Not All Birds is a searing, poetic anthology that blends prose, performance, and radical vulnerability to reclaim voices often silenced by society. Written by Ray Mwihaki, the collection is a fierce and tender excavation of womanhood, memory, trauma, resistance, and reclamation.
This project was made possible through a grant awarded to Ray Mwihaki by Creatives Garage, as part of our Collab Project, an initiative designed to support bold, transformative storytelling from underrepresented voices in Kenya's creative ecosystem.
Through layered narratives, ranging from visceral poems to haunting short stories, the book chronicles the lived realities of Kenyan women and femmes navigating gendered violence, grief, inherited silence, and survival. Whether confronting femicide, sexual trauma, family betrayal, mental health, or spiritual reckoning, Mwihaki’s writing refuses to flinch. Instead, it asks: What does it mean to live through it and still call yourself whole?
Stories like “Outliers Make People Nervous,” “Black Spot,” and “Lilith Dances Till the Lights Blow Out” channel the quiet fury and persistent joy of those who dare to speak, heal, and reclaim space. In the haunting finality of everyday moments, Mwihaki finds metaphors for rebirth, reminding the reader that even scorched earth can bloom.
Part manifesto, part memory, Not All Birds is an intimate act of rebellion offering language to those who have been denied it, and space to breathe for those still learning how to.
The book is available for purchase at our Baiskeli Store.