Leonard Tshitenge

Afroblues By Way of Congo Leonard Tshitenge

The smooth vibe of hard-hitting, but intellectually stimulating poetry and creative writing. Poems that make you laugh; Poems that make you say: We must build a healthy society that brings happiness and cultivate healing, cross-cultural understanding, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and it starts with ME today!Leonard Tshitenge writes and performs with versatility and aplomb. His verse is hard-hitting and serious without alienating. His readers and listeners understand him as a person beyond his role as spokesman for a cause. His eyes3-open social awareness, locally and globally, do not take away his playfulness and delight in life. His many lenses move with ease from atrocities in the Congo to last night's dinner out, finding insight in both. Seeing him on stage, or reading him on the page, the audience knows his words are painstakingly chosen and delivered with care. While he points out problems in society, he includes himself in that society and offers a brotherhood of resistance to the things that tear us apart, individually and internationally. Leonard Tshitenge's is a voice for the world that will feel as (un)comfortable as the neighbor's next door.--Stan Galloway, Director of the Bridgewater International Poetry Festival in Bridgewater, Virginia