WEALTH OF IDEAS

This is a random thought: in an effort to expand coverage on Southern African literature on this blog, I will be embarking on a mission to find information about writers from Mozambique. Take for instance, the female author Lilia Momplé, whom I met once at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair; she could be a good starting point. Let her be the starting point. Heineman has this information about her: Lilia Momplé was born in 1935 on the Island of Mozambique and obtained a BA in Social Work in Portugal. She was Secretary General of the Mozambique Writers' Association from 1995 to 2001 and President from 1997 to 1999. She has also represented her country at a number of international cultural assemblies, and has recently been appointed to the UNESCO Executive Council. Her publications include No One Killed Suhara (1988), The Eyes of the Green Cobra (1997) and the script for the award-winning Mozambican video drama Muhupitit Alima (1988). Her novel Neighbours was first published in P...

Zimbabwean literature keeps growing. The strong writers still in the country and those in the diaspora, most of whom are emerging, are putting the literature of Zimbabwe on the global map. I just discovered that a writer I worked with in Zimbabwe in the mid-nineties has been busy over the years, writing two novels, publishing a Shona Folklore book, launching her own publishing company in the UK, translating Shona novels into English, and helping distribute books published in Zimbabwe by Mambo Press and Longman to readers in the UK, Jamaica, and Ireland. Her name is Sarudzayi Chifamba-Barnes, author of Endless Trail . Chifamba told me the publishing company, Lion Press Ltd, is doing well so far and has many projects lined up for the end of 2008 and beyond. Its first publication is African Story-teller .

The purpose of the first Indie Seminars short story contest is to give you as an author exposure and an opportunity to win a small cash prize and free publishing and promotion services. While the judges of this contest are all writers, we don't claim that this contest will add to your credibility as a professional writer. There are other contests much more prestigious judged by professional authors for that purpose. Contest: Write a fictional short story based (however you like) on the concept Surprising Revelation with a maximum of 4,000 words, not counting the title. Contest deadline is midnight January 31st, 2009. (Please note: 'Surprising Revelation' is simply the theme. Please don't use it as your title.) Purpose: Offer a means of exposure for aspiring writers and an opportunity to teach authors the benefits of independent publishing. Eligibility: There will be four divisions in which to enter. Open Class—this option is available to anyone over 18. College Students...

Talking of books, here is what Anny Ballardini, a serious poet based in Italy and an editor of the Poets' Corner journal, shared with the members of the new-poetry Listerv: • A book can change someone's life • It comes fully charged • It costs less than a bottle of champagne (the real stuff) • You can buy 10 hardcover books for the price of an iPhone • A book is around the same price as a DVD, but the reading experience lasts much longer • It can make someone laugh • It never goes out of style • No assembly is required • One-stop shopping—your bookstore has the right gift for everyone on your list • And you can never have too many !

We have been advised by The Africa Report , a reputable publication, to view Petina Gappah as one of the African people to watch in 2009. Some of us started watching her as early as 2007, but there is no doubt that 2009 is an important year for her and for literature. In April, as readers of this blog may know already, Faber and Faber will publish her short story collection, An Elegy for Easterly. My understanding is the book will subsequently appear in other languages, Dutch, Italian, etc. In June, the US version of the book will be published by FSG, which means that we will know in advance about its laydown date at places like Borders and Barnes & Noble. On that Tuesday I will try to break a record by being one of the first customers to get my copy (The only thing that would stop me is I would have already gotten the British edition). If you once worked for these large US bookstore chains, like I did when I was a student, you will know that it is rare to see an African book on ...

I am a subscriber to the online version of the Marriam-Webster dictionary. At the end of every month they send me an email showing the top twenty list of English words that people looked up the most online. I also receive information on word histories, or on new words that have just made it into the dictionary, words like google, etc. This month, the word history of the month is "socialism". With the government bailouts in the United States, there has been an increase in searches for the word. Americans, for the first time, were checking to make sure they know what 'socialism" means. Here is the information about the word I received in my monthly email: "Political accusations about redistributing wealth helped to boost socialism to the #1 spot in October. Socialism first appeared in an English-language publication in 1837, a borrowing of the French word socialisme , applied to the theories espoused by Francois-Marie Charles Fourier, Claude-Henri Saint-Simon, a...

A poet feeling the pain in Chitungwiza, sometime in 1994. I was there because I took the picture. It was during the Zimbabwe International Book Fair and the writers were on an excursion to Chitungwiza, just outside of Harare. On the previous day we had gone to Domboshava just to read poetry on top of the sacred hills, something like that. See the picture below: Poet Chirikure Chirikure reciting his then signature piece "Marutsi". I know because I was there on top of the Domboshava rock mass. The window that inspired my poem "The Teacher and the Curtain". I observed this window while I was a graduate teacher at Ndima High School in Chimanimani (1996). That year the national book week came to Chimanimani with full force and one of our students won the BWAZ short story writing competition. The students did a book march from the school to the local shopping center and they performed poetry. I remember that I read several poems from the then newly published, Chirikure...

source: Zimbo Jam It's all happening in Zimbabwe. Two Venues (Harare and Bulawayo) and 55 films. The Film List Major films showing at IIFF 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afghan Chronicles Canada 2007, DVD, 54 mins, Feature Director: Dominic Morissette Writer: Dominic Morissette Producers: Yves Bissaillon, Nathalie Barton Since the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan has been rebuilding itself and reviving democracy, and there is some freedom of expression. With its radio station and two magazines, one of them aimed at women, the press agency Killid Media is a real media phenomenon. Gallery Delta - Sunday 23 Nov 15:30 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Africa’s Child Benin/Malawi/DRC 2008, DVD, 25mins Director: Jonathan Allen, Alex Gabbay Producer: Enock Chinyeze, John Riber, Davina Rodrigues This film shows the remarkable progress achieved by the Malawian government in reducing infant...

Poets in blogosphere are happy about the US president-elect's love for poetry, and, for an artform that's often ignored, this is good news. Here is some information that attracted media attention: Barack Obama still has time for a little poetry President Elect Barack Obama may be busy assembling his transition team and meeting witBut it appears he still has time for a little poetry. Three days after winning the presidential election, Barack Obama was spotted in Chicago carrying a book of poems by Derek Walcott, the West Indies Nobel laureate. The Illinois senator was photographed holding the new-looking book, perhaps a gift he had just received, and reading a letter as he headed to his car with his wife, Michelle. The 500-page volume, Collected Poems 1948-1984 , is one of 20 collections by the poet, theatre director and playwright, who has also written more than 20 plays. READ MORE... I have a copy of the same collection, which I plan to revisit soon.

I just received news that there is a new prize for African Writer, the Baobab Prize. Here is some of the information: "The Baobab Prize is an annual award designed to encourage the writing of African literature for young readers. It has been birthed from a recognition of the dearth of fictional African literature that focuses on the youth and encourages them to explore and develop an interest and pride in the African continent." READ MORE... RULES Submitted stories should fall into either Category A (stories for readers aged 8 - 11 years) or Category B (stories for readers aged 12 - 15 years). Therefore African citizens of all ages qualify to present submissions for the prize but the stories have to written for an audience of 8 - 11 years or 12 - 15 years. Entry should be a work of fiction between 1,000 to 5,000 words. The category a story falls into may influence its length. Entrants should indicate on their title page which category their story falls into. Storie...

I had said I would only blog about toilets not writers this whole week, but that's not going to happen. So many things happening in the writing world. First I am happy to see that Budding Writers Association of Zimbabwe is now on Blogger, and it all makes sense because of the interactive nature of the blog style. They have posted an article about Memory Chirere giving advice to budding writers. Good advice. To get you started on what BWAZ is all about (because you don't want me getting started on talking about how I used to be this and that in the organization) see below: WHAT IS BWAZ? The Budding Writers Association of Zimbabwe was actually formed on February 8th 1990 in Harare at a young writer’s workshop. Before then, there was only one elitist writer’s organization in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Writers Union. Elitist in the sense that it catered for only established writers, neglecting the needs of aspiring authors who were part of this organization. The young writers felt they...

Write a flash fiction piece of no more than 600 words in which a toilet is involved or mentioned. The story could be set in a toilet, or could be triggered by the mention or idea of a toilet, etc... Happy Toilet Day!

I am a customer here, so if I want to use the toilet I walk up to the counter, get the attention of an espresso machine-operating employee and ask for the key to the restroom. The key is attached to a giant black plastic spoon, which the user has to carry all the way to the restroom. I am okay with that since there are no chances of me sticking the key in my pocket. The instinct that leads to the accumulation of strange pens in one's pocket. The spoon is to protect the key, which in turn protects the toilet, which in turn takes care of customers only, we the special ones who spend some money here, even if it's only one tea and a scone. The message on the toilet door is clear: "Facility is for customers only." Which explains why I already ordered an Earl Gray, which now sits on the table in a corner of the Cafe I will occupy for the next four or so hours. As long as there is proof that I bought something when I walked in, I can use the toilet as many times as I want. I...

Just as there is an environmentally-friendly products in many areas, there is a new generation of environmentally-friendly toilets too: composting toilets. Maybe not so new, since they have been used to create humus in some commercial farming communities, but they might now gain popularity as part of the widespread green thinking. Most of us know about the shift that's been made from paper wipes to air driers. Composting toilets, with their elimination of water, take this green thinking several steps further. Someone may ask, "What's the difference between this technology and the traditional or rural practice of not using toilets all together?" Sanitation, I say. The composting units are self-contained, and they waterlessly-flash to a remote enclosure that does the compositing. So you don't have the picture of flies fighting for waste deposited behind a rock or under a tree, the same flies that will be regurgitating on someone's meal in a few hours. Tomorrow...

This blog will be shifting gears for a week: I will be blogging about toilets (I usually blog about writers). I have already posted something on Zimbablog , which gives an idea of what the World Toilet Day is all about. Here is the information: This coming Wednesday, November 19, is World Toilet Day. Declared by 17 international toilet associations in 2001, the day is built upon the following World Toilet Organization (WTO)objectives: To establish a world body to coordinate and promote sanitation issues. To continuously generate awareness for the importance of a good toilet environment. To gather resources and promote creative development in the Research & Development, Usage & Attitudes and Aesthetics & Functionalities in Design for the betterment of health in general. To propagate the need for better toilet standards in both the developed and developing economies of the world. To provide and promote a community of all toilet associations, related organizations and committe...

It's the day for first sentences. I just received my copy of Sarudzai Mubvakure's novel A Disappointing Truth . So while we are still on the subject of first sentences, let's read Mubvakure's: "A young girl ran terrified through the bushes because she knew she was running for her life." If you grew up where I grew up, you will remember that sights of running kids were common. Picture this: A kid zips by, and all you hear is the heavy breathing, then...the child is gone! Before long a sprinting and angry adult shoots by, but he (it was always a he)is much slower than the child, but he is not showing signs of giving up any time soon: a heavy beating (they call it a whooping here) will catch up with the child. If you wait long enough, say thirty minutes, two hours perhaps, you will see them again, this time with the adult lumbering ahead while the child behind trots in total submission and fear. That's what we meant by "it takes a village to raise a chil...

"Don't be afraid," begins A Mercy , Toni Morrison's new novel. I shared this sentence with one of my classes today and we had a fun time with a free-write exercise whose first sentence was "Don't be afraid." That class is full of poets, I tell you! Great stuff. We felt inspired by this narrator who was telling us (at least that's what we thought) not to be afraid... On page two we begin to get a sense of the narrator's intention, this sixteen-year-old girl tells us her story in 1680 or thereabout. She tells us, "Let me start with what I know for certain" and we we go "Okay?" Because we are not sure if we will be familiar with what of her seventeenth century America she knows for certain, but we know she knows, especially when she says, "The beginning begins with the shoes." What shoes? Let's wait and see, right? I am going to enjoy this story; I am willing to be transported to 1689 Virginia, Mary's Land, etc....

If you have been wondering what "A Mercy" is, now you will know that it is the title of Toni Morrison's new novel. And I read anything by Toni Morrison. I will stop by a Borders to check out the new book. There is talk already of how powerful the book is. John Updike has raved about how great it is. I always expect greatness from Morrison, and trust me, the Nobel Prize has nothing to do with it. Morrison weaves...

Nov. 5, 2008 Dear Brother Obama, You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm...

Sacramento Poetry Center Presents Bay Area Poets: Edward Mycue and Nancy Keane Monday, Nov. 10 2008 1719 25th Street 7:30 PM Host: Emmanuel Sigauke Edward Mycue's has published more than 15 books, and his first book, Damage Within the Community, published in 1973, was selected by Library Journal as one of the ten best poetry books of that year. He has published in numerous magazines in the US [including Lungfull!, Fence, Hawai’i Review, Dirty Goat, Illuminations, Painted Bride Quarterly, Carolina Review, Caliban, Exquisite Corpse, Boston Review and Poetry Flash] as well as magazines in England [Shearsman], Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain. "Reading through small magazines-"those little magazines that died to make verse free," Gertrude Stein called them-one comes across the name "Edward Mycue" quite often, and always with pleasure. Mycue's poems are invariably interesting and alluring, imagi...

"Quite often I write poetry to help me discharge of some powerful emotion that will have gripped me as a response to an event in my life. My poetry writing is a kind of emotional catharsis and I use it usually to work off negative energy from painful emotions. However sometimes I will also have an overwhelmingly beautiful moment that I want to capture in words or just a weird experience that I want to explore and better understand. I find that poetry is the best medium for me to express myself at such times", says J. Tsitsi Mutiti in the latest issue of Munyori Poetry Journal . This issue feature twenty poets: Luis Berriozabal, R. K. Bhushan, the award-winning Wendy Carlisle, Laura Cavanagh, Jeff Ensley, Clint Frakes, Frank D. Graham, Dustin Junket, Kimiko Kelton, Sukrita Paul Kumar, Cosmas Mairosi, and others. The editor of One Ghana, One Voice is featured in an interview section of the journal, and he shares very useful information about contemporary Ghanaian poetry. Munyor...