Whittling Our Niche

An evocative exploration of belonging, purpose, and the deliberate shapes we carve out for ourselves in a complex world. A reflective journey through prose and poetry that asks: How do we define our space without losing our roots?

My bookshelf collection has come together over the past few years, some bought new, but many found in second-hand book stores: one a small stall near my home in Malindi, and others in faraway places, such as the wonderful Maadi Books, in Cairo. For me, a second-hand book, is as good as a pristine new publication; as a good writer-friend of mine remarked recently: ‘Books are meant to looked used and loved, Duncan, that’s one way you can tell they’re good!” Intriguingly, my local bookman texts me when he has an English language book that might interest me.....

Writing, editing, and publication, grew to be a regular feature of my work. Apart from an ability to pen coherent, informative articles, it would seem I also had a bent towards art and design, and layout work. I say this, because my salaried life is littered with an array of newsletters and magazines and booklets, which culminated in a 100-page classroom tool for primary schools in Kenya, aimed at teaching and learning all about the climate crisis. This was my last Hoorah you might say, just before retiring to live and write on the coast of Kenya...