Marcus Olang'
@marcusolang.substack.com
Multi-hyphenate.
Writing: marcusolang.substack.com
Photography: stillsbymarcus.com
Writing: marcusolang.substack.com
Photography: stillsbymarcus.com
The nature of writing: Draft after draft after draft.
Some drafts feel like gold when you finish them. Then you take a short walk, cast your eye upon them one more time, and what you thought was gold turns into a turd.
Then that turd becomes fertiliser for a fresh draft. Next one feels better.
Some drafts feel like gold when you finish them. Then you take a short walk, cast your eye upon them one more time, and what you thought was gold turns into a turd.
Then that turd becomes fertiliser for a fresh draft. Next one feels better.
October 18, 2025 at 11:37 AM
The nature of writing: Draft after draft after draft.
Some drafts feel like gold when you finish them. Then you take a short walk, cast your eye upon them one more time, and what you thought was gold turns into a turd.
Then that turd becomes fertiliser for a fresh draft. Next one feels better.
Some drafts feel like gold when you finish them. Then you take a short walk, cast your eye upon them one more time, and what you thought was gold turns into a turd.
Then that turd becomes fertiliser for a fresh draft. Next one feels better.
Off my latest, “On Raila Odinga: This will be… complex.” open.substack.com/pub/marcusol...
"He contained multitudes. And we, as a nation, projected our own multitudes onto him. Our hopes, fears, resentments, dreams... a screen onto which we projected the complex, fractured nature of our identity."
"He contained multitudes. And we, as a nation, projected our own multitudes onto him. Our hopes, fears, resentments, dreams... a screen onto which we projected the complex, fractured nature of our identity."
October 17, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Off my latest, “On Raila Odinga: This will be… complex.” open.substack.com/pub/marcusol...
"He contained multitudes. And we, as a nation, projected our own multitudes onto him. Our hopes, fears, resentments, dreams... a screen onto which we projected the complex, fractured nature of our identity."
"He contained multitudes. And we, as a nation, projected our own multitudes onto him. Our hopes, fears, resentments, dreams... a screen onto which we projected the complex, fractured nature of our identity."
My new piece, “On Raila Odinga: This will be… complex.” Yet it still didn't leave me enough room to delve into the complexities as much as I had in mind. In a Part 2, perhaps.
Still, given life's nuances, I make what I believe is a fair attempt at balance.
marcusolang.substack.com/p/on-raila-o...
Still, given life's nuances, I make what I believe is a fair attempt at balance.
marcusolang.substack.com/p/on-raila-o...
October 16, 2025 at 9:27 AM
My new piece, “On Raila Odinga: This will be… complex.” Yet it still didn't leave me enough room to delve into the complexities as much as I had in mind. In a Part 2, perhaps.
Still, given life's nuances, I make what I believe is a fair attempt at balance.
marcusolang.substack.com/p/on-raila-o...
Still, given life's nuances, I make what I believe is a fair attempt at balance.
marcusolang.substack.com/p/on-raila-o...
Been nagging me what it is about the iPhone 17 Pro that feels so familiar yet so out of place. It just hit me: It reminds me of a suitcase.
September 11, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Been nagging me what it is about the iPhone 17 Pro that feels so familiar yet so out of place. It just hit me: It reminds me of a suitcase.
I watched the latest Apple Event. I had... thoughts.
marcusolang.substack.com/p/church-of-...
marcusolang.substack.com/p/church-of-...
September 9, 2025 at 11:12 PM
I watched the latest Apple Event. I had... thoughts.
marcusolang.substack.com/p/church-of-...
marcusolang.substack.com/p/church-of-...
I fell asleep editing this, phone in hand. Happy blood moon. May your beloveds find joy at the sound of your voice, and may your enemies shudder at the mention of your name.
September 8, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I fell asleep editing this, phone in hand. Happy blood moon. May your beloveds find joy at the sound of your voice, and may your enemies shudder at the mention of your name.
If you know the proprietors of this place along Kiambu Road, please tell them to fix that sign. Those two missing letters are very important for clarity and context.
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
July 22, 2025 at 8:40 PM
If you know the proprietors of this place along Kiambu Road, please tell them to fix that sign. Those two missing letters are very important for clarity and context.
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
"For the longest (deliberate Kenyanese is deliberate), I used language as outfits: English suit for the office, nice Swahili kanzu for my time in Diani, comfortable jeans & t-shirt of Sheng or Dholuo with family/friends, soupçon of French when feeling fancy…"
marcusolang.substack.com/p/it-started...
marcusolang.substack.com/p/it-started...
July 11, 2025 at 3:37 PM
"For the longest (deliberate Kenyanese is deliberate), I used language as outfits: English suit for the office, nice Swahili kanzu for my time in Diani, comfortable jeans & t-shirt of Sheng or Dholuo with family/friends, soupçon of French when feeling fancy…"
marcusolang.substack.com/p/it-started...
marcusolang.substack.com/p/it-started...
"And right there is the punchline to this long, historical joke... The machine, in its quest to sound authoritative, ended up sounding like a KCPE graduate who scored an 'A' in English Composition. It replicated the linguistic ghost of the British Empire."
marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
July 9, 2025 at 10:07 AM
"And right there is the punchline to this long, historical joke... The machine, in its quest to sound authoritative, ended up sounding like a KCPE graduate who scored an 'A' in English Composition. It replicated the linguistic ghost of the British Empire."
marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
"When you see our work, what are you really seeing? Are you seeing a robot's soulless prose? Or are you seeing the image of our Standard 8 English teacher, Mrs. Amollo, her voice reminding us to connect our paragraphs with a suitable linking phrase?"
open.substack.com/pub/marcusol...
open.substack.com/pub/marcusol...
July 8, 2025 at 8:02 PM
"When you see our work, what are you really seeing? Are you seeing a robot's soulless prose? Or are you seeing the image of our Standard 8 English teacher, Mrs. Amollo, her voice reminding us to connect our paragraphs with a suitable linking phrase?"
open.substack.com/pub/marcusol...
open.substack.com/pub/marcusol...
Nairobi, Kenya | July 2nd, 2025.
July 3, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Nairobi, Kenya | July 2nd, 2025.
Calvins Omondi Onditi. Found dead in his cell Sunday morning.
- arrested around midnight.
- taken to Kipasi Police Post 3 hours after his arrest.
- officers tell family he was transferred to Mbita.
- family start going to Mbita, then called back to Kipasi.
- "suicide".
nation.africa/kenya/counti...
- arrested around midnight.
- taken to Kipasi Police Post 3 hours after his arrest.
- officers tell family he was transferred to Mbita.
- family start going to Mbita, then called back to Kipasi.
- "suicide".
nation.africa/kenya/counti...
June 18, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Calvins Omondi Onditi. Found dead in his cell Sunday morning.
- arrested around midnight.
- taken to Kipasi Police Post 3 hours after his arrest.
- officers tell family he was transferred to Mbita.
- family start going to Mbita, then called back to Kipasi.
- "suicide".
nation.africa/kenya/counti...
- arrested around midnight.
- taken to Kipasi Police Post 3 hours after his arrest.
- officers tell family he was transferred to Mbita.
- family start going to Mbita, then called back to Kipasi.
- "suicide".
nation.africa/kenya/counti...
What happens when you take some fresh sloppy cow dung, spray air freshener on it, and put it back on the ground?
That’s right: It’s still cow dung.
That’s right: It’s still cow dung.
June 3, 2025 at 8:15 PM
What happens when you take some fresh sloppy cow dung, spray air freshener on it, and put it back on the ground?
That’s right: It’s still cow dung.
That’s right: It’s still cow dung.
Heads-up: Spiders.
June 3, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Heads-up: Spiders.
Earlier: The beauty goes beyond sun and sunshine.
June 3, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Earlier: The beauty goes beyond sun and sunshine.
...another redistributing the now-filled bottles, amidst clouds of teargas.
This day, something fundamental shifted. This day, a shared understanding was made clear.
Unspoken, yet undeniable.
This day, something fundamental shifted. This day, a shared understanding was made clear.
Unspoken, yet undeniable.
April 28, 2025 at 9:11 PM
...another redistributing the now-filled bottles, amidst clouds of teargas.
This day, something fundamental shifted. This day, a shared understanding was made clear.
Unspoken, yet undeniable.
This day, something fundamental shifted. This day, a shared understanding was made clear.
Unspoken, yet undeniable.
I saw, in this moment, someone emerging through a plume of teargas - a Moses figure parting a sea of poison gas - with jerrycans of water, handing them over, as an entire distribution line organically formed: One person collecting empty plastic bottles, another filling them up...
April 28, 2025 at 9:11 PM
I saw, in this moment, someone emerging through a plume of teargas - a Moses figure parting a sea of poison gas - with jerrycans of water, handing them over, as an entire distribution line organically formed: One person collecting empty plastic bottles, another filling them up...
One of the things that stayed with me about this day was the genuine humanity amongst Kenyans.
I saw street vendors, of their own volition, offering up bottle of drinking water.
I saw street vendors, of their own volition, offering up bottle of drinking water.
April 28, 2025 at 9:11 PM
One of the things that stayed with me about this day was the genuine humanity amongst Kenyans.
I saw street vendors, of their own volition, offering up bottle of drinking water.
I saw street vendors, of their own volition, offering up bottle of drinking water.
I've been under a self-imposed expectation - an elective delusion - that whenever I share a picture, it must be accompanied by an elaborate essay with the backstory, or the thoughts it inspired.
No more.
Images shall henceforth be presented as the moment wills it. Starting now.
#SliceOfLife
No more.
Images shall henceforth be presented as the moment wills it. Starting now.
#SliceOfLife
April 27, 2025 at 7:50 PM
I've been under a self-imposed expectation - an elective delusion - that whenever I share a picture, it must be accompanied by an elaborate essay with the backstory, or the thoughts it inspired.
No more.
Images shall henceforth be presented as the moment wills it. Starting now.
#SliceOfLife
No more.
Images shall henceforth be presented as the moment wills it. Starting now.
#SliceOfLife
And yet oftentimes it’s the constraints that bring out the magic - only if we’re open enough to recognising the moments we’re in.
This? This was a beautiful moment. And the tool in hand was just right the right one for the job - as it always it.
This? This was a beautiful moment. And the tool in hand was just right the right one for the job - as it always it.
December 2, 2024 at 9:05 PM
And yet oftentimes it’s the constraints that bring out the magic - only if we’re open enough to recognising the moments we’re in.
This? This was a beautiful moment. And the tool in hand was just right the right one for the job - as it always it.
This? This was a beautiful moment. And the tool in hand was just right the right one for the job - as it always it.
“Use what you have.”
It’s a mantra I turn to whenever that voice in my head starts those whispers. You know, the ones that try telling you how unprepared or ill-equiped you are.
And yet.
It’s a mantra I turn to whenever that voice in my head starts those whispers. You know, the ones that try telling you how unprepared or ill-equiped you are.
And yet.
December 2, 2024 at 9:05 PM
“Use what you have.”
It’s a mantra I turn to whenever that voice in my head starts those whispers. You know, the ones that try telling you how unprepared or ill-equiped you are.
And yet.
It’s a mantra I turn to whenever that voice in my head starts those whispers. You know, the ones that try telling you how unprepared or ill-equiped you are.
And yet.