Ituika: Evening Pass-Time and Other Stories

Volume two of the Ituîka multilingual anthology follows in the footsteps of the first volume. Most stories here were written initially in Kenyan African languages: Ekegusii, Gikuyu, Kimeru, and Kiduruma. Mama Mkwe began in Kiswahili and was then translated into Kiembu, and Flames of Vengeance began in English and was then translated into Maa. As was the case in Volume 1, these stories cover a diverse range of themes, including family histories, perspectives and affection in marriage, Africans working in the gulf, and family storytelling. Translation practice is at the heart of this work, especially translation between African languages. Each story here is available in three different languages, and one is published in four languages. This multilingual work is the first of its kind to be published in Kenya and promises to be a great resource to translation scholars, readers, and African language enthusiasts.- Munyao Kilolo, Editor.

The Ituîka multilingual anthology breaks from the norm by giving African languages a platform to talk to each other. This one-of-a-kind anthology is a journey through translation. Volume two of this anthology has stories translated from and into 7 Kenyan Languages, including their Swahili and English translations. The work shows how language barriers can be overcome through storytelling and translation, and writers writing in Kenyan languages have a chance to reach an even broader audience. It was a great pleasure for me to work with the translators during the 2021 Ituika workshop, and I recommend this book to language analysts and translation enthusiasts.- Jane Bosibori Obuchi (Author)