2025 Kistrech International Poetry Festival Report
The 2025 edition of the Kistrech International Poetry Festival in Kenya took place on Friday 17th to Wednesday 22nd October 2025 in Kisii County, Kenya. The poets arrived in Kisumu City, Kisumu Airport, on Thursday 16th and departed on Thursday 23rd October 2025. This year we did not read poetry in Nairobi as did in the previous years. All the poetry activities and sessions took place in Kisii.
The 2025 Kistrech international Poetry Festival was lean in terms of global representation, as we had fewer poets than in the past editions. We had the participation of Winston Farrell, a renowned poet from Barbados, and who was a participant at our festival in 2023. Winston is a theatre arts practitioner and a published poet, a winner of the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Prize, the Governor General’s Award for poetry 2015 and the 2020 and 2023 Gine On Peoples’ Choice Poet of the Year. Winston has an MA degree in Theatre and Development Studies (Leeds). By virtue of having participated twice in this festival, Winston was awarded a trophy this year as a life member of Kistrech International Poetry festival.
Our second poet, Riina Katajavuori, is a Finnish poet and author. Her poems have been translated into 30 languages and she has performed her poetry in Japan, Canada and Peru. Her latest collection is Vasemman käden runot (Left hand poems), 2023. Riina Katajavuori was welcomed to the 11th edition of Kistrech International Poetry Festival with ululation and excitement.
Our third poet, Tereza Riedlbauchová, came from Czech Republic. She is a poet, publisher, translator and literary historian. Tereza who has taken part in international festivals of poetry, book fairs and literary residences in many countries, is the author of the collections Modrá jablka (Blue Apples, 2000), Velká biskupovská noc (Great Biskupov Night, 2005), Don Vítor si hraje a jiné básně (Don Vitor Playing and Other Poems, 2009), Pařížský deník (Paris Notebook, 2013), Inkoustová skvrna Karibiku (Ink Spot of the Caribbean, 2020) and the lyric poem Podoba panny pláč (The Image of the Weeping Virgin, 2002). Tereza was welcomed to the 11th edition of Kistrech International Poetry Festival with pomp and excitement.
We thank Kenyan poets who participated at the festival this year, including Dr. Evans Gesura Mecha, Dr. Alfred Nyagaka Nyamwange, Matthews Obiri Nyamari, Obino Nyambane, Mzee Nemwel Mogere Atemba, and Dr. Christopher Okemwa.
We sincerely thank the Arts Promotion Centre Finland and Kirjallisuuden edistämiskeskus = Literature Promotion Centre for supporting the Finnish poet, Riina Katajavuori, to participate in this event. We urge them to send one or more poets in future editions of Kistrech festival.
We sincerely thank the festival patron, Dr. Christopher Okemwa, for funding the poetry festival magazine this year. Dr. Okemwa’s family also offered internal transport and, occasionally, food to this year’s guest-poets.
Regardless of lack of funds for this event, Kistrech International Poetry Festival continues to function and carrying out poetic activities. We are nurturing student poetic talents and helping them get their poetry published. Many of them have released their maiden collections and many others have contributed their poems to international magazines and literary journals.
We thank this year’s Kistrech Team who volunteered to work for this festival, even when the festival has no funding and lacks the capacity to sufficiently fulfil the requirement of the festival. The updating and maintenance of the festival website, printing of the festival magazine, ground transport during the event, stationery, banners and fliers, have posed major challenges to the event due to lack of support. As we continue looking for a permanent financial solution, we ask
our international guest-poets, local poets, student-poets and the public at large to understand and bear with us. Otherwise, I wish you joy and beauty that is associated with the Kistrech International Poetry festival.
