When writing poetry, Brian Bazimya, a final year student at Mount Kenya University, is inspired by different things that happen in his life—relationships, grief and so many others—he writes what his heart feels daily! This is exactly what inspired his book, ‘When the Heart Spoke,’ a book he wrote with the intent of publicising poetry and having his work reach a much bigger audience. “I came up with the idea, when I saw that my pieces weren’t reaching many people like I wanted. I then decided to write in order to share it with a much bigger audience, and to also gift fans of my work with a collection of many poems instead of a few they always read on my blog!” he says. The author defines poetry as a quality of beauty and intensity of emotion from the heart. His book is 34 poems big. It is a collection of poems that talk about different topics like love, memories, and depression, among other topics. Some of his favourite poems in the book are ‘Poetic Justice’ and ‘Last Night.’ He says those two pieces tell of events that had an effective change in the course of his life, and always remind him of what happened in particular periods of his life. “One of the poems represents a sad moment in my life that I won’t forget, and another represents joy that I felt at that time, that my heart skipped a beat,” he says, laughing. He joined poetry because it was his saving grace and an escape for when he couldn’t express his feelings, he says. “Poetry is a quality of beauty and intensity of emotion from the heart. It’s an amazing way of expression when words aren’t enough,” Bazimya explains. His book contains 34 poems. “Being part of poetry makes me feel and realise my capabilities at expressing myself, my voice and ideas I always have at the back of my mind that many people don’t get to know, but know once they see what I write and express,” he adds. He wants his book to impact society in a way that it opens Rwandans to be more vocal about their emotions. The poet observes that too many people out there hold on to so many burdens in their heart that would be relieved if they spoke out. That’s why he wants this book to encourage people, and help them to openly talk about their emotions. His take on the poetry industry The poetry industry in general is still a growing one, Bazimya says, adding that many people are yet to grasp the impact of poetry and how powerful words can be once aligned well and hit the intended purpose. To be particular, he observes that the zeal for poetry in Rwanda is still low, noting that many people are yet to fully understand the essence of poetry and how poems can affect people positively. “I hope as time goes by, more people in Rwanda will get to know the beauty of poetry and hey, who knows, more poets and poetesses will be inspired to come out and showcase their talent,” he says. Among other things, the poet wants people, especially those in Rwanda, to understand that poetry is like any other business that pays fine once marketed well. “We have seen poets being paid to perform at big stages like Presidential inaugurations. Here, we talk of Amanda Gorman, the poet who performed at the inauguration of US President Joe Biden. With this, I want people to view poetry as a big thing and a platform that can elevate you just like any other,” Bazimya adds.
