WEALTH OF IDEAS

In a detailed and informative new overview of Zimbabwean poetry since the 70s, two prominent Zimbabwean scholars, Musaemura Zimunya (my former professor) and Kizito Muchemwa, have labelled Ignatius Mabasa the Dambudzo Marechera of Shona fiction and poetry: "The future of Zimbabwean poetry", write Zimunya and Muchemwa, "is shaped by a variety of forces and indicates many directions of development. The future continues to be shaped by its past and this explains the sustained influence of the poets of the 1970s and 1980s who also continue to re-define their own pasts. But there is growing evidence that the landscape of this poetry will see some significant re-shaping by the post-1990 poets. One such poet is the Dambudzo Marechera of Shona poetry and fiction, Ignatius Mabasa. Like Marechera, he is comfortable working across genres and at times collapsing their boundaries. He also refuses easy categorisation. The riot of sensibility, the controlled exuberance, the parodic st...

StoryTime has published Masimba Musodza's story, "Yesterday's Dog", a kind of story I love, linking the Zimbabwean present to the 70's and the years that led to independence. I believe the decade of the 70's has possibilities that Zimbabwean writers have to tap into in order to foster an understanding of the present. Go to StoryTime and enjoy Musodza's story. Excerpt: It had been a long drive, and Stanley was beginning to doze off. Harare was less than 20 kilometres away on the Mutare Road. The radio was not working, and he had exhausted the four tracks that made up the only CD, why did Zimbabwean record companies sell these as albums? And the air-conditioning wasn't working, leaving him at the mercy-or the lack-of the October heat. He would have gladly stopped somewhere, but the need to get to Chitungwiza was urgent. Already, the sky to the west was tinged with mauve. Stanley had shut his mind from the outside scenery. So, when the man appeared on th...

© Terry Moore. Below is a message from Sacramento poet, Terry Moore: Come hear love poems fall from the lips of a poet... who has won every written and verbal love poem competition he's been in for the past 12 years. The new book Love Back & Forth is filled front to back, with some of the best love poems your ears and eyes have ever experienced. Come experience THE LOVE POEM EXPERIENCE! Terry Moore live at Underground Books 2814 35th Street (Off 35th and Broadway) Saturday, December 6, 2008 6:30pm to 8:00pm Free admission Web site: Terry Moore No obligation to buy, just stop on by!

Below is the Forbes list of writers paid the highest salaries. Notice most of them are genre writers, which reflects what readers really like to read: The Top Ten: 1 JK Rowling, $300m 2 James Patterson, $50m 3 Stephen King, $45m 4 Tom Clancy, $35m 5 Danielle Steel, $30m 6 (Tie) John Grisham, $25m 6 (Tie) Dean Koontz, $25m 8 Ken Follett, $20m 9 Janet Evanovich, $17m 10 Nicholas Sparks, $16m

Emmanuel Sigauke, Jennifer Pickering and Frank Graham, leaving the Natomas Community Center. We met and discussed our works. Natomas is a good venue, a lot of room for poets to gather on a Saturday and critique each other's works.

There is this great website where writers meet to tell their stories. I am now part of the writers. Below is a description of StoryTime : The StoryTime Site and Facebook Group is all about reading and the writing process, we encourage all fiction writers to publish their short stories (1500-8000 words) and receive vital feedback and public exposure from the group and site. All fiction genres will be accepted for review but the story must be an Original work, nothing that infringes the copyright of, or is derived from, another work of fiction, is overly lewd, hate speech, etc. You get the idea. That being said all stories posted are for read and review only, the authors will retain all rights and copyrights to posted stories. Read More... Go there and read one of my latest short stories entitled " Name Your Son " and tell me what you think.

Due to its success as a poetry journal, Munyori is already making me think of expanding it into Munyori Literary Journal. I want to start featuring fiction, poetry, photography, essays, interviews, etc. Several people have indicated interest in working as contributing editors, which will allow me to hunt for grants, etc to work towards a print journal. This is one of my dreams for serving fellow writers... If all goes well, the January/February issue may be the debut issue of the multi-genre Munyori ...

SPC's Saturday Poetry Workshop With Emmanuel Sigauke and Frank Dixon Graham 10-11am, Saturday, Oct. 25th Bring 5 copies of your one page poem. Free! Open to the public. 2921 S. Truxel, Sacramento, CA @ South Natomas Community Center (next door to the South Natomas Library) between San Juan and El Camino on Truxel

I facilitated a discussion of Charles Mungoshi and Dambudzo Marechera today at Cosumnes River College. It was a humbling experience. I gave the talk under the umbrella topic: Post-colonial literature: Reading Charles Mungoshi and Dambudzo Marechera. This gave me the opportunity to start by reviewing post-colonial theory, focusing on names likes Gayatri Spivak, Homi Bhabha, Edward Said, and Kwame Anthony Appiah. These are scholars I have studied and sought out in the early 2000s, those grad. school years when I had the time to travel to universities across the US to meet "fellow" post-colonial scholars. Spivak was (and, may still be) at Columbia University in New York City, where Edward Said (he died in 2003) was teaching as well; Bhabha was just getting ready to leave University of Chicago for a stint at UC Irvine before his move to Harvard, and Appiah was at Harvard. This part of the talk was a nice reflective moment, but I had to get into the literature of Mungoshi and Ma...

'amaBooks is launching three books on October 30, 2008 at the National Arts Gallery in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. SIBAQUMBEQUMBE: an exhibition of ceramic sculptures by Owen MASEKO. TEXTURES: an exhibition of oil paintings by Khumbulani MPOFU. Long Time Coming : Short Stories from Zimbabwe 'amaBooks invite you to the launch of Long Time Coming , the fourth book in the Short Writings series, which brings together short stories and poems from thirty-three writers that provide snapshots of this turbulent period in Zimbabwe's history. Long Time Coming brings together short stories and poems from thirty-three writers that provide snapshots of this turbulent period in Zimbabwe’s history. Snapshots of living in a country where basic services have crumbled: where shops have no food, taps no water, banks no money, hospitals no drugs, bars no beer. Snapshots of characters surviving against seemingly insurmountable odds. Horrific snapshots of the abuse of power, of violence and oppression,...

The 2008 Intwasa Short Story Competition was made possible by the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Embassy of the United States of America, ’amaBooks Publishers and Weaver Press. The competition was open to all citizens and residents of Zimbabwe. First Place : Chaltone Tshabangu The Whole Truth Second Place : Violette Kee-Tui Valley of Dreams Third Place : Novuyo Rosa Tshuma Civility The judges also commended the following shortlisted candidates: Phillip Chidavaenzi Tears of the Soil Khanyile Mlotshwa Love at Another Game Robert Mugore Beyond the Games Emmanuel Sigauke The Day I Became the Bee Man The commendation of my short story by Intwasa means a lot.

I just received news that in England they are talking about Sarudzai Mubvakure, a Zimbabwean writer who has published a novel entitled A Disappointing Truth , described by Melissa Levine as "vivid", a novel full of illuminating " descriptions of the global setting in which the story takes place". The plot spans three continents, unfolding in New York, London and Zimbabwe. I can't say much yet since I have not read the book, but the author tells me that she is already working on a next book that deals with land as the site of controversy in the history of Zimbabwe. I like that she revisits the 60s and the 70s, decades that can teach us a lot about where Zimbabwe has been and where it's going. Sarudzai Mubvakure was born in Islington but then at the age of ten moved to Zimbabwe to live with her parents and siblings. She studied Occupational Therapy at the University of Zimbabwe and then returned to London in 1998 to work. A Disappointing Truth is her debut no...

A Prose Reading Series New York - Nairobi - Chicago Isabella Mugo Renee Mboya Sarah Simons Eudiah Kamonjo Four readers, four unique voices, in a tranquil outdoor setting An evening of entertainment for discerning lovers of the written word. 7-9pm, Sunday 19th October Kengeles, Lavington Green Entry Only KSh300 Free entry before 6.30pm Free entry for all Sunday Salon Alumni THIS IS A NO-REPLY ADDRESS DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS ABOUT THE WRITERS Sarah Simons Sarah Simons has a postgraduate background is education, development studies and forensic criminology. She is a trained crime investigator specializing in mapping analysis and research. Now venturing into crime fiction, she likes writing with a strong African flavour. She lives in Nairobi with her Dutch husband and two very sportive teenage children. Isabella Mugo Isabella Mugo is 23 years old. She has just completed four years as the University of Nairobi, pursuing a degree in Literature and Sociology. She loves to read and...

Brad Buchanan will be performing some poems from his new book, "Swimming the Mirror" at Underground Books (2814 35th St, in Sacramento) on Saturday October 18 at 7:00 PM. He is the editor of Roan Press, an operation that he co-founded with his wife Kate Washington, food writer for the Sacramento News & Review, Sunset Magazine and Via. Roan Press will be publishing 1-2 books per year, including poetry, fiction, essays, and memoirs, and are currently open for submissions. Below is the url for a story that came out about "Swimming the Mirror" and Roan Press, in the Sacramento Bee .

The following is an announcement, in full, of Robert Muponde's appearance at the Book Cafe in Harare, Zimbabwe. He will be discussing works by Chenjerai Hove and Shimmer Chinodya : On Thursday 16 October, the 5.30pm Literary Evening at The Book Café extends a warm welcome to Professor Robert Muponde from the Department of English, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Responding to a long-standing invitation by Pamberi Trust, he will make a presentation based on the work of two of Zimbabwe’s best-loved authors, entitled ‘Visions of Ailing Men in Chenjerai Hove’s Bones and Shimmer Chinodya’s Strife. The paper seeks to explore the ways in which differently placed dystopian masculinities in the two novels help us to think about an evolving narrative of postcolonial Zimbabwe. Mr Memory Chirere of the UZ Department of English will chair the ensuing discussion. PROF ROBERT MUPONDE at The Book Cafe Thu 16 October 2008 LITERARY PRESENTATION & DISCUSSION: Visions of Ailing Men ...

There is much talk about the short story these days. The latest authoritative views about the genre are by University of Zimbabwe professor Ruby Magosvongwe and award-winning short story writer Steven Millhauser who presented the short story as more important than the novel. Speaking at a high school short story contest award ceremony recently, Magosvonge labelled Zimbabwe "a short story country." To make such a claim, one has to have a strong reason; here is hers: "Nearly every, I emphasise EVERY, Zimbabwean who has become prominent today started with short stories or has a short story collection somewhere along the way. Here we go: Dambudzo Marechera’s House of Hunger, Charles Mungoshi’s Coming of the Dry Season, David Mungoshi’s Broken Dream and Other stories, Yvonne Vera’s Why Don’t You Carve Other Animals, Stanley Nyamfukudza’s Aftermaths, Chenjerai Hove’s Matende Mashava." (Her full speech is on the Unofungei Fungai Blog ). But why is the short story ...

When a society’s structures fall, when its economy crumbles and there are high levels of unemployment and unimaginable suffering, its children face the highest levels of danger such a society of presents. The whole fabric of this society is endangered, and its future plunges into uncertainty. This has been true to the Zimbabwean situation, whose effects have begun to reverbrate through the country’s new literature, which shows how the children are responding to the woes of their environment. The works of Memory Chirere and Valerie Tagwira shed some light on this issue, which this study presents as the Keresenzia Effect. In 2007, Valerie Tagwira shocked us with “Mainini Grace’s Promises”, a powerful story about the ravages of HIV/Aids, in which the child character kills her aunt at the end. The reader can see the frustration in the girl, her anger at the broken promise of Mainini Grace, whose betrayal to the family is that she has fallen victim of the pandemic that has killed other m...

For the 2008-2009 academic year, Cosumnes River College's Perceptions group is featuring Africa in its monthly discussions. In the kick-off discussion event I will lead a discussion of Charles Mungoshi and Dambudzo Marechera's works. See the information below: "On Tuesday, October 21 from 2:00-3:30pm in SOCCR Emmanuel Sigauke will be leading a discussion on two of some of the most important literary figures in 20th century African society: Charles Mungoshi and Dambudzo Marechera. The title of the event is “ Post-Colonial Literature: Reading Charles Mungoshi and Dambudzo Marechera .” Perceptions is a community of scholars at CRC who meet once a month to discuss select readings on various regions of the world. In the 2008-2009 academic year, which marks the group's 5th year of pursuing global awareness, Perceptions attendees will attempt a greater understanding of the people and politics of sub-Saharan Africa. All students and staff are welcome." Note: The landmark ...

Artsinitiates published the following story : Cosmos Mairosi, the young performance poet who did Zimbabwe proud when he participated in the “Speak the Mind” poetry session held at Bassline in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 13th September 2008, can substantiate that performed poetry can go places especially where local publishers are sometimes skeptical of publishing poetry as they cite a poverty for its readership and hence an unviable business altogether writes Beaven Tapureta. Performing in South Africa was a chance for Mairosi to showcase his talent alongside the region’s best stage poets, to market Zimbabwean poetry, interact and share ideas. The elated, music-voiced school teacher cum poet confessed in Harare soon after arrival that the invitation was a show of solidarity between poets on the continent and he was excited and proud to be recognized as one of Zimbabwe’s crème de la crème of young poets touring the region at the moment. The invitation to perform in South Africa ca...

Proposals for projects are still being accepted from actors, musicians, film-makers, fine artists, cartoon animationists, and other artists for the 2009 Dambudzo Marechera Celebration at Oxford University. Proposals are being accepted in the following areas: stage productions of Marechera's short plays dance interpretations of Marechera's poetry a cartoon animation of "Baboons of the Rainbow" Scholarly abstracts are being accepted for 15-minute presentations on any aspect of Marechera's writing, including his critical writing, or his legacy . Please direct all proposals to: dobrota.pucherova (at) trinity.ox.ac.uk by January 15, 2009.

I am reading submissions for the next issue of Munyori Poetry Journal and so far I am impressed by the quality of the submissions and their global representation. That's the main goal of Munyori, to be home to incisive global voices... There are more Zimbaweans submissions than ever before, and India is leading in country submissions, followed by the United States, Zimbabwe, Canada. South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, where are you? I have seen Australia, Ireland, UK. Not every country is represented, of course, but I can confidently say all the continents are represented. Why the emphasis on globality? It just feels good hearing diverse voices, you know. The next issue of Munyori is scheduled for October 15.

News from the Oval House Theatre : A new play by Gillian Plowman. Directed by Annie Castledine and Ben Evans For the last eight years, foreign journalists have been banned from Zimbabwe. For the last eight years, orphaned Zimbabwean children have written to the playwright Gillian Plowman. Inspired by these funny, quirky, joyful, sad and often poetic letters, Yours Abundantly, from Zimbabwe tells the story of Nell, a white British woman who travels to Zimbabwe on holiday and meets a young orphan boy named Enock. The subsequent correspondence between the two of them forms the basis of this poignant and heartbreaking tale, and offers a powerful glimpse into the lives of those living in the shadow of Mugabe. POST SHOW DISCUSSIONS (these events are included in ticket price) Friday 3rd October Audience question and answer session with the director Annie Castledine Tuesday 7th October Britain and Zimbabwe: global responsibility or neo-colonialism? SPECIAL ZIMBABWE OFFER To claim your 2 for 1...