“So in essence I write because I am still chasing after the perfect piece for my mother” – Senate Moshoeshoe
“Hobane’ng Re Ngola?” is the title to a compilation of expressive pieces of writing by young writers in Lesotho in which they explore why they write.
The project is an attempt at capturing voices by some of the writers in our country. Through their reflections, the writers share on why they pursue the art and craft of writing.
The publication is unique in the way it allows for the featured writers to share bits of themselves with the readers. Through the very medium of writing, writers reflect on why they write.
On introducing the compilation, Lerato Mensah-Aborampah highlights that, “The inspiration behind this project centers on the belief that surely it must be necessary for us as writers, in all our diversities and motivations for writing, to consciously establish why we do it, why we pursue our craft. What makes us write? What is our drive? What inspires us? Why, at all, do we write? And is this question even worth our time at all?”
“I lied. I lied constantly and energetically and I LOVED IT.” – Mannete Makhetla
The compilation is organized by Young Basotho Writers, a literacy movement that was initiated in 2014 by Lerato Mensah-Aborampah, as a Facebook Page. The idea was to create a network of writers particularly young writers in Lesotho, that encourages the nurturing and growth of the craft of writing and allows dialogue and sharing of relevant resources within an online community of young people in Lesotho who are passionate about writing.
The Young Basotho Writers team hopes that this publication is one of many literary projects to come that will help amplify and promote the voices of writers in our country and also play a role in the development and growth of literacy in Lesotho.
I write because I want Basotho to be aware of the powerhouse above their neck and how precisely they can harness its power to their good use. –Takatso Kumi