Ugandan accountant Dickson Wasake reading his poetry at an ‘open mic’ session in Nassau, the Bahamas

By Vision Reporter

“WHAT prose, what poetry can surely come out of the double entry accounting system?” Obediah Michael Smith, who has been described by some as the “godfather of Bahamian poetry”, once asked Ugandan poet Dickson Erich Wasake.

The Ugandan poet in response recited the following short poem that left Smith in awe:
The Caribbean Express: On and on he goes like the chook chook train, trainloads of words, never broken, never derailed.

It is, therefore, no surprise that since then, Wasake has garnered significant attention from the Bahamian press and literary arts community.

He has been featured in prominent newspapers like The nassau Guardian and The Tribune and presentations at “open mic” poetry readings.

Most significantly, he was November’s guest performer at a once a month critique event of some of The Bahamas’s poets.
His memorable performance was dubbed: Poetic Footprints: returning home, Dickson Wasake: Live in Nassau at the sine qua non (one night only)!

Wasake was born to Derek and Sarah Wasake on May 25, 1981 in Mbale. He went to King’s College Budo and Makerere University Business School where he graduated in a Bachelors of Commerce (Accounting).

He obtained his post graduate qualification as a Chartered Accountant (ACCA) while working at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Uganda.

Wasake’s interest was nurtured early through reading childhood poetic loves including Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat. His writing of poetry, however, began as a young adolescent while at Budo, where he often penned letters to his sweethearts and enclosed a ballad or two.

Influences on his works have been W B Yeats, Maya Angelou, Matsuo Basho (Haiku maestro) and Ugandan poet Professor Timothy Wangusa.

He currently resides in The Bahamas and works at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nassau.

What other poets say:
“Breathtakingly simple and best of all, painfully forlorn – everything a poem should be. Good stuff.”
(on Returning Home)

“OK ... Only poetry can take a person’s breath away; like looking at the photograph of an old lover or a picture of a thousand words. That’s what yours does to me.”
(on A Haiku Journey Around The World)

“Beautiful! Who is Manjeri?”
(on A Letter To Manjeri Of The Mountain)