Achieving Immortality Through Writing
By Juliet Mwangi
Charming and insightful, David Ngugi is perhaps the true embodiment of the quote,
“True humility is staying teachable regardless of what you know.” –Anonymous
Despite his age and vast experience in shaping and educating young minds, Mr. Ngugi, now a retired teacher, still held much enthusiasm as he participated on the opposite side of the metaphorical blackboard, in the Write your Passion course offered by Writers Guild Kenya.
When we caught up with him to share about his experience attending the course, he had this to say, “It was a joy to be in that class and to feel a sense of belonging. Share ideas. Listen to the resource personnel, digest what they offer and own it. It was great.” He was particularly impressed at the youthful enthusiasm that his fellow classmates possessed, describing them as intelligent, inquisitive and eagerly ready to activate their pens.
He describes writing (his first love), as a very lonely journey with numerous challenges, but a calling that one cannot ignore. That is why, despite having been completely engrossed in his career, he never lost his passion and interest in the art, which he is now finally getting to focus on upon retirement.
Quoting the Nigerian poet, Christopher Okigbo who ascribes that the callings for other forms of art are universal, his advice to young aspiring writers is that even as they answer this call, to never let anything distract them from putting down their ideas. “All vocations will end, but writing ideas and thoughts immortalizes us.” he muses as he concludes our insightful and inspiring chat.
Regrettably, due to the demands of his profession, he currently does not have any published works. However, you can still enjoy some of his personal projects by checking out his blog @ davidngugibookreview.wordpress.com.
With a personal trademark like ‘Intellectualism’, which he aspires to leave as his legacy, we can only wait with bated breath for the published works of this man, David Ngugi which he claims is his ultimate dream.