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Munganyende Hélène Christelle

Munganyende Hélène Christelle
Munganyende Hélène Christelle

(Rwanda, 1993) is a writer, societal critic and co-host of the podcast Fufu & Dadels. The program discusses critical life questions about issues such as feminism and gender roles, intercultural sisterhood and fuckboys, and traditions and sexuality. She grew up in Kigali and Eindhoven and studied political science in Brussels. She writes about feminism and the political emancipation of migrant millennials in publications such as Vogue, Vileine and OneWorld. Together with other women of colour, Christelle founded IamSHERO. This foundation aims to show young Dutch women that everyone has opportunities. She wrote the following about her debut novel Vreemd fruit (Strange Fruit), published in 2021: "I strive to give a voice to young women growing up with the same complex migration history as mine. Young people who must learn to move between displacement and homecoming."

(WN 2021)

Archive available for: Munganyende Hélène Christelle

  • Slow Winternachten festival februari & maart 2021

    Radical Happiness - #SoulCare

    With: Bahghi, Gil Gomes Leal, Hassnae Bouazza, Jens Meijen, Koleka Putuma, Munganyende Hélène Christelle, Radna Fabias

    "Joy is an act of resistance" is a slogan that is gaining traction. Can happiness be a form of activism? Is there such a thing as restful resistance? And why is self-care so important? These questions constituted the foundation of the final program of the online part of the Winternachten International Literature Festival 2021 - you end up in a warm bath of radical inspiration.

    1:04 - Koleka Putuma (South Africa), recitation.
    3:13 - Radna Fabias (Netherlands), recitation I translated work by Koleka Putuma.
    5:00 - Koleka Putuma, interview.
    23:38 - Koleka Putuma, recitation.
    24:48 - Radna Fabias, recitation II translated work by Koleka Putuma.
    26:15 - Gil Gomes Leal, dance performance.
    31:40 - Radna Fabias, interview.
    42:31 - Bahghi (Netherlands), song performance.
    45:42 - Munganyende Hélène Christelle (Netherlands), recitation and interview.
    56:10 - Jens Meijen (Belgium), video reading.
    1:01:19 - Radna Fabias, recitation III translated work by Koleka Putuma.

    "It's up to us": this emerges from the work of photographer Tyler Mitchell, whose summer 2019 exhibit I Can Make You Feel Good at the FOAM Photography Museum in Amsterdam was a sensitive ode to a "black utopia". Mitchell photographed young black people looking relaxed, sensitive and proud in idyllic settings. It was a beacon of hope for how things could look and a sharp contrast to the dominant images of black people in the media usually associated with strife, pain and violence.

    Mitchell's work is one of the sources of inspiration for programme maker Fleur Jeras, together with the poetry of the South African poet and performer Koleka Putuma - especially her poem Black Joy from the volume Collective Amnesia. Poet Alfred Schaffer, who translated Putuma's poetry into Dutch for the magazine Terras, wrote the following in the magazine Groene Amsterdammer: "You could say that Putuma in looking for a way out of the impasse with Collective Amnesia; she must escape the expectations of both the white and black public. Love could be an escape route."

    A fragment of the poem Black Joy by Koleka Putuma, from her collection Collective Amnesia:

    But
    isn't funny?
    That when they ask about black childhood,
    all they are interested in is our pain,
    as if the joy-parts were accidental.

    I write love poems, too,
    but
    you only want to see my mouth torn open in protest,
    as if my mouth were a wound
    with pus and gangrene
    for joy.

    Journalist Hassnae Bouazza talked about this poem with Putuma via an online connection from Capetown. We also brought you Putuma's work in other forms: poet Radna Fabias read from Putuma's work in their Dutch-language versions and singer-songwriter Bahghi and dancer Gil Gomes Leal presented new works inspired by Black Joy.

    Read here the three poems by Koleka Putuma.

    Additionally, poet Jens Meijen and writer-podcast maker Munganyende Hélène Christelle gave practical examples about how the create peace of mind and reflect on activism, a state of happiness and the future.

    Learn more here:

    Bahghi
    website
    Soundcloud

    Hassnae Bouazza
    website

    Munganyende Hélène Christelle
    website
    Instagram
    Podcast Fufu & Dadels

    Radna Fabias
    Video: Radna Fabia recites in DichterBij (VPRO) her poem Roestplaats

    Gil Gomes Leal
    website: performance Ayahuasca by Gil Gomes Leal & ISH Dance Collective

    Jens Meijen
    Facebook
    Short story Kaddisj, publication in Hard//hoofd

    Koleka Putuma
    website
    instagram
    Video: Koleka Putuma recites from Collective Amnesia on the train from Kaapstad-Muizenburg


  • Winternachten 2021

    #SoulCare: Radical Happiness

    With: Bahghi, Gil Gomes Leal, Hassnae Bouazza, Jens Meijen, Koleka Putuma, Munganyende Hélène Christelle, Radna Fabias

    "Joy is an act of resistance" is a slogan that is gaining traction. Can happiness be a form of activism? Is there such a thing as restful resistance? And why is self-care so important? These questions constituted the foundation of this concluding program of the first, online part of the Winternachten International Literature Festival 2021 - a warm bath of radical inspiration.

    "It's up to us": this theme emerges from the work of photographer Tyler Mitchell, whose summer 2019 exhibit I Can Make You Feel Good at Amsterdam's FOAM photography museum was a sensitive ode to a "black utopia". Mitchell photographed young black people looking relaxed, sensitive and proud in idyllic settings. It was a beacon of hope for how things could look and a sharp contrast to dominant media images of black people that are usually associated with strife, pain and violence.

    Mitchell's work was one source of inspiration for programmer Fleur Jeras, as was the poetry of the South African poet and performer Koleka Putuma - especially her poem Black Joy from the volume Collective Amnesia. Poet Alfred Schaffer, who translated Putuma's poetry into Dutch for Terras magazine, wrote the following in the magazine Groene Amsterdammer: "You could say that Putuma in looking for a way out of the impasse with Collective Amnesia; she must escape the expectations of both the white and black public. Love could be an escape route."

    A fragment of the poem Black Joy by Koleka Putuma, from her collection Collective Amnesia:

    But
    isn't funny?
    That when they ask about black childhood,
    all they are interested in is our pain,
    as if the joy-parts were accidental.

    I write love poems, too,
    but
    you only want to see my mouth torn open in protest,
    as if my mouth were a wound
    with pus and gangrene
    for joy.

    Journalist Hassnae Bouazza discussed this poem with Putuma via a video connection from Capetown. We also brought you Putuma's work in other forms: poet Radna Fabias read Dutch translations of Putuma's work, while singer-songwriter Bahghi and dancer Gil Gomes Leal presented new works inspired by Black Joy.

    Read three poems by Koleka Putuma here.

    In addition, poet Jens Meijen and writer-podcaster Munganyende Hélène Christelle gave practical examples about how to create peace of mind and reflected on activism, a state of happiness, and the future.

    More background:

    Bahghi
    website
    Soundcloud

    Hassnae Bouazza
    website

    Munganyende Hélène Christelle
    website
    Instagram
    Podcast Fufu & Dadels

    Radna Fabias
    Video: Radna Fabia recites her poem Roestplaats on DichterBij (VPRO)

    Gil Gomes Leal
    website: Ayahuasca performance by Gil Gomes Leal & ISH Dance Collective

    Jens Meijen
    Facebook
    Short story Kaddisj, published in Hard//hoofd

    Koleka Putuma
    website
    instagram
    Video: Koleka Putuma reads from Collective Amnesia on the Capetown-Muizenburg train