Photo Content from Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi
Prof. Ngwainmbi has more than 35 years' experience in research and publishing internationally. He has advised various United Nations agencies and is on the editorial boards of 13 professional national, regional, and international organizations in mass media and communication. He has authored fifteen books and articles in journals and magazines.
When/how did you realize you had a creative dream or calling to fulfill?
That’s when I was 10 years. I was a student in a co-ed boarding school called St. Bede’s college. I watched my friends swimming and had the urge to describe it. I scribbled my feelings and experience of that event on a scroll. A roommate later found it on my bed and read it allowed. The dorm room mates made comments. Later that week the dorm captain gave it to the newspaper editor who published it in the Ashing Observer. When other students and staff saw the poem, they nicknamed me Robert Frost. Somebody compared me to the great American poet? That’s when I felt I had a calling as a poet, so I wrote 175 poems in the months following that incident. Somehow, the Provincial English Language Adviser, a British man named David Weir heard about my talent and invited me to office. After discussing, he asked his secretary to type the poems. 1500 copies were bound and he asked me to name the book. I called it Sim’s Poetic Column. Sim became my first pen name, and two poetry books were published under that name. Anyway, during the monthly English Teachers’ Association meeting, he sold all copies to English Language grade school teachers for one dollar a piece, and saved the money for my tuition. That was in 1975.
Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
A grant I recently received from the Carnegie Foundation for Authors. The Foundation gives grants to author’s who have published one full length work that has been published by a mainstream publisher. I thank the Foundation for recognizing my role as a published author
What are some of your current and future projects that you can share with us?
I have written three novels, a sequel on romance and racism and two poetry books, and I’m looking for the right publisher. On the academic side, I have signed two books deals with Palgrave and Cambridge Scholars Publishers. I am writing on How Social Media has compromised our ethnic and cultural identities; also about How Journalists and the Media communicate health issues.
I am preparing another autobiographic novel on race in America; preparing three book projects on social media effects on the health and wellbeing of the youth worldwide; how pandemics are communicated; and how blacks in Europe, Africa and Asia and aboriginals are coping with new challenges caused by globalization.
Can you tell us when you started A GUN AND A ROSE, how that came about?
This poetry volume was inspired by media coverage of war and out veterans. I followed news coverage on those issues, especially CNN, NPR and Fox News, and got inspired to pen words and phrases about things the media was missing—the psychological and emotional trauma our soldiers and their families face daily. Also, most of my brothers in church (The Knights of Columbus) are veterans of Vietnam, World War II, Gulf, and Iraq wars. Some are still in active duty. We discussed their experience and I drew inspiration from their heroism, their suffering and the need for the society to properly compensate them for their selfless love for country—America, the land that has been kind enough to give me and every nation some of its resources. The blood shed on the battle ground for our freedoms should never go unrewarded. We have the moral responsibility to give something back to these men and women who offer their lives to keep our flag fluttering. Writing A Gun and Rose and Growing Flames, Fury & Lavender, also Theaters of War is my small contribution. I tell their story as way or reminding the society not to forget what they have done that allows us to walk around, play, drink, laugh, dance, learn, listen, and eat freely.
What do you hope for readers to be thinking when they read your novel (poetry)?
I want readers to get into the boots of the soldiers, their fiancés, wives, children, other loved ones. I want them to think and feel what our soldiers in active duty or retired experience, to consider extending them a gesture of thanks. They should find creative ways to show their love to those veterans
What was the greatest thing you learned at school?
I learned that teachers are also learners—that they don’t know too much—that life is the greatest teacher and experience the best instructor.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your readers. What would it be?
Read between the lines; don’t rush to conclusions yet.
What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
Exercise
Best date you've ever had?
A walk in the garden. First, we took a boat ride on a mild evening. Everyone around us was drinking margarita or dancing to Salsa. We got to the beach, sat on sand; had a sandwich; teased and kissed. I joined some guys playing soccer. I passed her the ball and challenged her to dribble me. We laughed as she tried unsuccessfully to pass the ball between my legs, and instead grabbed it with her hands and threw it over my head. I later walked her home and kissed her at the gate way of their home.
What was the first job you had?
A literature and French language teacher at a High School
Which incident in your life that totally changed the way you think today?
When my mother died at the tender age of five.
First Heartbreak?
I was blindsided. At first I thought it was true love; the kissing, cuddling, smiles. She even introduced me to her siblings, friends and parents. We had dated for a year and she introduced me to her friends as her fiancé. We went to nightclubs together; danced and I escorted her home. One day, she told me was going shopping and left. Later, that evening, I saw her in someone’s car; her hair down, earrings on, lipstick on. She was wearing a dress I had never seen. She seemed relaxed. She avoided making eye contact with me. I could not believe my eyes. I didn’t have a car, so I thought, ‘she is shopping, hunh? Who is he? Isn’t he her sugar daddy?’ Next day, I confronted her about it. She told me ‘oh, he’s my uncle.”
Which would you choose, true love with a guarantee of a heart break or have never loved before?
I’d rather have never loved before than love someone knowing my heart would be broken. Love is a genuine emotion; no one should make plans to break anyone’s heart as that’s cruel. One reason why there are so many divorces in the world today is because a couple takes advantage of his or her spouse.
TEN RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME BY EMANUEL KANE
- My dream place to live would be in the Caribbean, specifically the island Saint Kitts and Nevis
- My biggest motivation is the fear of failing.
- The process of writing, it’s exciting.
- My favorite book is the mayor of caster bridge by Thomas hardy.
- With the absence of money, I would spend my time watching soccer! Arsenal, a football team in the English Premier League, United Kingdom is my favorite team, also the US women’s soccer team.
- Donate to charity, specifically orphanages, to educate children.
- MY favorite Holiday is July 4th, which expresses freedom and the hard work humanity has put together to achieve freedom.
- I see the world with the glass half full. I am very positive and optimistic.
- I speak 12 languages,
- I absolutely love the gym because it helps me stay healthy, physically and mentally and it also allows me to meet positive-minded people.
When I am writing, especially A gun and a Rose, I strive to write on a topic that can be deeply appreciated, in this case, I take inside look at the reality of soldiers, their journeys, their families, sacrifices, and the harsh truths of what happens during combat.
My poetry is written during my free time. I have no schedule as crazy as that may sound. Once I get the inspiration, I seize that moment and begin writing. It can take anywhere from three months to two years to finish writing and editing a book manuscript, but it makes for an incredible read when it is completed.
I am my toughest critic. I critique everything in my writing; from word choice to sentences to phrases, to paragraphs. I typically edit my work at least twenty times before I give it to anyone, and still I’m not satisfied with the final product. That’s just me.
In the struggle within and without, between war and love, poet Emanuel Kane wanders through the world of conflict and peace that defines our lives. From souls lost in the battlefield to children lost in times too quiet, the author uncovers the horror of humanity's worst instincts and the redemption brought in the peace of home.
Praise for Emanuel Kane's Poetry
"The poems have a pleasing grace, a fierce urgency . . . a talented poet." —Gwendolyn Brooks, Pulitzer Prize winning poet
"[His] voice brings sanity and respect to our continent." —Leonard Koza, South African poet, translator, and literary critic
"Stylistic recitation of meaningful [and] ... universal truths." —Desire Grogan, District of Columbia Public Library
You can purchase A Gun and a Rose: A Collection of Poems at the following Retailers:
And now, The Giveaways.
Thank you EMANUEL KANE for making this giveaway possible.
1 Winner will receive a Copy of A Gun and a Rose by Emanuel Kane.
jbnpastinterviews
Yes i do.
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