 |
I have never told a child a story. That could be due to the fact
that none has ever bombarded, provoked or caught me unawares to tell him or her
an interesting and captivating anecdote. That being the case, I can’t precisely
say that I have the gift of the gab when it comes to matters narration. And it
even makes me wonder whether what I write can be consumed by someone young. I
fear that I am not well versed with those in the early childhood ages. Since
I am the editor cum writer of my articles, then I can’t candidly confess that I
have the authority to do so. This is the lot that really likes to be told
stories.
I have to say I have not read much of the works of local Kenyan
authors. This I can say is due to my poor culture of only reading the Western
novels due to their availability by every Tom, Dick and Harry. Hence chances
are I have only read what most readers have read. Henceforth I have to improve.
Sometimes being different and not having the herd mentality does pay off.
Many people like alluding to Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’.
The road I have taken however is taken by many. I am not going to deny that.
But again sometimes it’s good to confess some things. When it comes to reading,
I would love to access the library of one Peter Mwangi, the CEO of Nairobi
Securities Exchange. I like the fact that he did confess in one of the dailies
that he is among those who gather on a regular basis to discuss and brainstorm
on books being published all over the world.
That aside, I am currently deficient of the morale to read books.
I have so many e-books that I have piled on my e-books folder that I can’t muster
the courage to open. This I can attribute to the fact that it is very hard
concentrating on a computer for long since I easily deviate. You may find the
urge to dump the book when not interesting or an idea may crop up and you may
want to listen to music. I have to buy an e-reader to revive the probability of
ever reading e-books again.
Let me delve back to the world of children. For those who have
children, those of preprimary and primary school age, many usually like being
told stories. Yet many parents have never told their children any stories. But
the world of children is complex. Children like simplicity; they hate details
and being bogged by a lot of facts that are not palatable. Children love light
jokes as much as they love songs. Evoking feelings in children especially those
of sympathy is not easy. One famous child author once wrote that children have
a powerful baggage of feelings.
At some point in life we were children. On my part, i remember one
person who loved telling stories, he was one of my elder cousins who would come
to tell us stories of inkalimeva (sic). My older sister was also a good
storyteller though most of her stories were adapted from the Primary English
books. Years later I came to realize this and I was fascinated a lot but also
having the feeling that OK now this was the source.
The stories I read in primary were indeed intriguing. Though I
have forgotten a huge chunk of those stories, I have to confess my love for
them. Some made us laugh, others evoked emotions, some had no effect but a
majority of the stories were enthralling. However that phase is gone
and now I have to churn the stories instead of reading them. I have to
categorically confess that my comic skills have not been exploited though. I
will try humor at some point. But that is a story of another day.
I stand to be corrected though; there is a very big avenue to be
exploited when it comes to matters children. I can categorically say that if
one decides to master the art of narrating children stories especially those
that have a moral story, trust you me, parents out there are in great need of
such a person. And mark you; you will be smiling all the way to the bank.
In conclusion, I have always detested this kind of ending a great
piece. I hope next time I will not be saying so. It is so cliche and does not
even excite and create the desired suspense. It only tells you the reader that
I have nothing else to say. So boring this reality as much as it is not
artistic and imaginative. Today I must end my commentary with this slogan
‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened ’.
 |
