Turning the Torch on South Sudan: Geraldine Sinyuy Interviews Marial Awendit, an Enthusiastic Young, Award-Winning Published Writer, Educationist and Humanitarian.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Marial Awendit, it is a pleasure being with you on this interview platform. What inspired you to become a writer?
Marial Awendit:  I am inspired by the desire to express myself, especially in poems. I read Chinua Achebe at the start of my writing career and I admit that his writing aroused my interest so much. I also wanted to use art as a form of resistance to human rights violation and as a tool for social change. There is an injustice that happened to me in 2014; my brother was killed on 28th March, 2014, by a distant cousin and the then powerful members of the family corrupted the justice system. They did that because they were part of the murder scheme. The obstruction of justice led to my father’s death on 4th November, 2014, of heart attack. My earlier writings addressed these vices and called for justice for all affected people.

Geraldine Sinyuy: I’m so sorry about the sad losses you and your family have incurred due to injustice. Injustice is a vice that must be dealt with as you have rightly said. At what age did you start writing and what was the easiest genre for you at that time?
Marial Awendit: I started writing songs and poetry at 18 years and nonfiction at 16 years of age. Non-fiction was the easiest at that time. I wrote them in journals as normal scribbles, back then.

Geraldine Sinyuy: I can identify with you. I also started writing in my early teens and I kept a journal which I still go over till date. At what time of the day do you find more inspiration and energy to write?
Marial Awendit: Any time I find myself free and energetic, I start writing. I set book writing goals and they determine the time.

Geraldine Sinyuy: How do you manage social media distractions and the writing career?
Marial Awendit: I get off social media totally, when I want to write.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Can you describe what your writing workspace looks like?
Marial Awendit: I just require a notebook, pen, and a laptop, for my work to be done. I do not like noisy places. My writing spaces are quiet and peaceful.

Geraldine Sinyuy: I understand that apart from being a writer, you still have other responsibilities. Can you share with me how you manage to successfully navigate through all these responsibilities and still have time for writing?
Marial Awendit: I am a high school teacher, a writivist, youth leader-having previously served as a youth president, and a secretary-general. I have nine years of work experience as a humanitarian aid worker with organizations: Caritas-DOR, HACT, and PLAN International.

Geraldine Sinyuy: You have a rich work experience. Congratulations. According your context, what is the most trending issue in present day literature as far as human rights are concerned?
Marial Awendit: At the moment, in South Sudan, basic human rights such as deprivation of life, food, freedom, land, and gender-based rights are the most talked about in my works. Other rights are being claimed but not just as the two are voiced.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Can you tell us which of your works brought you to the lime light of the literary circle? Can you tell us where we can find any of your books?
Marial Awendit: I came to the limelight, first, when I won the 2018 Babishai-Niwe Poetry Award for African poets, the winning work published in the chapbook, The Night Does Not Drown Us, and the full-length poetry collection, Keeping the Sun Secret, and second, when I won the 2023 African Writers Award for Poetry. I have written five full length poetry collections, namely; Keeping the Sun Secret, Who Told You to Be God?, The Nilotic Coddiwomple, Whispers over a Brewing Dawn, and Wild Island. All these books are globally available on Amazon, African Collective, Substack, Nuria Bookstore, and other bookstores.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Congratulations on your achievement. Your titles are very enchanting. What is the most important lesson you've learned in your career as a writer?
Marial Awendit: I have now learned as a writer that writing is a powerful tool for social change compared to when I started.

Geraldine Sinyuy: It is said that a writer is the voice of the voiceless, have you written any piece of work that calls for any kind of justice in a sense? If yes, what was it?
Marial Awendit: My poetry is about 90% of resistance to injustice: injustice against others, and injustice against myself, war and its ills. My works have clearly been shaped by my past experiences and my context.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What advice will you give a young aspiring writer?
Marial Awendit: I tell young writers to write originally and truly. This will let them find their voices.

Geraldine Sinyuy: I agree with you on this issue of originality. It is crucial in the writing field. How does your community receive human rights related literary and artistic works?
Marial Awendit: My poems have been appreciated by those affected by human rights violations, while those exposed or talked about become hostile and impending. As a result, my works are resented by that section of people. There are places where store owners are attacked for selling my books.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Have you ever felt threatened in any way due to the kind of writing you produce?
Marial Awendit: I have received death threats for the last 8 years but fortunately, I have not been harmed. The last death threat came from one of the offenders, in June, last year.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What else do you want to share with us?
Marial Awendit: I have this idea where we can come together as a body of human rights activists, artists, activists, writers, poets, musicians, and civil rights organizations in Africa. This will strengthen our voices wherever we address violations.

Geraldine Sinyuy: That’s a brilliant idea. Unity is strength. Thank you so much for your time and insightful responses.
Marial Awendit: Thanks for the opportunity to hear my story.

Geraldine Sinyuy: The pleasure is mine, Marial Awendit. It was a wonderful experience having this insightful conversation with you.

Marial Awendit a.k.a. James Marial Matueny Majak, is a poet, essayist, and songwriter, born in December, 1991, in modern day South Sudan. He is published in various literary magazines and anthologies. He is the author of the chapbook poetry collection, The Night Does Not Drown Us, published in 2022 by Babishai-Niwe Poetry Foundation, Keeping the Sun Secret, a full- length poetry collection published in 2021 by Mwanaka Media and Publishing Pvt Ltd, Whispers over a Brewing Dawn, a full-length poetry collection published in 2022 by Carnelian Heart Publishing Ltd, The Nilotic Coddiwomple, a full-length poetry collection published in 2024 by Acacia Publishers Ltd, Who Told You to Be God? a full-length poetry collection published in 2024 by Mwanaka Media and Publishing Pvt Ltd and Wild Island, published by Amaya Publishers Ltd. Marial Awendit is the winner of South Sudan Youth Talent Award (2016) for the category of Best Poet, the Babishai- Niwe Poetry Award for African poets (2018), and the African Writers Award for Poetry (2023). He is selected as a judge for the 2025 African Writers Award for Poetry. His two poetry collections: Keeping the Sun Secret and Who Told You to Be God? have been approved by the Library of the Congress for its catalogue, and acquired by top thirteen universities in the world, for their centers for African Studies.