Thirteen years ago, Otoniya Juliane Okot Bitek submitted the first draft of her debut novel for publication. Now, the highly anticipated We, the Kindling is finally here.
Assistant Professor in the Black Studies program at Queen’s, Okot Bitek is a writer at her core. An esteemed Acholi poet, known for her poetry collection 100 Days (2016) that reflects on the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Okot Bitek is shaking up the literary sphere once again with her debut novel, We, the Kindling. To commemorate the launch of her powerful novel, released Feb. 4, Queen’s Black Studies is hosting a free celebratory book launch at The Isabel Bader Centre on Feb. 12.
In We, the Kindling, readers are introduced to Miriam, Helen, and Maggie, fictional women, based on real women’s stories, who survived capture by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda and are leading ordinary lives while balancing the weight of memory and trauma.
The book was originally submitted to publication in 2011 as a work of creative nonfiction. However, over the years, Okot Bitek’s ideas evolved and flourished into a rich fictionalized story, published through Penguin Random House.
We, the Kindling, creates space for comion and uses folktales to weave together a story that doesn’t lock the reader in a history of violence and trauma. Instead of focusing on statistics and facts, We, the Kindling is infused with real stories characterized by humanity, relatability, and aspiration.
Okot Bitek is very connected to the rich storytelling traditions of her people—the Acholi, an ethnolinguistic group who reside primarily in Northern Uganda. With most narratives about the tragic war between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan government being told by foreign voices, Okot Bitek saw an opportunity, as an Acholi writer, to shape how these stories are told, preserved, and ed.
“People know this story and have used it to their own agenda, but I, as a creative writer, felt I should contribute to how we can and tell this history of our time,” Okot Bitek said in an interview with The Journal.
Okot Bitek’s academic background in English and creative writing alongside her experience in the Black Studies, English, and Gender Studies program at Queen’s, has helped nurture a strong understanding of writing as a practice.
Okot Bitek’s knowledge of literary criticism heavily contributed to her writing style in We, The Kindling, as she knew what doesn’t work for her—heavy descriptions. The author’s training helped her to narrow in and focus on the actual story she wanted to tell without wasting words, meaning We, the Kindling is concise and driven to the point.
Okot Bitek commented on the difficulty of choosing titles. We, the Kindling, came from fellow respected academic and writer, Dionne Brand, who gave her title suggestions and advice—to look within the story.
“It’s the perfect title [for the book]. The word ‘kindling’ works for how [the people of
Uganda] were used by both warring sides […] The word kindling because these were people who were used to set the fire, but they came out of it. ‘We, the Kindling’ means you’re the kindling who survived the fire,” Okot Bitek said, offering a profound and powerful explanation to the book title and its metaphor.
During the writing process, Okot Bitek spoke with women who were survivors of the war. It was with their open collaboration of storytelling and insight that helped We, the Kindling
come about.
“I wouldn’t claim [the book] as an individual. The ‘we’ in the title is part of a community of people who tell stories. I come from a storytelling tradition. This is our version of this war that only we could’ve told and the ‘we’ is me in collaboration with the women who shared their stories, the editors, and more,” Okot Bitek said.
With We, the Kindling, Okot Bitek has created a mosaic of stories, crafted through collaboration and power from other Acholi people. For example, the novel features many popular Acholi folk-tales that are ed from generation to generation.
“We are storytelling people and people who tell stories can impact how we see the world. My hope is that those who read [her book] come to know Acholi people specifically and survivors of that war as people with agency to tell their stories,” Okot Bitek said.
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