THE YEAR 2012 AT A GLANCE
By Beaven Tapureta
Phases in the
Zimbabwean writing industry’s outgoing year were mingled with celebration and
grief. Losses, book launches, competitions , writers' workshops, book fairs and awards dogged the writing and
publishing industry throughout the year; yet a certain sense of togetherness provided
the stoicism needed for writers to move on.
The National Arts Merit
Awards, coordinated by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, have always been a
trailblazing event happening in February of every year. In the 2012 NAMA literary
arts section, there were new voices winning than the usual time-tested voices.
The book Lazaruses and Devases
(Heritage Press, UK) by Wellington Kusema grabbed the Outstanding Fiction Book
award while the Outstanding Children’s Book award went to seasoned writer
Shimmer Chinodya for his book Tindo’s
Quest. The third and last category under literature, Outstanding First
Creative Published Book, was won by Violet Masilo for her book African Tea Cosy. Masilo is a member of
Zimbabwe Women Writers which published her book.
Earlier in February,
writers, friends and relatives including Chingono’s widow, assembled at the
Theatre in the Park, Harare, to celebrate the life and works of the late writer
Julius Sekai Chingono (1946-2011) who passed on in January 2011. The event was
organized by the Spanish Embassy.
The Culture Centre at
the Spanish Embassy, although devastated, and so was the whole arts industry, by
the death of Pilar Fuertes Ferragut, the then Spanish Ambassador to Zimbabwe
who died in a car accident in Namibia on April 2, was most visible in 2012 with
literary initiatives such as the launch of its Book Club in March which saw
Lawrence Hoba’s book The Trek and Other
Stories and Dorothy Chanakira’s A
Mother’s Desire being the focus of its first discussion. The late
Ambassador Pilar was a stout supporter of Zimbabwean arts. Following her death
and the subsequent transfer of her supportive diplomatic staff Victoria Tur and
Marina Gomez to other countries, the Book Club took a few months’ lull before
resuming activities in October. On October 16, 2012, the Club hosted NAMA
award-winning Memory Chirere who read from his translated Shona collection Tudikidiki with an open discussion
following afterwards. Another planned Book Club meeting to discuss Valerie
Tagwira’s Uncertainty of Hope was
cancelled due to uncontrollable forces.
The month of April
plunged the arts industry in grief as it lost artists such as renowned actor
Walter Lambert Muparutsa (1941-2012) who passed on on April 12, 2012, after a
long battle with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and writer Elseworth Benhura
(1979-2012) who also died in April in a bus accident that claimed twenty more
lives in Ngundu. It was sadly the same month that Pilar died.
While a commemoration
for Pilar was held at the Domboshava Interpretive Centre on April 10, Muparutsa
was commemorated on May 18 at the Book Café where artists called for the
immortalization of the veteran actor. It is at least refreshing to note that
the artists’ wish has been partially fulfilled as on November 27 a bust was
sculptured in honor of Muparutsa’s contribution to the community through his
art. The bust was officially unveiled at Theatre in the Park, with artists,
friends and relatives witnessing the event.
Discussions of legendary
writer Dambudzo Marechera’s life and works never cease to inspire the
international literary community. A conference held in 2009 in London to honor
the undying legacy of Marechera produced a multimedia collection titled Moving Spirit: Legacy of Dambudzo Marechera
in the 21st Century (edited by Julie Cairne and Dobrota
Pucherova, published by LIT Verlag, Berlin). The book, which is accompanied by
a DVD, was launched in Oxford, UK, and not yet in Zimbabwe.
Marechera (1952-1987) was
this year (2012) commemorated at the Zimbabwe-German Society in Harare. This
event, held under the topic ‘Revisiting
Dambudzo Marechera: Old Texts Brought to Life’, came on the heels of revelations
about Marechera’s love affair with his biographer and friend Prof. Dr. Flora Veit-Wild.
Flora, who published anecdotes in the Wasafiri magazine of
international contemporary writing, revealed the life she shared with Marechera
and the cause of his death in 1987. Flora moderated the event which however
confirmed the everlasting inspiration that Marechera is to many academics and
writers, locally and internationally. Thought-provoking among other
presentations at this event was the paper titled ‘A Psychobiography of Dambudzo Marechera’ by South Africa-based
academic Kudakwashe C Muchena. The paper used Alfred Adler’s theory of
individual psychology to explore and describe Marechera’s actual motivations
and psychological workings.
Hope is on the horizon
as the Dambudzo Marechera Trust which Flora is helping to revive in Zimbabwe will,
among other objectives, aim to ‘republish, reprint, distribute, grant rights of
copyright in all media, translate, edit and generally promote the published and
unpublished works, writings, books, manuscripts and poems of the late Marechera
in Zimbabwe and worldwide’. The Trust, which has been dormant for years now,
will do much to resuscitate local interest and encourage reading of Marechera works
and facilitate the writing and publication of new works by new Zimbabwean
writers.
New books by
Zimbabweans were published in 2012 although some of these are yet to hit the
local bookshops. Internationally acclaimed girl child activist Betty Makoni’s A Woman, Once a Girl: Breaking Silence,
Where did African Leaders Go Wrong’ (LAP) by Josephine Muganiwa, which is an
analysis of selected texts by Ayi Kwei Armah and Peter Abraham, Running with Mother (Weaver Press) by
Christopher Mlalazi, Shadows (Kushinda,
UK) by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, The Polygamist
(Logogog Press, South Africa) by Sue Nyathi, and My Daughter (Lion Press Zimbabwe Ltd) by
Albert Nyathi, are some of the new babies born in 2012. Some Christian and
motivational literature was also produced such as Seasons of Purpose (self-published) by Pastor Grace Jessica
Chapfiwa, A Timeless Marriage (self-published)
by Nonhlanhla Siziba, and Becoming
Champions of Today (Victory Management Institute) by Simbarashe Vhovha. Becoming Champions of Today has a
foreword by celebrated musician Oliver Mtukudzi. Seasons of Purpose, Novuyo’s
Shadows and The Polygamist, were
officially launched in Zimbabwe.
There were several
books published in 2012.
Other book launches in
Harare included Chioniso and Other
Stories by Chinodya Shimmer, which was launched at the Zimbabwe-German
Society and Basic Shona Guide for Spanish
Speakers by Victoria Tur, then Chargee Affaires of the Spanish Embassy in
Harare, which was launched at the Harare City Library. The launch of Basic Shona Guide for Spanish Speakers
saw celebrity Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi being guest of honor at this literary
function, sending the message that the book industry can make use of the
country’s celebrities to encourage the general reading of books.
Of awards and
residencies, Zimbabwe continued to shine on the international literary scene. Two
major awards worth mentioning are the Caine Prize for African Writing and the
Baobab Golden Prize. Mellisa Thandiwe Myambo, the author of Jacaranda Journals (Macmillan South
Africa, 2004), was shortlisted for the 2012 Caine Prize for her story titled La Salle de D’part (The Waiting Room). Although
Myambo could not win the Prize, her being shortlisted added glamour to
Zimbabwean writing as the Caine Prize earlier tasted home in 2004 and 2011 when
Brian Chikwava and Noviolet Bulawayo respectively won it. Later in the year,
eighteen year old Rutendo Chabikwa did the country proud by winning the Baobab
Golden Prize in the Rising Writer category.
Award-winning author
Christopher Mlalazi, now with three books up his sleeve, was offered a creative
writing residency at the University of Iowa, USA, under its International
Writing Program which ran from August to November 2012.
2011 Caine Prize winner
Noviolet Bulawayo came on board in 2012 with a major achievement when Chatto
and Windus acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in her debut book We Need New Names at a highly contested
auction.
A local writing competition that has gained popularity is the
Yvonne Vera Award which is coordinated by the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo.
The Yvonne Vera Award,
named after the late poetic fiction writer Yvonne Vera, seeks to ‘promote
original writing talent in English’ and the 2012 winner was Violette Kee-Tui
who grabbed the $500 cash prize.
The writing and
publishing industry would not be complete without the annual Zimbabwe
International Book Fair (ZIBF) which this year took place from July 30 to
August 4 and was held under the theme ‘African Literature in the Global and
Digital Age’. The theme explored the ‘prevailing mood of digitization in the
educational, literary, publishing, bookselling and library sectors, including
the civic and public sectors’.
Apart from the Indaba
Conference which happens before the main Book Fair, book exhibitions and other
events, writers had the opportunity to mingle with all kinds of stakeholders in
the book industry. ZIBF had in April organized a writers’ workshop under the
topic ‘The Writer, the computer and Copyright’ which tallied well with the 2012
ZIBF theme. This workshop, facilitated by ICT expert Rudo J Nyangulu and renowned
author Virginia Phiri, was a follow-up to the workshop held under the same
topic at the 2011 ZIBF.
The ZIBF this year
resumed the provincial Mutare Book Fair which took place from September 28 to
29 at the Mutare (Queens) Hall. The outreach to Mutare by ZIBF signaled the
coming back of the former ZIBF glory that seemed to have dulled over the years.
Literary discussions
which were regularly conducted by Zimbabwe Writers Association (ZWA), an
inclusive, umbrella writers’ association, under its serial ‘How I Create’ topic, brought together local
writers, especially those in Harare, to discuss pertinent issues affecting their
craft. The discussions, which took place in an informal environment, were
graced by seasoned writers such as Aaron Chiundura Moyo, Albert Nyathi, Chiedza
Musengezi, Shimmer Chinodya, Petina Gappah, Barbara Nkala and David Mungoshi
who sacrificed busy schedules to rub shoulders with unpublished and other
published authors.
Chinodya and Gappah
also conducted separate creative writing workgroups at the Book Café where they
met with new writers and shared some skills and knowledge. The workgroups were
conducted courtesy of Pamberi Trust. Gappah also moderated a conversation with
writer Alexandra Fuller at the Book Café on October 23, 2012.
There are lots of writers events that happened around the country not reported here. All in all, 2012 proved a busy year and hopefully all be well in 2013.
WIN
2012 DIARY: MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS
- WIN altogether published seventeen
issues of its WIN Newsletter, that is, from Issue 44 to Issue 61.
-
WIN successfully incorporated a Tonga
language column ‘Rhythms of Tonga Drums’ in its WIN Newsletter.
- WIN launched the Epworth Outreach
programme, successfully launched Bilaal Islamic Academy Writers’ Club and
mobilized more members outside the school setting in Epworth
- WIN received book donation from Zimbabwe
Reads
- WIN/GAT Short Story Writing Competition
and Workshop was launched, supported by Zimbabwe Reads
- WIN partnered with Centre for
Development of Women and Children (CDWC) to conduct a series of writing
workshops for students drawn from Glen View 2 High Writers Club, an affiliate of
WIN, and Hope Centre, an out-of-school study group. Memory Chirere and David
Mungoshi facilitated the workshops. The aim was to come up with booklets of
stories and poems for use by other disadvantaged children in out-of-school
study groups and communities.
- WIN received books from Theresa
Muchemwa, a local poet. Other book donations had previously come from Beatrice
Sithole and Virginia Phiri.
- WIN welcomed volunteer Moira Marangwanda
who has since graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a Bachelor of Arts
(Honours) degree in Theatre. Moira is helping WIN as voluntary
Assistant Administrator
- WIN/GAT Short Story Writing Competition
and Workshop succeeds
- WIN launched 2013 Poetry Anthology
Project
- WIN received back issues of Wasafiri
magazine of international contemporary writing
- WIN Manuscript Assessment Programme
is ongoing
- There were various networks with
individual writers, organizations, in and outside the country, which WIN created throughout the year,
networks which will be helpful in the following year. Above all, we are
grateful for the support we received from all of you. Thank you so much.
Writers International Network
Zimbabwe Board and staff wish you all a happy Christmas and good health and writing in 2013.
Stay blessed.
"Unclipping wings of the imagination"
