet club is organised at the Goethe Institute, in cooperation with SEMBURA - ferment littéraire.

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