Otoniya Okot Bitek is a poet in the tradition of the Acholi from northern Uganda.
Acholi poets, painters, singers and dancers bring people together through their art which usually involves social commentary.
“The poet in the Acholi tradition, is not just someone who says the flower is beautiful because it s beautiful, but gathers people to think and talk about whatever it is they re doing and what’s happening around them,” she says. “For me, as an Acholi poet, the poem is the container, the space and opportunity for people to gather in community.”
Okot Bitek began writing when she was very young to win the attention of her father, an internationally recognized poet who was exiled from Uganda when he drew the ire of the government.