EDITORIAL
WIN lets the young writers meet their heroes
Welcome, welcome,
hoping that you are all fine. The year is coming to an end, how fast time
moves! Anyway, we bring you a special menu in this newsletter for you to relax
and enjoy. Thank you so much for the support. Enjoy!
WIN
‘INSPIRATIONAL SATURDAYS’ UPDATE
Paida Mudzamba, an upcoming poet, playing the violin which she says has a poetic effect on her
On Saturday, October 25, WIN held its second ‘Inspirational
Saturday’ meeting at its office in Harare.
The members who attended had an elevating discussion
on the links between poetry and music, psychology and characterization. Paida
Mudzamba, a poet, is also a gifted violinist who explained how she is inspired
by music in the composition of her poetry. Paida also played some of her songs
to demonstrate her points.
Another member Mimi Machakaire, author of the novel
‘Princess Gangster’ (2014, BookLove Publishers, Gweru) and a regular columnist
for our WIN Newsletter, shared how in her novel she avoided following the
good-girl-gone-bad plot and rather used the bad-girl-gone-worse string to bring
out a new perspective.
Mimi, a teenage writer, could be one of a few
published teenage writers in Zimbabwe and the discussants realized that lack of
serious writers from this age group is possibly caused by lack of
parental/family support.
The next meeting is expected to take place on November
8, 2014, same time at the same venue.
ZWA INVITES YOU
Writer Virginia Phiri is one of the key presenters
Literary Evening
With
Prof Vitalis Nyawaranda, Virginia Phiri and Tinashe Muchuri
Readings by the authors and discussions on their work
FREE, all welcome!
Date: Thursday, 30 October, 2014
Time: 5pm
Venue: Book Cafe, Harare (139 Samora Machel Ave, Cnr 6th Street)
Date: Thursday, 30 October, 2014
Time: 5pm
Venue: Book Cafe, Harare (139 Samora Machel Ave, Cnr 6th Street)
(Presented by the Zimbabwe
Writers’ Association)
THE
YOUTH PERSPECTIVE
With
Mimi
Machakaire
Negativity at
every corner
This is an issue based on tough love. Some people do
not realize how hard it is to be a writer and think that they can just wake up
one day and make it happen. It is not that easy. In this world people can be cruel about your
decision to be a writer and the honest brutal fact is that not everyone will
support you. If you are lucky you might get one or two people who will stand by
you but at the end of the day we walk this earth alone and we need to be as
durable as we can be to keep up with the lack of enthusiasm that society always
throw at us. As youths we tend to feed
off encouragement and when we come across that one person who says ‘no’ we shut
down. That needs to stop. Whether you
like it or not, you will come across enemies because once we have put ourselves
out there we are automatically exposed to critics in every land and everyone
who is not walking on the same path as you, sees themselves as such.
As a writer we will dish out our manuscript to any
publisher that we can find and wait anxiously to hear their thoughts on our
story. We would have spent many moons working on our talents and when the job
is done we think that we will be published instantly. Then when the first
critic says ‘no’ we doubt ourselves as storytellers. Yet the thought of fame
and fortune comes to mind as well as the sheer passion for our interests and
this helps us persevere. Those of us who are brave enough to do so in any case
will keep fighting patiently. For those who are not timid they need to be hit
with the harsh reality that not everyone is going to enjoy reading your work
but you cannot let that stop you from being published.
Even the best of the best out there were denied by
several publishers at some point in their careers and because they did not
allow the rejection to mess up their confidence and eventually they were
finally heard. A great philosopher once said that no story lives until someone
is there to listen, so know that if you keep your story hidden it will never
exist. Keep pushing and ignore the ridicule that may come your way.
Instead of ignoring readers who say your story makes
no sense, embrace them and try to figure out if their criticism can help you. Genuine
critics help you become a success. Ignore the loud boos that might deafen your
ears and ignore the people who say that you will be better off with a backup
plan in case this career does not work out. Only you and you only know the
‘voice great within you’.
Being a writer is problematic to say the least and I
will keep saying how hard it is because there are many writers of my generation
out there who are not prepared to understand the consequences that come with
it. It is challenging to take on the crowd on your own.
There will come a time when you will have what is
called a writers’ block and you cannot come up with anything to add to your
story. There will come a time when you will be tempted to plagiarize and end up
taking over an idea that is not your own. There will come a time when you will be
uninspired or got not the imagination to tell your story because someone else has
told you that you will receive a lot of backlash from the audience. Every story has its own reaction but that should
not limit your imagination. If you want to write a story about an alien who
lands in an African village and takes over that community then go for it because
the mark of a true storyteller is the impact that they bring upon their
audience. If society is not talking about it then you have not done
anything.
Look at the amount of harsh comments both good and bad
that the writer/s behind the movie script called ‘2012’ got after its release.
Everyone pulled out their Bibles in order to understand the hidden messages
that the film might or might not have had. The audience assumed this was a
warning; they were frightened that the
world was going to end and one citizen in particular even emptied out his bank
account, gave away all his money, sold his house and awaited his death at a
motel, simply because he thought that 2012 was the end. This is how great the
impact of the movie had.
That kind of storytelling is what we need to keep the
world entertained. No matter how controversial people will say it is, don’t be
narrow-minded enough to accept that kind of disapproval. Society is afraid of
something different but once it is presented to them they will go one of three
ways. They will either accept that it is there and enjoy its company, or they
might pretend that it is not or be angered by its existence or in their closed
minded ways, try to destroy it.
As writers let us take a risk and think outside the
box. Let us avoid being so petrified to experiment or be timid to see the
outcome. Let us be adventurous with our work and develop a backbone which is strong
enough to defend our inspiration when need comes. Your passion for this career, despite all its
challenges, should mean everything to you. Without passion there is no
creativity behind your story. Finally, yet importantly, I say: Be READY for the
negativity you WILL find at every corner of this earth BUT let us also believe
in ourselves as writers because if we cannot, chances are too slim someone out
there will take the time to believe in us.
CALL
FOR POEMS
CAPITALS
CAPITALS is a proposed
poetry anthology on the capital cities of the world edited by the
award-winning poet-diplomat Abhay K. If you are a poet and have poems on a national
capital city, please send it to: contactabhayk@gmail.com
General Submission Guidelines
General Submission Guidelines
- Poems on national capital cities only. In English only. Maximum length-2 pages.
- Previously unpublished work will be preferred; however, reprints will be considered, if you have the rights and give credit to original publication.
- Poets retain rights.
- Electronic submissions only.
- Please submit only one poem on one capital city. The deadline is 31st December 2014.
- Include a first page with your contact information, a brief bio (100 words max), the title of your poem and a brief story of your connection with the capital city.
- Use a 12 point Arial font.
- More info at http://www.abhayk.com/p/global-poetry-project.html
CREATIVITY
AND OUR COMMUNITY
With
Tendai
Chinhoro
Although
the benefits of creativity to society as a whole have been well documented,
social attitudes about this topic remain divided. According to Weis (2000), the
wealth of literature regarding the development of creativity and the profusion
of creativity techniques
indicate wide acceptance, at least among academics, that creativity is
desirable. There is, however, a dark side to creativity, in that it represents
a "quest for a radical autonomy
apart from the constraints of social responsibility". In other
words, by encouraging creativity we are encouraging a departure from society's
existing norms and values, (Weis, 2000). It is the aim of this column to
explore such societal institutions and see how they impinge on the successful
development and growth of creative talents and intelligent people in general.
Maslow’s self-actualization
theory note that one reason that a person does not move through the needs to
self-actualization is because of the hindrances placed in their way by society.
For example, education can act to inhibit a person's potential though also of
course it can promote personal growth, so can other aspects of the family and
culture, gender, school environment, religion, stratification all act to
condition and funnel an individual into a role that is not fulfilling. However
I will also show that while societal institutions are big sources of setback in
nurturing creative talents, some have argued for the radical action by the
artists themselves to escape this conditioning, and thus, a person has to
awaken to their situation, to realize that their life could be different, that
there are changes that can be made in the direction of self-realisation.
Intelligence is the ability to
learn from experiences, solve problems, and use our knowledge to adapt to new
situations. Creative intelligence is also defined as the ability to go beyond
the existing and to create novel ideas and interesting ideas. Thus creatively
intelligent people go beyond the norm, the expected; they bring about amusement
in the way they do their things. It is this movement from the usual and the
norm that may clash with the standards expected by the society and thus end up
failing to get necessary support needed to facilitate success in the
individual. Robert Sternberg (1985, 1999, and 2003) argues that creative
intelligence makes people adapt to novel situations, generate novel ideas and
have the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable.
The family is one
such social institution which has a great effect on creative talents. Warlonick (1993) note that in most
societies across the globe, education is regarded as the most convenient path
an individual can take to be successful in life. It is basically the traditional way in most
societies. Very few actually pursue something artistic and if a child shows
some artistic inclination very few parents actually encourage it. For example
in India most parents don't want their children to take risks and enter the
creative fields. Most want their kids to be engineers and doctors and mostly
kids either end up wanting to be an engineer or a doctor and many parents want
just that. In many parts of the world
like Asia or the middle east or Africa including Zimbabwean communities,
parents have made sure their children pursue such perceived successful jobs and
nothing else. One very important reason is for the child's own security as well
as the parents when they get old. In underdeveloped rural communities in
Zimbabwe, without a pension scheme old people must be looked after by the
children. This means those ideas or passions that the children themselves have
are ignored or trodden down whether this is an artistic pursuit or something
else without an obvious monetary benefit. So gradually the arts have been
slowly eradicated by underfunding both at family and national levels and a lack
of appreciation except in cases where they were obviously successful such as in
jobs which require some sort of artistic aptitude, like in architecture. This
means the attached monetary value is what really matters. This undermines the
meaning and value of art and so humanity is made a little more impoverished.
Jung's path to individuation, the ego development required to overcome the
Freudian superego, Adlerian theory and the stages
of development of
intellectual ability, all support the social support theory which observes that
the family environment and subsequent socialization are primary factors in
enabling the self to face the anxiety inherent in existence, where one's
highest values may often be under threat. (To
be continued)
(Tendai
Chinhoro is a Kadoma-based upcoming novelist and musician. He is currently
studying for his Masters in Community Psychology at the Midlands State
University. Chinhoro is also a member of WIN)
HAVE
YOU HEARD ABOUT MAZWI?
Mazwi is a new online platform to assist Zimbabwean book sellers, publishers and
writers to market and sell books directly to mobile devices as well as
receiving payment through mobile payment methods (EcoCash, textacash,
V-payments, Visa and cash from anywhere in the world).
Local publishers and booksellers already
using the Mazwi platform include Weaver Press, 'AmaBooks, Radiant Publishers,
Inov8 Publishing, and Mambo Press. Writers have not been left behind. The
platform boasts of having already started selling books on the platform by
writers such as Pathisa Nyathi, Rabison Shumba, NoViolet Bulawayo and Shimmer
Chinodya.
More information HERE
POETRY
The poem Ode
for Dr. Maya Angelou is a collaborative poem done by seven poets, including
Donald Kuutsi and Benevolent Masora who are WIN members. The whole
collaborative poem was first published in the Sunday Mail in July this year. We
publish the part below written by Benevolent Masora as an independent poem.
An
Ode to Dr. Maya Angelou
By Benevolent Masora (above)
DR Maya Angelou
How vivid your
greatness seems
Now as you lay
In the slow
dignity of your eternal pause,
Or is it some
humble lay?
Some natural
sorrow, loss or pain,
That has been and
may be again,
In the history of
poetry, you sang a melancholy strain,
Only if your song
had no ending,
As we listened
motionless
And still the
music in our hearts we
Bore,
Long after it is
heard no more,
For this, for
everything we are out
Of tune,
For our noble
titan has departed
From the long
journey,
Encased in talent
like uniform
But made weak by
time and fate
Though much is
taken, much still abides in us
That which we
are, one equal temper
Of heroic hearts,
Strong in will to
strive to seek, to find,
Joys we now
inherit, seldom yet attained
By these young
knights who fight
On paper
Ink expanding
their conquered territories
Fled is the
moment we visibly heard
You
But arrives that
moment we sulk
Upon your wisdom
As you rest in
eternal rest, can we
Move on…
(Benevolent
Masora is a Lower 6 student at Churchill Boys High, Harare)
Struggle
of a Man
By Donald Kuutsi (ABOVE)
Roosters welcome the new day
A continuation of the journey
Sun rays protrude through the
windows
As the sun rises
The struggle begins
Survival of the fittest
In order to make ends meet
Prolonging the future lifespan,
Working until late to keep on
the light
For the family to remain in
the spotlight
Putting food on the table to
feed the bellies,
Conscience and fury trapped
inside his thoughts
Cuffed with invisible chains
Fury and Fate
Engraved at the back of his
thoughts
Tossing him day and night
Endless, sleepless nights
No matter how hard he tries to
close his eyes
His eyes are the mirrors of
his soul
Fate waits for him in
dreamland
Thoughts cease to be at peace
Wide awake day & night
Thoughts cease to rest
Like a parachute that works
whilst it’s open
Every day is a journey on its own
Being the pillar of the family, serving
two masters,
Goodwill hunting and his siblings
A struggle which can’t be denied, just
like trying to run away from your shadow
That’s the struggle of a man….
(Donald
Munyaradzi Kuutsi was born on July 9, 1991, in Harare. He is currently studying
for a National Diploma in Marketing Management at the Harare Polytechnic
College. He is in his third year. For Donald, poetry simply means Pouring
Out Emotions To Reach You)
GRANTA
ACCEPTING UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS
After a long hiatus Granta, one of the world’s most prestigious literary magazines, is again accepting unsolicited submissions.
Please follow this link for more
information, click here
WE NEED
STAND-ALONE LITERARY AWARDS IN ZIMBABWE
Beaven
Tapureta
We need stand-alone literary awards in Zimbabwe.
Although
people do not write their books to win awards, such awards have potential to elevate and enhance the visibility
of Zimbabwean writers. Read More…
(You can enjoy his column 'Bookshelf' which comes out every Wednesday in the Herald)
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