CELEBRATING CONSISTENCY! CELEBRATING CONSISTENCY! CELEBRATING CONSISTENCY!
EDITORIAL
Josephine Sithole Muganiwa
WIN Board Chairperson
WIN Board Chairperson
Greetings
once again. We are excited to be part of the cultural activities in Zimbabwe,
especially in the role of mentors to the future leaders of Zimbabwe. New
writers are being forged though the Writing Workshops. We encourage
participation by other aspiring writers between thirteen and twenty-one.
Congratulations to our writers for recognition and being ambassadors for Zimbabwe. Let
us keep writing!
NOVIOLET BULAWAYO DOES IT AGAIN!
NoViolet Bulawayo, 2011 Caine Prize Winner
PRESS
RELEASE
Chatto
Acquire Thrilling Debut From 2011 Caine Prize Winner, Noviolet Bulawayo
To
Becky Hardie at Chatto, debut novel We Need New Names by Caine prize-winning
NoViolet Bulawayo, after a heated auction conducted by Alba Zeigler-Bailey at
the Wylie Agency, for publication in 2013. Chatto acquired UK and
Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada.
We
Need New Names tells the story of ten-year-old Darling and her friends Stina,
Chipo, Godknows, Sbho and Bastard, who used to have comfortable houses and
existences but now live in a shantytown called Paradise. For these children,
the only way is down – or out. To America, in Darling's case. Pulled out from
the poverty, disease and violence of Paradise by her aunt and taken to the
Midwest, Darling faces a whole new set of problems: language, food,
friendships, the internet and being part of a community of exiles.
NoViolet's
story 'Hitting Budapest' won the 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing and
was selected for the Boston Review by Junot Diaz who commented, 'I knew
this writer was going to blow up. Her honesty, her voice, her formidable
command of her craft—all were apparent from the first page.' NoViolet has also
been shortlisted for the 2009 SA PEN Studzinsi Award, and her work has appeared
in Callaloo, the Boston Review, Newsweek and the Warwick Review, as well
as in anthologies in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the UK. NoViolet recently
earned her MFA at Cornell University, where her work was recognised with a
Truman Capote Fellowship. She will be attending Stanford in the autumn as a
Wallace Stegner Fellow. NoViolet was born and raised in Zimbabwe.
Becky
Hardie said, 'We Need New Names set the whole of Vintage alight. The energy and
power of Darling's voice and NoViolet's incredible use of language and
storytelling make this a debut quite unlike any other. But New Names isn't all
about language and storytelling, it's also a vitally important book about war,
poverty and the state of Zimbabwe. We are over the moon to welcome NoViolet to
Chatto.'
NoViolet
said, 'It's a most exciting time for me; of course Chatto & Windus are
prestigious publishers but more than that I feel We Need New Names is just
lucky to be in the presence of a very passionate team. I'm thrilled, and cannot
wait to share the novel, and hopefully more, with readers.'
(Source: www.booktrade.info)
(Source: www.booktrade.info)
CONGRATS TO OUR WIN BOARD CHAIR
Josephine Sithole Muganiwa has published an academic book titled "Where did African Leaders Go Wrong?"(LAP
Lambert Academic Publishing, ISBN 978-3-8484-4685-8, paperback, 116 Pages), an analysis of selected texts by Ayi Kwei Armah and Peter Abraham. Below is the flap text of the book from LAP:
The book explores the challenges that post independent
African leaders have faced in charting development in their countries. The
blame can be shared between the leaders and the led. Some leaders deliberately
go into power for personal gain, while the led may fail to understand the
vision of the leader and work against his development plans. Historical
circumstances have also worked against the leaders as they try to extricate
themselves from European models of development. Other leaders have accepted
these models thereby unconsciously working against their people and destroying
their culture. The led themselves have reneged their duty to chart the way
forward by trusting 'messianic' leaders. Ultimately every citizen has the
responsibility to consciously choose suitable leaders and monitor their
progress. It is the duty of the leader to safe guard his people's dignity and
culture in his dealing to the best of his ability and circumstances.
Josephine
Muganiwa (nee Sithole) is a lecturer in the English Department at the
University of Zimbabwe. She teaches African literature, English Literature and
European literary genres. Her areas of research are gender and culture in
literature and development. Josephine Muganiwa is also a writer with published
short stories and poems.
CHILDREN
TO BENEFIT FROM YOUNG WRITERS’ WORKSHOPS
By WIN Staff Writer
Tilda Gozho, a Form 4 student from Glen View 2 High writers' Club performing poetry at WIN function last year
About fifty children under the age of 18
from Hope Centre in Snake Park, Faith Ministries in Mbare, and Glen View High 2
writers’ club will benefit from three young writers’ workshops which are being
organised by Centre for the Development of Women and Children (CDWC) in conjunction
with Writers International Network Zimbabwe (WIN).
The three training workshops, running on
Saturdays only, are being held at YWCA Westwood, Kambuzuma.
Renowned authors and University of
Zimbabwe lecturers Memory Chirere and David Mungoshi are facilitating the
workshops.
On May 19, the children attended the
first of the three workshops which introduced the young writers to the short
story, non-fiction, paragraph and stanza writing, active and passive voice
writing, and angles of vision.
The other two workshops will be held on
June 2 and June 9, thereafter the best works will be selected for publishing as
booklets in Shona and English languages.
Through these workshops the children will
have a chance to interact with Chirere and Mungoshi who will both read their
published stories at intermissions.
According to Emilia Hatendi of
CDWC, the children will use skills acquired to come up with best short stories,
narratives or poems which will be published in booklets to inspire other
children mainly from disadvantaged communities, particularly out-of-school
study groups.
“One of our areas of
specialization is education under which we develop initiatives to impart
learning to out-of-school children. This is the reason why we have decided to
hold these workshops for young writers,” she said.
WIN and CDWC are locally
registered non-governmental organizations, with the latter working at transforming
the lives of disadvantaged and marginalised women and children in Zimbabwe,
particularly rural women farmers and the girl child.
Hope Centre, as the name says,
has become a source of inspiration for more than 300 disadvantaged children
from surrounding communities. The Centre has an out-of-school study group that
provides education and runs a feeding programme for the children.
WIN, which selected children
from Glen View High 2 writers’ club for the workshops, was formed to create a
network of unpublished and published writers under which various literary
activities are held to improve writing and reading skills.
The Ministry of Education,
Sport, Art and Culture (Harare Province) recently gave WIN the green light to work with
schools in Harare for its young writers outreach programme which started in
February this year.
For at least 60 years the African novel has deconstructed, and even transversed, ideas and imaginaries of self, culture, society and nation across the continent. A self-reflexive continuum, shifting chameleon-like; a receptacle of letters, morphing through the cry of the griot, everyman's diatribe, madman's claim of truth or the politician's manic address. An oracle.
It
is the precursor to many contemporary urban African genres and forms. From the
ubiquitous FM station, the graffiti of rage, the new painter's electronic
brush, the characters of transnational cable T.V. and the growing fan-tribes of
European soccer. The African novel determined Us, created an autonomy of
expression and became the said curse of dictators.
To celebrate the African novel and its adaptability and resilience, Kwani Trust announces a one-off new literary prize for African writing. The Kwani? Manuscript Project calls for the submission of unpublished fiction manuscripts from African writers across the continent and in the Diaspora.
CALL
FOR SUBMISSIONS
The Kwani? Manuscript Project
For at least 60 years the African novel has deconstructed, and even transversed, ideas and imaginaries of self, culture, society and nation across the continent. A self-reflexive continuum, shifting chameleon-like; a receptacle of letters, morphing through the cry of the griot, everyman's diatribe, madman's claim of truth or the politician's manic address. An oracle.
It
is the precursor to many contemporary urban African genres and forms. From the
ubiquitous FM station, the graffiti of rage, the new painter's electronic
brush, the characters of transnational cable T.V. and the growing fan-tribes of
European soccer. The African novel determined Us, created an autonomy of
expression and became the said curse of dictators.To celebrate the African novel and its adaptability and resilience, Kwani Trust announces a one-off new literary prize for African writing. The Kwani? Manuscript Project calls for the submission of unpublished fiction manuscripts from African writers across the continent and in the Diaspora.
Beyond
the foundations laid by Soyinka, Ngugi and Mahfouz, in remembrance of Yambo
Ouologuem's pre-colonial quest and Mariama Bâ's bending of form, to the urban
journeys of Meja Mwangi, the precocious post-everything of Kojo Laing and the
musical rhythms of Ahmadou Khrouma. This prize seeks to recognize the
possibilities of form in an ongoing genre that has re-emerged in the work of
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Alain Mabanckou, The Kwani? Manuscript Project is
a conversation, an ill guised attempt at growing its own list. For there is no
greater celebration of emergent forms than in publishing our own, thanks to
those who have existed before us and helped us believe. We look forward to your
submissions.
The top 3 manuscripts will be awarded cash prizes:
1st
Prize: 300,000 KShs
2nd
Prize: 150,000 KShs
3rd
Prize: 75,000 KShs
In
addition Kwani? will publish manuscripts from across the shortlist and
longlist, including the three winning manuscripts, as well as partnering with
regional and global agents and publishing houses to create high profile
international publication opportunities.
Click
here for deadline details and submission
guidelines
Winners will be announced in December 2012 at the Kwani? Litfest.
Winners will be announced in December 2012 at the Kwani? Litfest.
The Kwani? Manuscript Project was initially conceptualised
after Kwani Trust received the Prince Claus Award in
December 2010 for "establishing a dynamic platform for new voices in AfricanLiterature." The award has provided seed money for this prize.
DAMBUDZO MARECHERA CONTINUE TO SPEAK
Moving Spirit:
The Legacy of Dambudzo Marechera in the 21st Century (LIT Verlag, Berlin 2012) has been published and will be launched on Saturday, June 16 at 6 pm in The Buttery, St. Antony's College, Oxford, as part of the annual Britain-Zimbabwe Society
Research Day.
The launch will include screenings of films from the DVD that accompanies the book.
Moving Spirit: The Legacy of
Dambudzo Marechera in the 21st Century
Edited
by Julie Cairnie and Dobrota Pucherova
LIT
Verlag, Berlin, May 2012
ISBN:
978-3-643-90215-3
216 pages, paperback,
price € 29.90
UK orders: www.centralbooks.co.uk
Europe orders:
www.litwebshop.de
North America
orders: orders@transactionpub.com
Southern Africa
orders: www.clarkesbooks.co.za
This multimedia collection inspired by the life and
work of the Zimbabwean cult writer Dambudzo Marechera (1952-1987) demonstrates the
growing influence of this author among writers, artists and scholars worldwide
and invites the reassessment of his oeuvre and of categories of literary theory
such as modernism, postmodernism and postcolonialism. Including a DVD with
audio-visual creative contributions and rare archival material, this volume
will be of interest to scholars and students of African, postcolonial and
postmodernist literature and culture, as well as audio-visual artists, writers
and biographers.
SPANISH
EMBASSY LAUNCHES BOOK
By Beaven Tapureta
Translation has once again proved to be a
powerful tool that connects two different worlds.
The Spanish Embassy in Harare has
published a book titled “Shona Guide for Spanish Speakers” (Guia Basica de
Shona Para Espanoles), authored by Victoria Tur Gomez, Chargee d’Affaires of
Embassy of Spain in Harare, in collaboration with Beatrice Ngwenya, a Shona
teacher.
The Centre, which has resumed cultural
activities after it temporarily closed for three weeks following the death of
the Spanish Ambassador, Pilar Fuertes Ferragut in April this year, has
unleashed this newest project that will timelessly bridge the linguistic gap
between two different cultures.
The book was launched in the Harare City
Library on Wednesday evening, May 16, 2012, with a huge mass of well-arranged
books surrounding guests.
Diplomats, publishers, writers, friends,
and musicians attended the launch that had Zimbabwe’s legendary musician Oliver
‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi, who is also the new UNICEF Regional Goodwill Ambassador for
Eastern and Southern Africa, as guest of honour.
Mtukudzi spiced the launch with a classic
solo performance of his popular songs ‘Neria’, a soundtrack to the local film
of the same title, and ‘Wagona’.
Speaking at the launch, author of the
book Victoria Tur, who fused Shona and English language dexterously, said her
late boss was supportive that she even wrote the foreword to the Guide.
“When I started writing the book, I
dreamt of today and I would like to honour my late Ambassador for being an
inspiration behind this piece of art,” said Victoria, adding that she hoped
Spanish citizens and Shona speakers will find her book valuable.
She thanked various people who included
Irene Staunton, Prof. George Kahari, Beatrice Ngwenya who taught her Shona
language, and others, for making her dream come true.
Marina Garcia, Cultural Attachee at the
Spanish Embassy, congratulated Victoria and spoke at length about the Cultural
Centre’s projects in the Shona and Spanish languages which have bonded the
Embassy with Zimbabwean artists from different backgrounds.
She said one of the successful projects
done by the Cultural Centre was the re-enactment of the play ‘Mutambo
Wepanyika’ (The Great Theatre of the World), written by and translated into
Shona in 1958 by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, a Spanish priest.
The play, directed by veteran playwright
Stephen Chifunyise and performed by Children’s Performing Arts Workshop’s
(Chipawo) New Horizon Theatre Company, has featured at various cultural
festivals across the country and toured about forty schools in urban suburbs.
The importance of the performing arts in
articulating mother tongues was accentuated by Chifunyise in his speech to
officially launch the Shona Guide for Spanish Speakers.
“Our mother tongues are the best tools in
performing arts,” he said.
Chifunyise said the play ‘Mutambo
Wepanyika’ is a good example of how mother tongues can be useful in cultural
relationships. The play, he said, has become a permanent repertoire for Chipawo
and they will be touring universities with the play soon.
By publishing the book, Chifunyise said
Victoria has respected mother languages and that her book will be an
encouragement to have more translations.
Others who spoke at the launch include
Fernando Arroyo, a friend of Victoria, who said the Guide links two worlds and
there has never been a similar book before.
To celebrate Shona and Spanish languages,
there were poetry recitals by children Marc Monllau (12 years) and Marta
Monllau Pardo (10 years) who jointly recited a Shona poem ‘Kuziva Mutauro’
written by Tinashe Muchuri,
Ruva Chinembiri (14 years) and Ruvheneko
Mujuru (12 years), both from St Johns Emerald Hill School, also jointly recited
a Spanish poem ‘Poesia eres tu’ (You are Poetry) written by Gustavo Adolfo
Becquer.
The Shona Guide for Spanish Speakers,
though limited to one of Zimbabwe’s mother tongues, should indeed generate more
interest in publishing more Guides to cater for the other main languages such
as Ndebele which are found in Zimbabwe.
THE EMBASSY INVITES YOU ONCE AGAIN
THE
REGULAR WRITER
With
Tinashe
‘Mutumwapavi’ Muchuri
The
Young Poets Need Mentorship Programme
From L to R: South African poet Ruth Lindiwe Vilikazi, Linda Poetic Angel Gabriel (Zim) and Memory Chirere (Zim) enjoying proceedings at the House of Hunger Poetry Slam
From L to R: South African poet Ruth Lindiwe Vilikazi, Linda Poetic Angel Gabriel (Zim) and Memory Chirere (Zim) enjoying proceedings at the House of Hunger Poetry Slam
On
Saturday May 12, 2012, I was part of the audience that witnessed poetical vibes
from a visiting South African poet Ruth Lindiwe Vilakazi and other local poets
at the House of Hunger Poetry Slam at the Book Café, Harare.
Vilikazi
was in Zimbabwe courtesy of the exchange program between House of Hunger Poetry
Slam Jozi and House of Hunger Poetry Slam Harare.
This
event was also graced by renowned author and poet Memory Chirere.
Vilikazi
is one poetess who uses poetry to define humanity and make you believe in the
beauty of poetry.
I
enjoyed the performance by Tears who showed his understanding of sound. I also
enjoyed the creativity and delivery of Madzitateguru and Harmonics although I
had reservations about some young poets who were part of the programme.
Apart
from enjoying the overall poetry at this slam, I also had an opportunity to
look at this premier poetry space in Harare in perspective. Vilikazi’s
performance was in sharp contrast with the performances by some aspiring poets. Having
been part of the space since its beginning, I have fond memories of the days
when poets passionately performed their poetry.
I
discovered that during that time we used to have workshops to mentor each other
in performance poetry and we had time to gather as poets to share our
experiences with the aim to improve our performances.
We
did not take the slam as a place to score more points but a place to create a
lasting impression.
Nowadays,
the young poets who grace this space need to be taken through some of these
steps so that they can perfect their skills and become great performers.
I
discovered that some of the budding poets have no idea why they are on stage
while others know their trade but just need to work extra hard to make themselves
icons in their trade. Listening to some
poets on stage was like hearing voice over, seeing the poet on stage was not
useful. There were those who shout out words without emotion that can be felt
by the audience. A poem might be good but if the poet fails to add emotion to
the words the performance remains nothing.
A poet’s presence on stage should be felt by the audience. Good words
without sound and rhythm are nothing. Good words need the accompaniment of good
sound and rhythm. Here I am not talking
of sounds from guitars and congas but voice articulation.
I
suggest that the slam organizers should invite a local guest poet for every
slam to show the young poets the way things should be done. Poets should be
always reminded that they are not performing at the slam for points but to
create a future in the industry. They should treat the slam as work not as
pastime. There is also a tendency by poets to drink before they take to stage
and even in between the performances. This issue of taking alcohol before
performing is one way of taking the audience for granted. Normally, the
audience does not watch the slam free of charge. Even if the entrance fee is a
dollar, poets should show some respect for the space offered and the audience.
You never know who among the audience can open great avenues for your future.
It is at places like these that talent is scouted and groomed. If the poets do
not behave themselves in front of the audience there are few chances for that
poet to be appreciated and invited to perform at bigger functions.
The
fact that someone is taking 3 hours of their time to listen to you says a lot
about their appreciation of poetry and because they appreciate poetry, they
should be respected. On the other hand, the slam doesn’t define what is being
judged by the judges, whether it is delivery, performance or content. It is up to the slam master to always say
these things loud to the judges so that the judges will start giving
appropriate respect to the poets who deserve recognition.
Remember,
when you are on stage you are at work, don’t play with the audience’s patience.
NGATINYOREI
Na
Clever S Kavenga
Baba
Wangu Chaiye Here Mukoma?
Tiri
kubva zvedu kurukova Nyarunhombo kwataive tichigeza zvedu muviri. Hongu
mungangoti ndiri kunyeba nokuti mukatitarisa tinenge zvedu vanhu varikubva
kumahumbwe! Kuita setisina kumbobvira tageza. Ko handiti mutsauko wekuchena
netsvina mafuta nesipo?
Aaa
imi, mukatitarisa tizere zvedu neshena uye mharuparu sezvinonzi tamboumburuka
mumadota. Isu here mafuta totoaonerawo pazviso zvevanhu vanobva kumataundi uko.
Ivowo vachiri vanganiko vanouya vachibva kumadhorobha? Handiti wava kungouya
rumwe rumwe apo nepapo sevanhu vakundwa kuhondo.
Idzodzi
nyaya dzemuhondo ndodzinombotaurwa namudhara Murekabwe. Kana wotaura vanoita
sevagarwa neshavi rokuropodza chairo mufunge zvenyu. Riripo zuva ravakatisekesa
zvokubuda misodzi nyangwe zvazvo zvimwe
zvacho zvaisuwisa.
Mudhara
Murekabwe vanositaura nyaya yevamwe amai vakatiza nguva yeusiku vakabereka
kambwanana vachifunga kuti mwana wavo. Pfuti dzaive dzabanzaurwa usiku vanhu
vakarivara ikazova batai batai vazhinji vasisazive kwekutizira mukati merima.
Kwese kwese aingova maungira adzo pfuti. Amai ava ndipo vakanhonga kambwanana
vachisiya mwana arere mumba.
Dzimwe
nyaya vanotaura vachiseka zvavo seiya nyaya yaNdatsara anonzi akatiza nemhembwe
yose vaenda kunovhima mudunhu reNyamhepo nevamwe. Ndatsara aive asiiwa akagarira mukondo kuti
akaona mhuka inenge yapinda mumambure wozodaidza vamwe woita maonera pamwe.
Mhembwe yakazopinda mumambure iye ndiye tsvee kudaidza vamwe akati mudzimu waro
bonga kuwana machongwe achirwa! Mhembwe iye ndiye dzva pamapfudzi ndiye hutu
kumba kwake kawerewere achisiya vamwe musango vachingosvisvidza vachiteya
kunzwa izwi rake kuti zvaitika mambure abata.
Dziripo
dzimwe dzavanotaura mudhara Murekabwe vachiita sevachatosvimha Misodzi chaiyo.
Unomuona agere zvake padombo rake rinotsvedzera nekugarirwa. Pamwe anenge akati
zvake konon’ono akatarisa pasi sezvinonzi pane zvaanoona zvinomushaisa rufaro.
Paripo paanenge achipfumbura fodya yake yechimonera. Asi kana achiputa fodya
haatadze kunyemwerera. Kuti rwungava rufaro? Ndinombogaya kudaro.
Musakanganwezve
kuti tichiri munzira kubva zvedu kurukova kwatange tichipurura guruva rekumunda
kwavaTaswerera kwatakaswera nezuro rose.
Ndakanzwa
Tizvirinde woti, “Shamwari Rungano pose pandinoona mudhara Murekabwe agere
zvake ega padombo rake riye, ndinobva ndafunga baba wangu. Ndinombogaya kuti
zvimwe baba wangu vanewo kanzvimbo kawovo wega. Kanzvimbo kavanogara vachirangarira
upenyu hwemazuva akapfuura.
“Ndinofunga
kuti pada zvimwe pakanzvimbo aka panewo dombo ravanogarira rinotsveedzerawo
sedombo rinogarirwa namudhara Murekabwe. Pamwe nzvimbo iyi yavakunziwo ‘kakona
kaWasu’
Chandinoziva
chete ndechokuti baba wangu havapute fodya. Doro vanonzi namhai vainwa
rematanda apo nepapo mumaraini kana richinge rabikwa kwete rokunogarira
kumagirosa zvinoitwa namudhara waPinjisi.
“Vangadaro
zvavo woputawo fodya nokuti zvoupenyu hazvina anoziva. Ko ndiani aiziva kana
kufembera kuti Kagoro wokupurazi kunoshanda mukoma Takaruza nouzivi hwake
achazodzingwa basa achinzi haagone kutyaira turakita? Iye uye Kagoro aifambisa
turakita akaita zvokusimukira pamwe achimbobata zvake muchiuno turakita
richienda baba! Wainzwa vanhu vachimukuruzira ichingovayo ‘Baya baya dhiraivha,
baya tiende!’ Iye kufara kuita seachatsemuka muromo kusvika kunzeve
nenyemwerero chete chete. Kuzopa iro guruva paanenge apfuura vanhu vaisara
chingori chahotsi hotsi nekukwidzira madzihwa kasingapere!”
Nhasi
Tizvirinde ari kufarira zvokutaura nezvababa wake mufunge. Handiti Mutsemhure
akabva kuHarare ikoko ndiye akaonana nababa wake. Hanzi vaitodawo kupinda
mubhazi pamusika mukuru wemabhazi kuMbare kuti vauyewo kuno kumusha. Akati
vaitotsikana konzi navamwe papuresha kuti vakwanisewo kupinda mubhazi.
Bhazi
rakazonzi razarisa iwo vatova pamusiwo chaipo ndokusara vakangoshama muromo
nebhegi ravo mumaoko.
Ndozvakataurwa
naMutsemhure. Hatizivi kuti ichokwadi here kana kuti kunyeba kwake hake. Apa
Tizvirinde aingoti, “Chokwadi here mukoma? Haa baba vangu chaiwo here mukoma?
Makatovaona nemhanza yavo yainzi
yaipenya semvura iri paruvare? Ko mubhegimo maiva nei, kuti mungangova maive
nechingwa mbatya kana zviwitsi? Vaifara here kuti vavakuuya kumusha kuzotiona?
Makavaudza here kuti ndiriko?
‘Kana
makavaona baba vangu muchizivazve kuti vava nemakore anoverengwa nekukura
kwangu vasati vauya kuno kumusha makadii makavapa nzvimbo yamaive makagara imi
mochiburuka zvenyu muchisara iwo vachiuya? Handiti imi munongouya kuno nguva nenguva
vanhu vasati vambova nechishuwo nemi tinoona madzokazve kuno! Chamunofambira
hatichioni. Kuti munofambira kuzodhibhisa mombe dzamudhara wenyu?
‘Panewo
vamwe vanhu vanoti munofambira kuzoona musikana wenyu Sinodhiya? Ndizvo here?
Asika Sinodhiya wacho zvaakazotizira mumwe murume ane vakadzi vaviri imi muripo
wani!
Saka maibhaizwaka naye, angatizire saimba
achisiya jaha? Jaha rinoshanda basa rinoshandwa wakasunga tayi?”
Mazwi
aya akagumbura Mutsemhure zvikuru ndakazonzwa woti, “Iwe mupfana chibva pano
waguta kunyarwa une mukanwa munonhuhwa semakaumburuka chidembo! Mazinzeve
akaputana sehowa wakasvava! Ukarasa muromo wotaura sechimwana chekuhowa
ndinokukanganwa kutaura kuno! Handidi zvokujairirwa senzira yekuchimbudzi
yaunongodididza kufamba pasina anobvunza kuti uri kuendepi.”
Neniwo
Rungano ndakadzoka ndotyawo ndotobvunda nokuti Mutsemhure aive agumbuka
zvechokwadi. Ndaive ndofunga kuti kana akatitandanisa aizobata ani nokuti ini
Tizvirinde ndinombomusiya mamwewo mazuva achimbondisiyawo pakumhanya apa.
Zvino
patova nemasvondo maviri akatopfuura asi baba waTizvirinde hatisati tavaona
nyika dzino. Iye Mutsemhure anguri akadzoka kuHarare kareko. Pada vachingori
pamusika weMbare nebhegi ravo mumaoko! Zvimwe haisi nyaya yekuzara kwemabhazi
asi kuti inyaya yemadhora, mari inonetsa kuiona iyi kuzoti kuibata hayo
mahwani!!
POETRY
In
Memory Of Walter L Muparutsa
By Bart Wolffe, London
Hey, remember when we stopped for cashew nuts
On a rutted bumpy road somewhere between
Maputo and Mutare… how many of us were we
Crowded in that car, that four by four,
Our travelling band of brigands, troubadours,
Moving from one festival to another?
Eyara, Jasen, Daves, Dylan and I
And you, of course, old Madhara,
Muparutsa, you were the philosophical one,
Always ready to spin another yarn
Talking of when I would one day come
To live in your Chief Mutasa’s kingdom.
You promised me a plot that I would own,
A goat, a chicken, some hands of corn
And perhaps your grandchildren to visit
In my adopted African home.
We roamed past baobabs and acacia thorns
From Mozambique to Zambia and Hwange,
Performing clowns in our caravan, our circus
Of travelling rounds, but now the time has come
And you’ve gone home,
Left me with your legends and many a memory.
Hey, remember when we stopped for cashew nuts
On a rutted bumpy road somewhere between
Maputo and Mutare… how many of us were we
Crowded in that car, that four by four,
Our travelling band of brigands, troubadours,
Moving from one festival to another?
Eyara, Jasen, Daves, Dylan and I
And you, of course, old Madhara,
Muparutsa, you were the philosophical one,
Always ready to spin another yarn
Talking of when I would one day come
To live in your Chief Mutasa’s kingdom.
You promised me a plot that I would own,
A goat, a chicken, some hands of corn
And perhaps your grandchildren to visit
In my adopted African home.
We roamed past baobabs and acacia thorns
From Mozambique to Zambia and Hwange,
Performing clowns in our caravan, our circus
Of travelling rounds, but now the time has come
And you’ve gone home,
Left me with your legends and many a memory.
(This
poem was read by Peter Churu to open the commemoration of the Life and Works of
Walter Muparutsa held on May 18 at the Book Café, Harare)
FORTHCOMING WIN EVENTS 2012
Short Story Writing Competition in June/July and Workshop in August
(supported by Zimbabwe Reads)
Details to be announced soon
We are hungry for your feedback!
