Personal Background and Early Life
ANTONY Wesonga was born in a hamlet, bearing an authentic Luhya-sounding name: Bukulumi in Busia County. “By hamlet I mean a typical traditional village where there was no wearing of shoes (not that they did have the shoes anyways) while going to school, no breakfast, and the one-hour lunchtime that was packed with the ritual of hurriedly swallowing half chewed food and milking the priced single cow then running back to school.”
The evenings comprised of scavenging for sweet potato tubers, and young Wesonga was always hungry before an evening bath, stark naked at the stream.
Every latter aspect of one’s life is heavily grounded in one’s background. And Wesonga’s was no different especially when it comes to his literature. His formative years were lived frugally not poor. Not that he was stoic. The word poor is cliché, and it also leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth, never mind its stigma. They could do (sic) with what was available. He remembers sometimes he would recycle his older sibling’s exercise books written in pencil by delicately erasing what they had written to then re-use the same as his writing material. Their now unfitting garments too, damped away in a carton box—he would cut and fit; where he could not, the local sewing machine owned by one Mr. Yusuf did the magic.Mr.Yusif (pronounced Isifu) lived three kilometres away, and to go to his homestead one had to go through dense bushes walking on deserted narrow footpaths. He transformed any tatter into a functional garment and which Wesonga imagined to be new, it is all in the mind.
There was a period during Christmas when all else failed, and his well-pressed (using a charcoal iron box) school uniform carried the day. “ It felt wrong to live this way but it shaped my persona to this day and the writing that comes out of it.” said Wesonga during the interview.
On earliest memories of reading and writing…
There was this first graduate in his village. He was studying Chemistry at the university. Once, Wesonga saw him with almost six hundred pages of a thick book. He asked his little brother if he could put in a word for him so that he would let him have it when he approached his sibling to borrow it. His little brother swore by his mother’s dress that it was impossible. He said his big brother could not let go of it. Wesonga pulled all the courage he could, visited the fat book owner in his now-extinct grass-thatched crib (simba) and staked his claim. He gave him the book. It was Spandau Phoenix by Greg Iles, year of publication 1993. The next time he bumped into his little brother, he got carried away and bragged of how he was so good in his persuasion that his brother, who had patted with the book,. But that was a bad move because when the little lad went home, the next thing was his towering big brother standing over Wesonga recalling his book.
He was not amused but gave it back as though all was cool. It was cool for in the book he had found a World War II universe and the human spirit. ‘‘it is fucking nobodies who die’’ said the man who had been sitting in Spandau prison for four decades.
Then there was Wuthering Heights, an 1847 novel by the English author Emily Bronte. This, he was lent by a village bourgeoisie who was impressed he had qualified to attend Lenana School, a national school from his village. Back then, where you schooled was a big deal. This book introduced him to Gothic fiction, leaning towards its darker side. Heathcliff morphs into a vengeful villain when love slips through his fingers. We all do. Don’t we?
Education and Career Beginnings
His education shaping his writing journey? Wesonga majored in Linguistics (English) and literature at the University of Nairobi then patched it up with a Master’s degree in International Studies at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies (IDIS), at the same university.
Mentor! Mentor! Mentor! Teachers? NO. mentors? Every person’s background, apart from their educational background, has got someone to look up to, to copy, to imitate, to guide him into passable passageways. In Wesonga’s world, there are a couple of people he secretly admires. Antony Hopkins, the British actor. He fancies his calm demeanour. His other countryman : Gary Oldman whose alter ego is the identity he wishes he could paste on his skin. Both, curiously, are actors. Wesonga’s elementary schooling was terrible. He suffered bullying and ridicule despite his good grades. Most teachers then at least in Ikonzo primary school, were mean and spoke mangled English. His high school space (Lenana School) was equally wasted, primarily because his mates waved the proverbial silver spoon while he struggled to adapt. They laughed at your accent; if you hailed from the village and spent your reading time doodling and choosing universities, they would end up abroad, while he struggled with fees and shame. This experience left a terrible taste on his tongue, but it did not break him.
Writing is a plate of culinary dishes spiced with different forms of inspiration and motivation and must be seasoned to sustain creativity. Wesonga believes he possesses a higher consciousness, but his vocabulary and space fail him, otherwise, he desires to write that great novel someday.
He has written on everything under the sun: about the metaphysical, Concrete brutalism, minimalism, insomnia, AGI, the sexual revolution, cosmic lensing, holocene, groupthink, motorcycling,banking, army recruitment, tribalism, hubris, the Fermi paradox, comet sightings and much, much more.
How would you describe the overarching themes in your writing?
Human greed and political lunacy. The emptiness of life. Different writers take to particular ideologies or philosophies that influence their storytelling, and Wesonga is not an exception; his style is direct language and sexual imagery. The two worlds where discomfort is rife. Dark humour is part of his style.
His Writing Style and Format
He used to sit on a keyboard and trust that what he typed was captivating and funny,, but he bumped into the works of Hunter Thompson and now I claim Gonzo journalism is my style. He wants to be in the story, even if it is not about him. Is that Selfish? Wesonga writes Poetry. That being his most preferred genre because in it, through it, he gets to saying just about anything under the sun and it also grants him the capacity to imagine scenarios creating his own world where he is president. An African president that is.
Anthony Wesonga is a published author; although he does not have much to write home about as far as his publishing is concerned with traditional publishing firms, he prefers Kindle direct publishing for visibility and wide reach; however, if his small clique of local admirers asks for a copy, he always makes arrangements towards the same. Just like many other writers, Wesonga has had his own bag of challenges in his publishing journey, but to counteract his enemies, he prefers to just write and lift up his hand. The Ford Foundation saw his hand once and helped him launch his second poetry anthology, 327 Thousand Feet High, 2019. To those navigating the world of writing, Wesonga says, “Write. Keep writing, Make sure you write well. Some day you will be irresistible if you are lucky. But for now, begin your publication on Kindle, then drop down to hardcover or cheaper paperback. I had a nasty experience with an old traditional publishing powerhouse. No names.”
“It has always been hunting season for them mainstream publishers. Too much game kind of times-if I can say that- for them. Too many manuscripts to be looked at until they seem never to be in a rush to get back to you once you deposit a manuscript with them. More like army recruitments in Africa where too many warm bodies turn up to serve their country but are embarrassingly dismissed. In my prime, I tried to join the army five fucking times. In one physical recruitment, five thousand plus of us turned up and apparently they only needed four souls. What a waste.”
“We ran laps, some passed out and those of us who survived were subjected to really curious medical tests (the aptitude tests were easy-peazy).But still we- I never got the chance to serve. Did it stop me from physical fitness? No. I have my own workout routine. I have the same attitude in my writing. If it is in you keeping at it.” narrated Wesonga during the interview with our editorial team. At university, he was too cynical to learn much. Real learning happens on the streets, or rather, in the world.
Marketing and Promotion
When Wesonga was brought to the question of how he promotes or markets his works, he gave a miniskirt answer to this. Well, this is a question we would ask any established or upcoming writer because a solution to the elephant problem is yet to be discovered. “I just put my book out there after launch and wait. Like a pretty girl waiting for a suitor.” he said smiling. To this, I drank a glass because good books find their readers, all literature in their intentions always have a habit of locating their best suitors
Have you found certain strategies or platforms to be particularly effective in reaching your audience?
“Not really. If you are a painter just paint.
Maybe when you are long gone, somebody will stumble upon your dog-eared copy of a poetry book and wonder what it was like living during our times. How we managed to tolerate the kind of politicians we have now, in 2024. Net worth, wrist watches and belts. What are they doing in the same sentence in a conversation on public service?”
Modus Operandi and Writing Process
Call out all evil but do not be part of it.Stake your claim.
‘‘If you are going to try go all the way…….otherwise don’t even start’’ Charles Bukoswki. Every single day he powers the computer and types. If nothing comes out…he opens the document move the cursor, save and shut down the Pc, in five years time he will have a story to share with the rest of the world. “If it is jumbled, I am really sorry.”
Managing writer’s block
“Do you have a man cave? Have a man cave. In it type something, anything daily. Even if it is just switching your Pc on and off.”
Literary Influences
Who are some of your literary influences, both within Kenya and globally?
Major Mwangi’s The Cockroach Dance is a classic .Especially the interview between the shrink and Dusman Gonzaga. So comical yet deep. The mighty Wole Soyinka. His comparison of Lakunle(the western tradition) and Baroka (the African tradition) in the play The Lion and the Jewel, is timeless.It reads like it was published this morning yet it was first performed in 1959,in Ibadan. Of the many writings Wesonga finds inspiration, above creates pitch of excitement in his adventure for books and literature.
Specific books or authors that have significantly impacted his writing style or thematic focus
To him, Charles Murkowski the American poet and novelist will always remain the goat. His first novel Post Office, first published in 1971 is every nine-to-five’s life story. His latest book The Conscript is about him wanting to be himself and maybe that African Robert M. Pirsig. He likes Hunter Thompson’s gonzo journalism style where the writer injects himself into a story to become it. It is self-crucifixion on the altar of the story.
Inspirational Work and Achievements
Which of your works are you most proud of, and why?
“Proud of? I see no connection between my writing and pride. This is a vacation. My vacation. If you are doing what your psyche is demanding of you with zero incentive and little return with acquaintances who demand an autographed copy of your book without remembering to pay up then you will know that what you do is indeed a calling. A calling by whom and for what? By providence, I think.” His first publication Jam on my face, in 2014, got paid the equivalent of fifty US dollars when its review appeared in the number one daily in the country. He had written it over seven years and with an additional year when the manuscript lay with the publisher unattended. He loved the entire process anyway.
Collaboration and Community
It’s a good practice that most writers keep trails and development trajectory by collaborations. Such communities or organisations gives authours a chamnce to share or borrow idealogies about the world. He, Wesonga, is not left out in this space. “I contributed to The Griots of Ubuntu, contemporary poems from Africa, a poetry anthology by 150 African writers published on Amazon in 2022.I also a contributed to the annual Bleeding Ink Global Writers Society’s (B.I.G.W.S), an international poetry exchange for year 2022/2023 and the 8th and 10th editions of the Kistrech Poetry festivals and magazines of 2022 and 2023.” confirmed Wesonga.
Future Aspirations
Most writers write with a goal, I write objectively too, with a vision, a mission to push through the wall, Wesonga is not just another writer who writes. He is very objective. “I still look forward to writing that one master piece.” he told us. But yes! Who does not wish to write out to that level. Everyone does.
He is specifically working on a story on the intrigues of our breed of public office. Good stuff there, isn’t it?
Reflections and Advice
Looking back on your career so far, what lessons have you learned that you wish you knew when you started?
“I wish I knew back then that there was going to be no money in writing. I would have become a forex trader. All their ducks appear to be in a row. Even though I think they are all salesmen. Snake oil salesmen.”
What advice would you offer to new writers who are just beginning their journey?
“In folklore rather in the make believe universe there is always the motif of the old timers handing over the torch to the younger energetic king. I am an old king who had no kingdom but still I hand them the responsibility of staying human. Let them write human stories, with a human flavor or else them language models will write about tigers roaming the African savannah .Or maybe it will write poems of wolves roaming the slopes of Mt.Masava.They have to beat this hype about large language models that can write passable books in four seconds, basically hallucinations. Burying the chatGBT ghost is their sole mandate.”
Impact and Legacy
On his legacy and impact resulting from his works, Wesonga thinks originality is key, will be, and should be key now that machines (AI) are coming to disrupt our routines and habits. Maybe not. There is nothing like a human being. Reading anybody’s literature is like being their friend and knowing them personally. It is a genuine friendship. What better way to travel if you can’t afford a concubine or gas money, let alone holiday fees?
He aspires to capture this time, now. Growing up he did not imagine 2024 would feel like this. Wireless internet, LGBTQ+, mainstream media’s slow death, podcasts, James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and re-usable space rockets. Open-source computing. He can only imagine what 2054 will be like. Nurse robots. Samantha 2.0.Driverless cars in Namwitsula.The alpha generation will never know how Kenya was 40 years ago unless he captures that in a book or a poem. “How we tolerated the current crop of politics they will wonder. It will not make sense then unless we document it.What I write now captures today for posterity. My wish.” he said.
Closing Thoughts
“I am no futurist nor or a subscriber to the so called three legged stool of atheism, evolution and a 3.8 billion year old Earth but me- thinks that in the next thirty years those of us who will still be alive will be clinging on to the few paperback or hardcover copies of today’s literature. Hold onto any physical book you have now. Stock your library.”
The world’s technology is moving so fast but Wesonga thinks that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is overrated. People are way more complicated than data-driven computing. Nothing beats a genuine smile from a fellow human being. He still thinks no sex doll can pull off the same feeling as a human.
“The madness almost wide-eyed pornographic excitement that ChatGBT is fast replacing customer care representatives is spoken about as though it is a good thing. Even the gatekeepers who are supposed to serve the interests of the working class through innovation and expansion of the middle class have joined the doom day cult. They speak like all jobs will be automated except for the seat they sit on. Pun. No machine however fast and precise or sweet-sounding compares to dealing with a fellow human being to exchange eye contact and touch, and oxytocin(the neuropeptide of human bonding, Read Arthur Brooks, Ph.D.) thereby bonding which is a good thing for mankind. There is coming a time when it will be pleasurable and nostalgic to talk to a biological breathing living soul.
A List of Wesonga’s Publications
I). Jam on My Face, 2014(poetry/Publisher, 360 Nile Media)
ii). 327 Thousand Feet High, 2019(poetry/publisher, Contact Zones)
iii). The Griots of Ubuntu, 2022, (poetry/ a contributing author/publisher, International Kindle Paperback/amazon)
iv). The Conscript, 2024(novella/publisher, Kindle Direct Publishing/amazon)
His contact : muliebi2@gmail.com