EDITORIAL
The late Dr Charles Mungoshi
Welcome to our first issue of 2019. We hope you are all well, reading
and writing. As for us, there is no turning back. And attempts will be made to
have our newsletters published in print so that every writer and reader can get
the timeless, valuable literary information we passionately gather in the literary
world around us. 2018 was challenging, no doubt, and 2019 started on a sad note
as we lost two giants in the arts sector during the first two months.
Young writers, mainly from Win-Zimbabwe and other budding writers’
platforms, are also compiling an anthology titled Verses for Tuku in memory of the champion of Zimbabwean music and
culture. A few weeks ago, Win-Zimbabwe dedicated its third online lecture to
the late genius Charles Mungoshi. In this issue, there are also few tributes to
our great writer. It is obvious that the local literary sector has more unsaid
plans to celebrate our hero in various activities or projects.Meanwhile, we are
planning our first 2019 members’ get-together which we hope to hold next month
in Harare and this will be another dedication to our father of Zimbabwean
literature. The 18th National Arts Merit Awards(NAMA) ceremony is around the corner
(exactly on Saturday, March 23 at the HICC), with nominees already announced. Our blog once
won the NAMA Outstanding Online Media award in 2015 after being consecutively
nominated in 2013 and 2014 and therefore we know how it feels to be nominated
(and eventually win!). An air of great expectation has gripped the arts
industry and at this moment every nominee is a winner until that ‘super moment’
when the awards ceremony will be held. Thank you for bearing with us. Enjoy the read!
TRIBUTES TO DR. CHARLES MUNGOSHI
Agitation
By Pumulani Chipandambira
We raise the choking dust
As we rant, rave and trample
The scorched land
We scratch and rip off our hair
Shift, lift and split the lots
We cry and swear
Shout, lament and point
To the glaring skies
We stoke the dying ambers
And raise the stifling smoke
To the glaring skies
We all forget
Life belongs to God
The
Pen Master
By
Beloved Maridzanyere
The
world, you plaited
Hearts,
you warmed
Conscience
rooms, you carpeted
Minds,
you clothed
And
now the society
Melodies
has sung from its heart
With
impact communicating your great art
Ululating
and celebrating your courageous bid
To
the eternal bell that has just rung.
Soothed
our hearts were by your refreshing thoughts
To
the nation, prestige you gave lots
Prophesying
what frightens other prophets
Late
in the nights bleeding was thy pen,
Silently,
weaving the literature strands
Up
high raising the national flag
Continental
glory bestowing
And
as the blood got constrained
Through
ink, us you have fathered.
In
us, life you have breathed.
Yet
now the dry season surely has got us crippled
For
we together wait for the rain
Till
we meet again
In
peace that is eternal
May
your soul rest
An Encounter with Mungoshi’s Gift of Words
By Patrick Hwande
In
1992, my English teacher Mr. Zishiri gave us an assignment to write a
composition entitled THE DAY I GOT LOST IN TOWN. Here is the extract from which
I excitedly as a budding writer used Mungoshi's expression from his book Waiting for the Rain!
“It
had rained all the night. The angry howls of the wind and the thundery flashes
of lightning had now given way to the peace of early morning.
I
woke up with a start, packed my few belongings and rushed to board our most
reliable bus, Mawa. I wanted to go to Kadoma to seek employment since our
family life had undergone a strange transformation. Precisely at 1200 hours I alighted
and started going nowhere ‘like a stray dog rummaging for something to
eat among the ruins...
RIP
Charles, my revered writer.
Mai Mungoshi
Na Oscar Gwiriri
Ndinokutendai! Ndinokutendai Gwai!
Makamira nemukarahwa kusvika kumagumo.
Makatsunga, makaita basa
Machuma.
Makataridza nyika chiperengo chorudo,
Nembiri yenyu iyi, makazvininipisa,
Mukati mutoro dzii pamusoro penyu.
Hapana pamakatora baba semusengwa,
Nhasi vazorora zvine rukudzo,
Zvichibva parukudzo rwamaivatusva samambo.
Hongu, pamwe taitadza kumira nemi,
Asi
hamuna kurasa hany'a sesu.
Tinozvikudza!
Tinozvikudza Mbuya Jessie!
VekwaMungoshi
muriko here uko!
Ndokwidza
maoko
Bu
bu bu!
Zvaitwa!
Zvaitwa Machuma woye!
Nyararidzikai,
penyu makarwisa Mukuruvambwa.
Wazorora
Mukwenyi
Na
Edwin ‘Mampara’ Msipa
Hwi-hwi-hwi
toungudza
Tochema
gamba zvine tariro,
Tirongonoke
kubva nhivi dzepasi rose,
Hazvinei uri mutema kana muchena,
Iwe dzika kuDzimbahwe tizorova bembera,
Tiite humwe,
Kuziva hedu, uyu waivaraidza tose.
'Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura'
Chiuyai muchikurukura nezvemabhuku atasiirwa negamba.
Uyu Mungoshi haana kungokanda mhwere dzisina rairo
panyika,
Wakaputyura mhodzi dzine gwara rezvinyorwa,
Nhasi zvinyorwa ibwetete fani!
Waenda zvake mwana wevhu
'Coming
Of The Dry Season'
Kuti
haasiwo makore asina mvura atatarisana nawo aya?
Zuro
ndiTuku,
Akatisiirawo
rwiyo ‘Rufu Ndimadzongonyedze'
Nhasi
ndiye Charles wekutsvetsva Jesessi.
Toti
'Usaore moyoka Neria...'
Mwari
vavenemhuriyose.
Zvino
isu tichaponanei
KanatichibvutirwambirudzeUnhunerudzikudai?
Tozviisa
kuMusiki,
Vazororehavomukwenyi,
Manhize,
Chikapakapa,
Musumuvi,
Moyo
Shavamombe,
VaMungoshi,
Gamba
rezvinyorwa.
Mungoshi the Teacher
From WIN
In the above photo of 2002 or thereabouts, the ever friendly Charles Mungoshi
(left) poses with a budding writer after
a writing skills training workshop run by the Budding Writers Association of
Zimbabwe (BWAZ). He was the facilitator. He was a great teacher who taught with
a passion to shape the young writers into great authors. He loved to talk about
play writing, possibly because he knew our country has a paucity of talented
playwrights. Today, some of the young writers he mentored are adults who are
still writing and writing they won’t stop!
We will always remember you, our star.Rest in peace.
FRUITS OF PATIENCE
Poet Beloved Maridzanyere seen here performing at a WIN
Epworth Community Outreach event held at Domboramwari High School in 2016.
Looking on is poet and entrepreneur Sympathy Sibanda (author of ‘Matters of
Life’).
Beloved Maridzanyere aka
Beloved Poet, a long-time Win-Zim member, has done us proud by emerging as one
of the 2019 National Arts Merit Awards nominees in the Spoken Word category.
This category has four nominees vying for the NAMA gong. It was only some years ago when the youthful poet Maridzanyere, then a
student at Epworth Secondary School, came into contact with Win-Zim through its
Epworth Community Outreach Programme launched in 2012 and since then, he has
been a committed member mentored by the best programs run by the organization. We say congratulations to Beloved, know that patience pays and we wish
you the best!
To view the complete list of all NAMA nominees, CLICK HERE
WIN-ZIM HOLDS THIRD ONLINE LECTURE
Writer Tinashe Muchuri reading from his manuscript
‘Chibarabada’ at a literary function some years ago before it was published
In the evening of March 6, 2019, the ever-growing Winzim Superclassic
Whatsapp group held its third Online Lecture facilitated by Tinashe Muchuri, an
actor, poet, storyteller, journalist, editor and novelist.
WIN executive member and published Christian author Stella Chegovo
chaired the whole session which was dedicated to the late great Zimbabwean
writer Dr. Charles Mungoshi. Although the session did not involve any specific analysis
of his works or life, WIN simply felt it necessary to assure Mungoshi, who’s now
gone, that the seed he sowed at BWAZ is still growing.
Muchuri’s topic “Shona Novel Writing Skills” aimed at equipping the
budding and intermediate authors with some basic skills and knowledge they need
in their career. The question-and-answer lecture opened more space for identifying the
chief challenges the authors faced when writing a novel in their mother
language.
And Muchuri, nicknamed ‘Chibarabada’ after his Shona novel, generously
addressed each author’s question with sound answers. To do justice to the
lecture which was conducted in our mother language, we publish snippets, edited
for clarity, from the wonderful moment Muchuri shared with the authors. Please CLICK HERE.
Are you a budding
writer? Do not feel neglected. Come and join our writing family and be part of
the super-classic thinkers!
REMEMBERING MOTIVATIONAL WRITER
MADZADZAVARA
Her
Story
Of
Prudence
(Poems
and reflections in memory of our fellow writer Prudence Madzadzavara, who died
in November, 2018)
INTRODUCTION
Losing
a fellow writer remains an unbearable pain and it was indeed a sad moment for
us as a writing family when we lost fellow author Prudence Madzadzavara last year. We lost one of us but we are comforted by the belief that
writers never die.
She
was and still remains an inspiration to everyone through her motivational book Becoming the Best
Version of You (Media Essentials, 2018). She was a young woman who had a lot to give to the world. Indeed,
‘she was an enthusiastic Certified Life Coach, Leadership Trainer,
entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, an energetic author and blogger’ whose
love for young people was great. Madzadzavara led My Sisters Keeper Institute
that helped young women in making critical decisions and inspired them in their
careers and personal development. She founded the organization with a vision to
remind women ‘that they can be proactive, positive, and be instrumental in
economically developing their societies'. She was an active member of the
International Toastmasters Community and the International Rotary Family.
“Her Story of Prudence”
is a collection of heartfelt tributes to the late multi-skilled Prudence. The tributes were collected for publication here on our blog from
the WinZim Super-Classic Whatsapp platform. They are poems, reflections that chide the criminals
who ended her life in brutal murder, these tributes not only mourn but also
celebrate her writerly brevity and impact she had on her writing friends’
lives. She shall always be remembered for her wisdom packed in a book, a timeless gift.
May her soul rest in peace.
Click the highlighted title below to
read the complete collection of poems and reflections:
WRITERS, POETS OBSERVE BLACK HISTORY
MONTH
MONTH
Xapa, the poet, doing what she knows best
The literary evening held in the city on Wednesday, February 27, 2019,
in celebration of this year’s Black History Month, was but a great moment of reflection
for the Harare writing family.
Litfest Harare (International Literature Festival), the organizer,
normally run their main festival early in the year and then continues to
conduct satellite literary activities (such as the literary evening) to live up
to its dream of promoting the growth of Zimbabwean literature and beyond.
The Nexus at Batanai Gardens in Harare, where the Black History Month
celebration was held, transformed into a
powerful artistic nexus between the history, the present and future of
migration and its conditions, its influences upon people of African descent
scattered all over the world. And “Black Migrations”, which happened to be the
theme of the literary evening, attracted multiple interpretations from the
presenters (performers and writers) and from the audience…Read More.
Images from the Event
Poet Albert Nyathi reading from his anthology Echoes From Zimbabwe
Author of the short story collection ‘The Trek’,
Lawrence Hoba, explaining a point to the host Memory Chirere, a writer and
critic
Ish Mafundikwa presenting a paper on Black History
Month perspectives
Writer Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya was one of the
participants
Poet Lisa
reads her poem with young guitarist Carl providing cool background music
Part of the audience
VaChikepe the poet also livened up the celebration
with his poetry
Senior writer Shimmer Chinodya reading from his book ‘Can
We Talk and Other Stories’
MODERN MARRIAGE PUT UNDER SPOTLIGHT
Book review by Beaven Tapureta
The world today is at crossroads trying to figure out
which way the times are drifting. All sectors of our existence have been in a 'shock
status' after we got so wise as to think ourselves ‘gods’. And caught up in this
chaos is humanity losing its spiritual grip on what things ought to be, particularly
in the marriage institution. In different communities, few marriages are
holding on, divorce is rampant.
“Today, divorce is commonplace. People can among other
things divorce because of money, social media, relatives, adultery, husband not
working, among many trivial issues,” observes Zvakwana Sweto in his new book
about modern marriage.
Published last year by Esteem Communications, Sweto’s Marriage in the 21st Century
is one such book that seeks to heal broken relations, or enhance those existing,
by revealing secrets that couples take for granted, particularly the modern
couple.
He offers signposts to happy relationships in a way
that is easy to follow and all his ideas are founded on the same truth of what
really God intended marriage to be, it’s purpose and sanctified-ness in the
modern era.
While other writers have approached this complex
subject from their own different perspectives, Sweto subtly shows us the causes
of storms that have rocked the family unit today and offers some tips.
In discussing marriage, the issue of social media has
always attracted interest. To some
social media is harmless, to others it is a wolf. Sweto advises in what he
calls the golden rule that people should restrain from sharing marital issues
on the social media.
However, he sees marriages being strengthened only in the
event that social media tools are “used with wisdom and discernment”.
People are migrating and the family is dislocated as
the search for better economic opportunities intensifies. This has had a
serious impact on marriages. In a chapter dedicated to long distance marriages,
Sweto examines this situation of partners living far apart.
“There are three important elements I want you to take
note of when it comes to situations like this: FAITHFULNESS, COMMUNICATION and
TRUST,” he says.
The book tackles different themes related to this
precious institution, themes such as influence of society (friends, relatives,
workmates and church members), profession, conflicts and conflict resolution,
intimacy, divorce and remarriage, etc. Each section closes with a prayer point
or a brief prayer to ask for God’s guidance.
POETIC ECHOES
WIN-Zimbabwe
Win-Zim!
Mufuku wevanyori wokuteka mazano
Dokoriro rikati kwau, unoturunura donhodzo
Munyori ogutsa matavi ezivo
Hoyo ave chitenhe chakapfumvutira
Win-Zim!
Chikomo chakati cha cha cha nembiru dzokuumba mashoko
Boka rine hochekoche, pasina mazvake mazvake
Mwana kubarwa vaviri mugota hamuchemi kacheche
Veumbimbindoga takanakurira panze netsvimbo sezongororo
Sare zvivere zvekurodza njere dzemupakati wepenzura
Mhuri yeWin-Zim ngaikomborerwe
Tsika, handina remuromo, detenu rinoti fabu,
Hapashoropadzwanwi
Unongova
muonera pamwe chuma chemwene werwatata
Kuwanda
huuya, pfumo rakazotemura muzukuru
Ndakazviona
ini
Win-Zim iboka rangu, rako, uye redu.
Win-Zim!
Kusatenda huroyi
Tendaiwo muchero uwise
Pastor Stella makatigonera, isu varuki venyaya
Ndikasiya VaMuchuri kudenga ndinonotsva
Chibarabada chakamononora shinda
Heyo, tande tande kumhuri yeWin-Zim
Nekuchenjera, takamoneredza pazvitanda zvedu
Win-Zim ndinodada nayo
VaGwiriri vachitwasanudza pakaminama
Kururamisa gwara remunyori
Mubvanarwo ndiVaTapureta
Vachipakura nhapitapi yezvirongwa
Masvokodori anozipa vanyori
Win-Zim inoendeka semutserendende...
Na Prosper Njeke
(Prosper Njeke has to his name a debut
Shona novel titled ‘Dura Rematambudziko’self-published last year. Njeke wrote
his novel when he was doing his Advanced Level in Harare.)
