EDITORIAL
Looking
Back: A student from Bilaal College (Epworth)
poses with his Certificate of Participation and a book prize earned from 2012
WIN Writing Competition (Junior Category). ‘Zimbabwe Reads’ sponsored the
competition and donated the book prizes.
W
|
elcome to our first 2020 issue of the WIN Newsletter. The year is still
new but how about our hope? The literary sector hopes for a new hope. It is sad
we lost a dear writer Lilian Masitera early this month of February. In this
issue, Barbara Nkala, a fellow senior writer who shared with her the ups and
downs of writing, pays tribute to the brilliant writer. And a book review of
her latest Customary Shambles is also
another tribute to Masitera. May her soul rest in peace. As WIN, we are still
here, still going strong, 2020 being the year we celebrate our tenth
anniversary. Ten years of being together as a writing family. We thank you very
much for all that you did, you do, and shall do to make the WIN dream live
longer. On January 25, 2020, the WIN Board met at the Harare City Library and
various resolutions were made which we will share with you in the next
newsletter. Enjoy!
2020 NAMA
AWARDS NOMINEES LIST ANNOUNCED
The 19th edition of the National Arts Merit Awards is running
under the theme “Taking It Back To The People”. We sing congratulations to the
poets and writers who were nominated for the NAMA awards this year in the
Spoken Word and Literary Arts categories. Wow! There is a new category,
Outstanding Poetry Book, and that clearly shows NAMA is dedicated to embracing
all types of arts. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on
Saturday 29 February 2020 at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).
Below we give you the nominations in the
categories in our field of interest - literature, but for the rest of the 2020
nominees list in various categories, please visit this link.
SPOKEN WORD AWARDS
Outstanding Poet
Tanaka Effort Chuma
Sithembile Siqhoza Ndebeleaka Zingizwanizinja
Tatenda Murigo
Outstanding Comedian
Learnmore Mwanyenyeka aka Long John
Hubert Dumisani Ndlovu aka MaForty
Andrew Manyika
LITERARY ARTS AWARDS
Outstanding First Creative Published Book
Hatiponi by Oscar
Gwiriri [Progressive Booksellers
& Publishers]
A People’s Fight by
Fradreck Hombiro [Hombiro Media
Company]
Nharo Dzemusango by Chenjerai Mazambani [Bhabhu Books]
Special Mention
Ensukwini Zalamhla by
Onesimo Mpofu [Onesimo Mpofu]
Outstanding Children’s Book
Songs of the Little
Creatures by Phumulani Chipandambira [Chipandambira Archives]
Chitima Nditakure by Oscar
Gwiriri [Progressive Booksellers & Publishers]
Kuku Wins the President’s
Clean Environment Award by Aleck Kaposa [Essential Books
Publishing Company]
Outstanding Fiction Book
Shasha Dzokurera by
Marcilyn Mugariri [Marcilyn Mugariri]
Chasing the Wind by Phillip
Chidavaenzi [Royalty Books]
Out of Darkness, Shining Light
by Petina Gappah [Scribner]
Outstanding Poetry Book
Rhyme and Resistance by
StanleyMushava [Underclass books and Films]
Under My Skin by Prince
Rayanne Chidzvondo [Prince Rayane Chidzvondo]
Agringanda Like a Gringa
Like a Foreigner by Tariro Ndoro [Modjaji Books]
Special Mention
Nhambetambe by Phumulani Chipandamira
[Chipandambira Archive]
GO WELL,
WRITER
The late multi-skilled
writer Lilian Masitera
“Lilian Masitera: A Multi-Talented Writer”
Below is a tribute to Masitera from her long time
fellow writer Barbara Nkala (Gogo Nkala) who is also one of the founding
leaders of Zimbabwe Women Writers
“I heard about Lilian’s passing early on Friday 7th
February 2020. I was very sad that I had not seen her in the new year. I last
talked to her towards the end of December 2019 when she brought me a copy of Customary
Shambles, at Avondale shopping centre. This was her latest and recently
released brilliant rendition of short stories based on real life situations,
where Masitera decries effects of poor parenting on children. Lillian was very
secretive about her unwellness, but her husband John had mentioned that she was
not well and should rest more. I had meant to pay her a visit in the new year.
But, as often happens, we get caught up in the daily grind that clouds other
important issues.
I first met Lilian in the mid-1990s at a Zimbabwe Women
Writers’ meeting. She had a sharp and witty demeanour, and she expressed strong
views on women’s issues. I loved that about her. At that time, she wrote
poetry, but was later to write intense short stories and a novel. Many other
works are in poetry and short story anthologies. Lilian was an avid reader and
a very passionate writer. She always encouraged other women to write, and also
to have their works promoted in the media.
We often hear about multitalented people, and Lilian was one
of them. She was not only a good writer who won some awards; she was a
brilliant Maths teacher at Belvedere Teachers College for many years. I
remember in 1997, my second daughter was struggling with ‘O’ Level Maths. I
took her to Lilian for extra Maths lessons and we were all pleasantly surprised
that she came out with a very good symbol in the subject after ‘O’ Level
examinations. I saluted Lilian’s teaching abilities.
Zimbabwe Women Writers has lost a passionate writer. She was
not too well of late, yet she made time to write and publish one more book. She
will be sorely missed by women writers.”
Barbara Nkala
MASITERA’S UNBIASED ENQUIRY
INTO PARENTING STYLES
By Beaven Tapureta
Lilian Masitera’s
last book Customary Shambles (2019,
Blue Diamond Publishers), published few months before she passed, is a dramatic
collection of stories which look into traditional and modern parenting styles
in different family environments and their effects on children.
Seven stories make up
the collection and one can tell that Masitera never lost the literary grip. Her
storytelling skills are enhanced in this collection. The stories revolve around
the ‘touchy’ theme making reference to the Biblicalverse that says ‘multiply
and replenish the earth’. Masitera’s book examines this verse from a biological
point of view.
Actually, the Bibles mentions
in Genesis 1:28, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth.” and also in Genesis 9:1, “And God blessed Noah and his
sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”
The characters in the
stories, children and parents alike, sometimes housemaids, justified by their
theories either break or adhere to this verse, and Masitera uses their thoughts
and beliefs to explore the theme.
Who would a child
blame for being the only child in a single-mother family? Do parents give a
thought about how the child feels?
Donolly, the narrator
in the first story ‘Multiply and Fill The Earth’, starts with a question too:
Did the people of ancient times know the arithmetical meaning of ‘multiply’
whenthey handed down the wisdom multiply and replenish the earth?
In this story, a girl
named Joyous, the only child of Janet, wishes she had a brother or sister
around and this contrasts with Donnoly in whom there is a sense of regret for
having to be one of his parents’ thirteen children, a huge family indeed. The
lack of siblings deeply troubles Joyous that she initiates a children-oriented project
meant to compensate for this gap in her own life. And Joyous also has an idea
to write a book titled Customary Shambles,
initially titled The Mouthpiece!
That these stories
are Masitera’s real observations in society is unquestionable.
While in ‘Not A
Whisper’ Masitera shows how difficult it is for a sibling to control or
discipline another sibling in a family living without a father, she also in the
story ‘Fated Seed’ shows how such families suffer poverty, depression and
hunger.
Tambu, a housemaid,
sees it all in the story ‘Godparent’ – mother busy with kitchen parties, father
busy with who knows what, parents living together but worlds apart, thus
robbing the kids of the much-needed parental company. How cleverly Masitera
weaves into this story the culturally controversial issue of preferring a boy
child to a girl child! It is in the last story ‘The Children of Mhazi’ that the
author so freely investigates this theme and some of the reasons why culture
has it that way.
Who bears the biggest
brunt of the ‘multiple and replenish the earth’ command? The man or the
woman? In ‘Maternal Mortality’ one feels how women pay the cost of making a
choice between having and not having a child or children. They, the women, die
while giving birth or while trying to abort as the men, in this story
represented by the MP, instead of putting up proper maternal health facilities
and hire professional, caring medical staff, are simply prophets of promises
and lies.
Apart from all these
chaos and questionings in some stories, Masitera attempts to draw a model
family in ‘Concelebration’ – one in which both parents are around for their
children’s birthdays, parents sacrificing their time to go out to the Eastern
Highlands and let the children enjoy outdoor nature and wildlife. A family in
which a child would say after a happy birthday adventure with other family
members, “Thanks daddy for a super day!”
Masitera’s literary
legacy will inspire many a writer and reader. Through Customary Shambles, she gives space to the children for them to be
free to speak out their emotions about certain decisions made by parents.
Lilian Masitera was
born in Bikita, Zimbabwe. She studied Mathematics at the University of Zambia
and subsequently taught at colleges in Harare where she lived with her husband
until her death. She is the author of the poetry anthology Militant Shadow (Minerva Press, London), and three novels titled The Trail, Start With Me (Now I can Play
Publications, Harare) and Sascam Express (Partridge). She was awarded the Poet
of Merit Award by the ISP (International Society of Poets), won the 2001
Zimbabwe International Book Fair second prize for English Literature and some
of her poems have been translated into German.
VOICES FROM
THE HILLS
With
Simbarashe Kavenga
A Newfound Home For Mutare
Writers
Raring to go: A
joyful family of 2nd Street Writes (Mutare)
There are
cracking voices coming out from the eastern border city of Mutare. Soon the
emerging voices would be heard and maybe conquer the land and beyond.
Yes, creative writing for these
young men and women would never be the same again. These young promising
writers are taking writing to another better level on the performing stage.
Their words are not remaining embedded in the
book pages, waiting for a reader to read so that the word may come alive. They
are taking their words onto the stage.
Their voices echo at poetry
events such as Shaurai Poetry and Music Session at The National Gallery. They
also do their poetry and spoken word sessions at The American Corner housed at
Turner Memorial Library along Queens Way Street, opposite the Mutare Civic
Centre.
It’s a joy anyone wouldn’t want
to miss listening to these vibrant artists doing what they know best.
Last year, these talented writers
mainly based in the city of Mutare came together to form a local writer’s
organization called 2nd Street Writers. Why 2nd Street
Writes? You may ask and wonder.
They came up with the name because their
office is located along 2nd Street in the city centre, behind the
National Tyre Centre. This is not the first time that writers in Mutare have
come together. In the past, a writers' organization called Mutare Writers Club
was formed but didn’t live for long as some members relocated to other cities,
towns and even to other countries. We also had national writer’s organizations
such as the Budding Writer’s Association of Zimbabwe which had a branch in
Mutare but with time they all folded leaving a number of writers in the cold.
From the ashes of these folded writers’
associations of yesteryears here forth comes the lovely kid on the block with
all sorts of good noise – 2nd Street Writers!
In this new writers organization there
are members like Shingirai Manyengavana, a published poet and an actor. He has
poems in the anthologyGwatakwata
reNhetembo and appears in the film The
Goodman. We have Dean Murindi, a
master of Spoken Word who also is a published poet. Farai Borerwe is a member
too. He is the main actor in the Mutare’s own film The Goodman.Rumbidzai Munowenyu, Handsome Fombe, Brandon with a big
‘B’ and many more members of the organization!
Last year in October the 2nd
Street Writers hosted renowned artists like Tariro Negitare and Chirikure
Chirikure who were both running their master class sessions to inspire other
artists to find their own footing in the creative fields.
Yes, life in the local arts
industry is not all gloomy and dull. The sun always shines above the dark
clouds.
Aluta continua to the 2nd
Street Writes, keep on keeping on!
PHILANI
NYONI EYES INTERNATIONAL AWARD
Winzim Online
Philani
Amadeus Nyoni
Bulawayo-based award-winning poet Philani A Nyoni is Zimbabwe’s
ambassador in the recently announced longlist for the 2020 Afritondo Short Story
Prize.
21 writers from
different parts of the world make the longlist which, according to a press
statement, will be trimmed down to a shortlist by the judges,
Megan Ross, Gloria Mwaniga, and Kelechi Njoku.
The world now waits patiently for
the shortlist to come out, and thereafter the announcement of the winner.
Nyoni is happy to go
international. After the announcement of the Afritondo longlist, he told the
Herald reporter Kundai Marunya that since 2017, he has been receiving
nominations for international awards.“I
have not received any brass since the 2017 Bulawayo Arts Awards (BAA), but all
nominations thereafter have been international and that is the growth I want
to see in my work,” the poet said.
Nyoni’s short story Slick Dog: Diary of a Ninja survived the judge’s tough evaluation of entries as part of the process to
come up with the longlisted 21.
“We set up a team of eight
readers with the task of drawing up a longlist. The first stage of this process
produced 40 entries. However, due to our goal of publishing an anthology, we
could only accept about 20 stories. The harder task was whittling the list from
40 down to 20. In order to do this, we had to apply stricter standards
including appraising the quality of writing and assessing each entry’s
reflection of the theme. It was a tough process and it was hard to see some
good entries go. We will be emailing the writers to let them know that our
readers enjoyed reading their stories. Ultimately, we settled on a longlist of
21 stories—less than 5% of the total submissions,” said Afritondo Short Story
Prize.
Other countries represented in
the longlist are Nigeria, USA, Namibia, South Africa, Ghana, Lesotho, Kenya,
Uganda and United Kingdom.
HORRORS OF A SCHOLAR
Tatenda
Hanyani
It displays a thousand
faces before me,
Yet I continue to trudge
along with no fear but fatigued,
These eyes of mine running
for an endless voyage,
In the end aid may be
desperately necessary,
For these terrors I dread
with a quiver upon my educated heart.
The years seem to progress
so fast,
Never heading towards
completion.
They pleasure to question
the ruggedness of mine expedition,
For with no agreeable
responses my hands will be tangled.
Daily these hands that I am
armed with squeeze a stick of the mind’s exhibition,
To share it is a force with
a highway of freedom yet fatal on its own.
There is never a desire for
a certainty which they enquire upon my weaknesses,
Should I be intimidated
like this when I know not my endowing interventions?
I fear I have been taken
advantage of in this heartless yet vital condition,
They array upon me a series
of different-sized stones in ascending order.
The sky I fail to see even
when I crave for its warm embrace,
My movements are restricted
and so are my speeches,
In tatters my life would be
if I refuse to liaise,
Is there any qualification
designated to those who deserve to live?
They know not what this
head of mine holds in its own confusion,
Pity me instead of calling
me strong or dogged,
I enjoy not this burden
that has been bestowed upon my weakest pillar,
Is my life in balance with
all these two-sided flaps of useless garbage?
I am being unfairly robbed
of my freedom of will,
I do pray I shall tire one
of these days
And escape from these yokes
of meaninglessness.
COMING IN OUR NEXT NEWSLETTER
MUNYORI WEBHUKU ‘SHUKUKUVIRI’
Johannes Mike Mupisa
Shingirai
Manyengavana (SM), nyanduri ari zvakare munyori, anoita hurukuro naJohannes
Mike Mupisa a.k.a Chana CheMasvingo (JM) pamusoro pebhuku rake Shukukuviri.
Johannes Mike Mupisa anobva muMwenezi maShe Negari.
Akaita zvidzidzo paMidlands State University paakaita dhigirii reArchaeology,
Cultural Heritage Management and Museum Studies. Nhetembo dzake dzakabuda mumabhuku
mazhinji anosanganisira Gwatakwata
reNhetembo rinova bhuku rakasarudzwa kuti ridzidzwe muzvikoro(2017-2019), Speak A Word/KhulumaIzwi/TauraiIzw bhuku
ravananyanduri veStarbrite, Best New
African Poets 2018 bhuku rananyanduri veAfrika yose, Mukoko weNduri (Royal Press 2019). Mupisa akanyora zvakare bhuku rerugwaro
rwechina neSecondary Book Publishers (2018) akabatana nevamwe vanyori rinonzi A Practical Approach to Heritage Studies.
Munyori uyu anebhukuzve raakaita nevamwe vanyori rinonzi A Practical Approach to History Studies Book 2. Shukukuviri ibhuku renganonyorwa rake
rekutanga. Anemutambo wefirimu zvakare waakanyora unonzi Gehena Harina Moto. Munyori unedzatsi rezvinyorwa zvirikubikwa kuti
zvigopakugwa.
Don't miss!
MUNGOSHI JNR TACKLES
ROLE OF MIND AND SPIRIT IN WEALTH
CREATION
By Beaven Tapureta
…as a television series called ‘Dudzai’, directed by his brother Farayi
Mungoshi, is nominated for the Outstanding Screen
Production (Television Series) award in this year’s NAMA AWARDS.
Surely, literature, film and television passion runs in the late literary luminary Dr. Charles Mungoshi's family. A big congratulations to Farayi for the nomination of his television
series and to Charles Jnr for the release of a new enriching book that will change
many lives.
Front
cover of the new book
The first step towards getting rich is very psychological and spiritual
and this is the basis upon which Mungoshi Jnr drives his motivational message
in his new book The Money Mindset
published late last year by The Hub of Positivists.
The powerful command
of subject and language in this book is of a writer writing out of conviction,
and from the heart of experience in money matters. He has published several
books on money but this one puts a stamp of excellency on his overall
motivational authorship. How he tackles the work or power of the human mind and
spirit in money matters is indeed mature, understandable and practicable.
If this knowledge
also worked for business mogul Michael Shoniwa after he applied it at a time of
crisis in his life and business, then it surely is worth trying! According to
his letter included in The Money Mindset,
he was saved by recognizing this power of the mind.
“By facing my fears
and my problems I then knew that the mind was powerful and anything one puts
their mind to, they can achieve,” says Shoniwa.
In The Money Mindset, Mungoshi Jr
emphasizes the theme ‘multiply and replenish the earth’ from a business
perspective and not from a biological viewpoint as is seen in the stories in
Lilian Masitera’s Customary Shambles.He
actually quotes Genesis 1: 28 in his fifth chapter ‘Physical Manifestation’. The
verse says, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:
and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (italics mine)
For one to have a
proper money mindset, there are “Foundational Principles” that should be
observed, the same principles that then lead to the “Spiritual Realm’ within
which meditation, affirmations and declarations are very important.
Stage by stage, the
author takes you beyond the point where now what you wished for in the mind and
spirit manifest physically.
At this point, he
quickly warns against relaxing, the habit of being content with the first score.
“People tend to relax
when they have attained a certain position, yet every day of our lives is a
direct opportunity to grow, multiply and become better,” he says in the chapter
‘Maintaining Your Position’.
In this classic book,
Mungoshi Jnr has no ear for all-I-want-is-to-be-richkind
of people. This, he emphasizes, is a wrong approach or attitude to life. He
encourages that specificity in making decisions on how much money one wants is of
great significance.
“Do not be vague in
your desires. If it is five hundred dollars you want, be direct about it….The
fear of figures is what stops people from having what they want. You can have
all you want but you need to be specific and direct about it,” he says in the
closing chapter ‘The Ultimate Money Mindset’.
As a professional
motivational and inspirational speaker, Mungoshi Jnr has traveled to many
countries delivering his life-changing motivational speeches and training todifferent
big organizations. To date, he has published seven books and contributes to
many different magazines and newspapers.
The mind and spirit
are complicated human elements and yet Mungoshi Jnr simplifies their positive
power over one’s life. Do not be afraid, his new book does not offer mystic,
fetishes, or voodoo tricks to get rich quick but it gives guideposts in
self-development geared towards building what he calls the ‘prosperity
consciousness’.
TSITSI NOMSA NGWENYA’S NEW NOVEL OUT SOON!
Formerly titled Yesterday’s Footprints, here’s
Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya’s new English novel Portrait
of Emlanjeni with a beautiful cover. We have been waiting for it!
Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya
chatting with students during the 2017 ZIBF
CHILDREN’S
LITERATURE IN ZIMBABWE
With
Aleck Kaposa
Dearest children, how are you with
school so far? I am in a happy mood because my book Kuku Wins the President’s Clean Environment Award has been nominated for the
Outstanding Children’s Book NAMA Award. I can see you smiling and curious to
read the book! Don’t worry, it will come your way. Meanwhile, I want you to
enjoy the following story titled A Thief On The Big Yellow Train
and tell it to
someone to demonstrate your storytelling skills.
A THIEF ON THE BIG YELLOW TRAIN
Mimi, Fafafa and their mother,
were travelling from Harare to Mutare by train on a certain fine, cloudless
day. It was the first time for the seven-year olds to travel by train and they
were very excited about it.
“When are we going to arrive at the train station mama?” Mimi had
been asking her mother several times since leaving Kenzi Farm, just outside the
capital city at eight in the morning.
“Soon we are getting there.” Mother would say.
“When is the train leaving for Mutare mama?” another question
would come from Fafafa.
“Not yet my dear, not yet.” Mother would say to calm down the
girls. “It will only leave when we get on board Fafa.
The girls were relieved when they at last turned at the end of the
street and saw the tall, two-storey, red brick building with white, arch-shaped
windows and doors.
“There is the train station.” Mother said pointing at the building
which stretched into the distance with the words HARARE STATION in big blue
letters above the entrance.
“Yes!” the two girls said punching the air excitedly. “At last we
are there!”
They quickly walked through the train station gate, then past
several offices with red fire extinguishers and hoses by the doors and finally
stopped at the tickets office.
From where they were, they could see dozens of people resting on the
blue wooden train station benches, some with bags, boxes and other things. They
also could see shiny rail lines, one or two blue locomotives pulling passenger
coaches as well as wagons and many iron, tower-like structures with electricity
cables connected to them to enable electric trains to move.
After mother bought
tickets, the three went to find somewhere to sit on the train station benches.
They found an empty bench near a big sign that read BEWARE OF THIEVES. As soon as they sat down, vendors selling
boiled eggs and groundnuts, bottled water, snacks of different brands, sweets
and many other things swarmed to them.
“Sweet frozen water mama.” one vendor said.
“Fresh boiled eggs and sweets for your girls, mama.” another said.
After a long time of waiting, there suddenly was heard a loud
bellowing sound of the train hooting. Then the Big Yellow Train, a diesel
engine, droning loudly like thousands bees, clanking and stumbling, shot into
view. The passengers stood and lined up along the coaches and started climbing
in after it had stopped. Finally when all the passengers had got on board, the
Big Yellow Train hooted twice and slowly started moving. Soon it increased its
speed and was leaving the city behind.
“It looks like a bus inside here!” Fafafa said to Mimi.
“Yes it does but I think it’s more beautiful than the inside of a
bus.”
“Mutare, here we come.”
Mother said with a smile and Fafafa and Mimi nodded silently as they watched
trees and buildings rush in the opposite direction.
As the train moved on, vendors moved up and down inside the
coaches’ corridors, selling their different wares to the passengers. There was one vendor with a funny hat that
had ears like a cat’s who shouted with a shrill voice and fiercely shook packets of red and green apples into the
passengers’ faces.
“Two reds, your dollar can buy. One green, half a dollar can buy
too!”
Suddenly there were noisy voices coming from somewhere down the coaches. Soon the voices grew louder.
“Stop the thief!” the voices said angrily. “Please stop that man!”
As Mimi, Fafafa, their mother and the other passengers looked up
to see where the noise was coming from, a young man wearing a pair of dirty, yellow overalls with a traveller’s
bag in his hands ran past the vendors, pushing
some aside and others to the floor, to gain passage. A group of six men and two
train guards ran after the young man.
Soon they were gone and people started wondering what the young man in
yellow overalls had stolen.
Ten minutes later the six men and two train guards came back
dragging the young man wearing the dirt, yellow overalls on the floor whilst he
tried to free himself. He looked drunk and smelled like he had been sniffing
glue.
“How can you steal things from a poor old lady, young man?” One of
the men asked. “Are you not ashamed of yourself?”
“I did not steal the bag,” the young man said. “I just found it
under my seat and took it.”
A policeman coming from the opposite direction met up with the six
men and the thief.
“Let me handcuff the young man,” the policeman said. ‘When the
train stops in Marondera, I together with the old lady and the thief will
disembark and go to the police station where he shall explain himself. These
are the people who disturb the peace of our society.”
Soon the six
men, the two guards, the young man in the dirty yellow overalls and the
policeman returned to their places but the passengers continued talking about
what had just happened.
A SMALL
CHAT WITH LAREY THE POET
Winzim Online
Larey the Poet (above), real name Vongai Hillary
Masuka, is featured in the recently launchedpoetry anthologyLoud Thoughts (2019).
Who is Larey The Poet?
I am 21 years old and live in Chitungwiza.
What does poetry do to you?
Poetry plays a great role in my life, for it helps me to express myself,
my concerns and opinions regarding societal issues mostly on a personal level.
When did this feeling about poetry begin?
The poetic feeling began in 2012.
Who is your inspirational Zimbabwean performance
poet?
Albert Nyathi. He has great impact on my poetry life.
How did appearing in an anthology such as Loud
Thoughts make you feel?
Since it was my first time appearing in a book for publication, I was so
thrilled to work together with other wordsmiths.
Which book of poetry or about poetry are you reading
right now?
At the moment I am reading Words of Life by Lingiwe Patience Gumbo.
As young as you are, how far do want to go with
poetry?
I will be with poetry till I die. I would love to publish collections of
poetry of my own and continue partnering with as many poems as I can for poetry
production purposes.
Thank you.
THE YOUTH PERSPECTIVE
With
Mimi Machakaire
Lately I have
found that as a Zimbabwean writer living in Lesotho and traveling to different
places, it has helped inspire some words of creativity. I have visited countries
all over Southern Africa and had the chance to visit the United States of
America, and quite recently Australia.
I
intend to do more traveling in future but so far, Australia has been my
favorite place to visit. We flew for two days with my mom and my little brother
and we took a route that started with us driving from Lesotho to Bloemfontein
and had us flying from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg to Dubai to Melbourne. Each
flight got longer but the longest was the flight from Dubai to Melbourne sitting
in for 12 hours.
However, it was
all worth it. Of course, the hassle for VISA applications is always there but
we had planned well ahead of time. Now, during our journey the only discomfort
was not being able to bath for two days. We left Lesotho on the 1st of February
2020 and arrived by the 3rd. We were visiting family in Australia as
one of our very own cousins was marrying a local on 8 February 2020. There was
so much to do and so little time but we got to see it all in Australia.
We spent time touring the city and managed to experience the famous
street art that sat freely on the walls on the buildings,with no one fearful of
being arrested for vandalizing the property. We visited the zoos, aquariums and
the museums and tasted the wide variety of the different cultures in foods and
coffee that Melbourne is so well known for. Upon our stay, we learnt that
Melbourne is 10 hours ahead of Africa meaning that when locals in Melbourne are
waking up, Africans are falling asleep by then. We were also amazed by the
constant weather changes from cold to warm to winds to hot to cold again and
often hear the locals joke about Melbourne having 4 seasons in one day.
Time passed and
the day of the wedding finally arrived, this is where we got to reunite with
loved ones for the duration of the stay. During this time, we managed to fit in
more activities until our departure on 14 February 2020. We were sad to leave
but grateful for the experience. Again, our route coming home was simple.
Melbourne to Sydney to Dubai to Johannesburg to Bloemfontein and then a drive
to Lesotho. The longest flight
was Sydney to Dubai sitting in for 13 hours but we arrived home in Lesotho safe
and sound.
The entire
experience sparked an eagerness in me to write about all the details of the
journey and the stay in Melbourne, this after having writer’s block for a long
time. When one travels, you see the world from a different perspective and it
almost changes your personality in a way. This is because you would have
escaped your comfort zone for some time and learnt to appreciate different
people and cultures.
You will not be
relying on stereotypes that you would have otherwise gained from others or even
on the news;but now after visiting all these places and seeing it first hand
for yourself, you learn more through physical experience. Which is
different from having conversations with people, who might have never even left
the comfort of their own home.
Being an African
writer who has visited around the world has given me stories to tell in
different ways and I enjoy being in a position that allows me, to appreciate
life more. Travelling is good for the soul. You almost grow older and wiser once
having visited other places because now you can tell people about your
experience from your perspective. Therefore, I encourage anyone who is brave
enough to step outside of his or her comfort zone for just a bit, go out into
the world and have an adventure of a lifetime, then come back with a story to tell.
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR WRITERS AND POETS
***
***
MULTI LINGUAL ANTHOLOGY CALL FOR POETRY CONTRIBUTIONS
Gourd of Consciousness Poetry is pleased to announce
this call for participation in an upcoming multi lingual poetry collection in
collaboration with visual artists from a local internationally acclaimed art
gallery based in Harare.
The Anthology is open to Zimbabweans living in and
outside the country.
REQUIREMENT: Current samples of existing poems
LANGUAGE: Khalanga, Tonga, Ndebele, ChiNdau, Venda,
Shona, Nyanja, Shangaan, Nambya
THEME: No
particular theme, poems should resonate with what is happening today.
Shortlisted poets will be asked to compose new material specifically for this
vernacular anthology.
For further information contact
Khumbulani Muleya +263715450146/+263777785234
Tinashe Muchuri +263782883203
***
***
2nd STREET WRITES CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
An Anthology of Zimbabwean Literature and Arts 2nd Street Writes Trust is kindly inviting
experienced and young poets, storytellers, novelist, essayists (academic and
general), songwriters to submit their literary works to be published in
different anthologies of Zimbabwean Literature and Arts in Mutare. The four
anthologies will be published by 2nd Street Writes Trust under the Literary
Arts Project. We will be offering 1 free contributor copy to all those we
select to publish in these anthologies. We will publish four anthologies in
these categories respectively:
1) Shona Poetry Anthology 2) Shona Short Story
Collection 3) English Poetry Anthology 4) English Short Story Collection
We are looking for work in Shona & English
language. We prefer short literary pieces but we will read long pieces and will
consider some in the anthology.
Send us your
best work.
1) Not more or less than 3 - 10 poems/short stories
per person
2) Include a bio note about the author to be published
with their work, if selected. 3) All entries should be in 1 word doc including
the bio note biography, a professional photo and contact info
This is strictly a Mutarean anthology, so we will only
read and consider work from writers/poets based in Mutare.
Send your work via email to 2ndstreetwrites@gmail.com
or deliver by hand at Light Academy College, Mutare (near Redan fuelling
station)
For enquiries get in touch with Charlotte Mutambara on
+263714156743 Deadline for entries is
28 February 2020
THANK YOU
FOR READING OUR NEWSLETTER.
