Registered under the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe

15 March 2019

WIN Newsletter, Vol 2, Issue No 2




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.
Dr. Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi, a legendary musician, died on January 23 and was declared a national hero. Dr. Charles Mungoshi, a literary icon, died on February 16. We miss them. The greatest legacy we will cherish forever is their deeply inspirational works of art. The literary sector has taken the lead in paying tribute to them through art. The University Of Zimbabwe has since launched a book project titled Singing from the Heart: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Oliver Mtukudzi. According to the call for abstracts, of which deadline (March 15) has already passed, this scholarly book “pursues various themes and dimensions of Tuku’s distinguished life and unparalleled career.”
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 organizationWe 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



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.)




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READING

THANK YOU!