Sam Asiimwe Ruhindi, better known by his stage name Samie, is known as a performance poet, but that’s only one of his talents – he’s also a photographer. The 23-year-old poet has been reading and writing poetry since he was young, but it was until the age of 17 that he started taking his writing seriously. “I have been writing and reading since I was a kid. And as I was growing up, I started listening to some of the great theatre performers in the region, which inspired and motivated meto pursue a career in art,” said Samie. His writing addresses issues aimed at transforming society, and his gift is expressing his experiences in a way that resonates with others. As a response to that, he is using his poetry work and theatre to embrace humanity as an opposing mechanism to the manufacturing of weapons of massive destruction that countries and many people desire. “Art is one of the tools that can be used to transform society in a positive way. Like in my poem, titled ‘Ode to our Future Generation’, where I talk about different issues that output humanity,” said Samie. He added: “Unfortunately, today some countries invest a lot in manufacturing of arms and purchasing destructive weapons, instead of seeking other positive strategies that impact humanity in a good way.” The second-year student at University of Tourism Technology and Business Studies (UTB), in Kigali, has over 20 poetry collections to his name. Some of his most popular pomes include Ode to Our Future Generations, Who Will I Be?, andDear Girls. In 2016, Samie won the English Poetry Award in a competition that was organised by Transpoesis. He admires Malaika Uwamahoro and Eric 1Key most among Rwandan poets. But he cites American spoken word artist, poet, and filmmaker Richard Williams, aka Prince Ea, as his role model. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
