The
27th Annual International Swahili Colloquium of the University of
Bayreuth in Bayreuth, Germany, was historic and unique in many ways.
First,
Kenyan scholar Dr Tom Odhiambo was appointed the ‘town chronicler’ of
Bayreuth city, a revered title in the German tradition and urban
cultural dynamics.
Second, the Swahili Colloquium
broke its quarter century tradition of sticking to the university’s
African Studies Centre of Iwalewa Haus as a venue, moving it to the
university’s main campus for the first time in 26 years.
The
reason for the change of venue was the renovation and relocation of
Iwalewa Haus as part of the expansion of the African studies programme
of the university.
Third, it was the first time that
the Swahili Colloquium was held together with two other major
conferences — the New Dynamics in Swahili Studies (Afrikanistentag-
Biannual conference on African Languages, Literatures and History) and
the Future Afrika-Visions in Time Conference.
Dr
Odhiambo is a senior lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s Literature
department and the editor of the Journal of Eastern African Literary and
Cultural Studies published by Taylor and Francis.
He also sits in the editorial board of the African Studies Journal of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.
“My
appointment as the Bayreuth town Chronicler, or the official writer of
this city, is a great honour to me,” Dr Odhiambo said as he stood next
to the towering statue of the famous German writer Jean Paul Fredrich
Richter, who leaved in Bayreuth in the 18th Century.
Odhiambo is expected to write on anything he can see around the city through an African eye.
Odhiambo is expected to write on anything he can see around the city through an African eye.
Many
cities in Germany have the cherished tradition of having an official
writer for a month, six months or a year. The post involves writing on
one’s encounters on people’s behaviour, news, lifestyle, history and
city structures. His predecessor was a famous German poet. There has
been no African before Odhiambo.
He has been given a
house in the city centre, from where he will be operating for the whole
month of June. His writings will appear in a local daily The Courier.
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