WEALTH OF IDEAS

Tenure Ojaide In addition to all the great works to be featured on the firt-ever multi-genre issue of Munyori Literary Journal is an interview with the renowned Nigerian poet Tenure Ojaide, conducted by the poet Dike Okoro. Here is an excerpt: Dike Okoro : What would you say the African writer’s role in society should be? Tenure Ojaide : The writer should be a pathfinder in the sense of his or her vision. So the writer must be truthful about the conditions of his people but must hold on to their hope. The African writer must be an activist in a way to fight the negative forces that dehumanize his or her people. The African writer must praise the good and condemn the bad but must focus on uplifting the overall ethics of his or her people. This said, each writer should be free to write as he/she pleases or take the direction he/she best leads to the ideal society or humanity.

The No cost to enter! Postmark Deadline: April 15, 2009 Limit of 3 poems per student Prizes include: $100.00 for our Grand Prize winner Free books and swag for finalists Publication in Poetry Now , the monthly journal of the Sacramento Poetry Center Grand Prize winner will receive an invitation to read their work at the Sacramento Poetry Center in the Summer. Be sure to include an SASE (Self-addressed, stamped envelope) if you want notification of winners. Note: poems should not have your name on them – include a separate cover letter with your name, address, phone and email address, and the titles of your poems. Also indicate the name of your school. Send your original poems to: High School Poetry Contest Sacramento Poetry Center P.O. Box 160406 Sacramento, CA 95816 Email submissions will be accepted: send to tulereview@sacramentopoetrycenter.org Put "SPC HS CONTEST" in the subject line. Include above information sheet as the body of the email, and send each individual poem...

I am putting together a syllabus for Southern African literature and I am trying to find authors representing each of he countries in the region. I am looking for information on Namibian writers in English and therefore call on anyone who has information to send it to manu@munyori.com.

From Caves of Rotten Teeth by A. Igoni Barrett is a collection of short stories that was first published in Nigeria in November 2005. The Orange prize-shortlisted author Laura Hird described the book as ‘a brilliant debut collection’ and in an interview with the literary magazine Pulp.Net named ‘The Phoenix’, a short story in the collection, as one of the best stories she had ever read. ‘The Phoenix’ won the 2005 BBC World Service short story competition. Publication: From Caves of Rotten Teeth Author: A. Igoni Barrett ISBN: 978-019-359-6 A. Igoni Barret is one of the authors at StoryTime ,an E-Zine of African writing, where "The Phoenix" is currently featured.

Memory Chirere . The next issue of Munyori Literary Journal will feature an essay by Memory Chirere on the state of the short story in Southern Africa. An award-winning short story writer himself, Chirere has often argued: "Nearly every Southern African writer who has become prominent today started with short-stories or has a short story collection somewhere along the way. Dambudzo Marechera’s House of Hunger, Charles Mungoshi’s Coming of the Dry Season, Njabulo Ndehbele’s Fools and Other Stories, Ezekiel Mphahlele’s Corner B, Alan Paton’s Debbie Go Home and many others are short stories books. Even the so called novels from Southern African tend to be merely long short stories sometimes called novellas. One only has to see the very thin volumes of ‘novels’ like Gordimer’s July’s People and Laguma’s In The Fog of The Season’s End . The short-story is “the genre of Southern Africa” and the reasons for this are yet to be properly established."

I just found out that the Journal of Pan African Studies is online. Has been since 2006. No subscription; just a wealth of educational information for free. Description of Journal: "The Journal of Pan African Studies works to become a beacon of light in the sphere of African world community studies and research, grounded in an interdisciplinary open access scholarly peer-reviewed construct, simultaneously cognizant of the multilingualism of our audience, and the importance of universal access in cyberspace; regardless of geography, economic, social or cultural diversity."

Mariana Castro de Ali "Immigration is a matter of survival" is the message in Mariana C. De Ali's latest artistic pieces. The basic message in the upcoming exhibit of her works at the Union Hall Gallery in Sacramento is that "migratory birds travel thousands of mile for the same reasons as do Punjabis, Mexicans, Afghanis, Vietnamese, [Zimbabweans], and any other group of immigrants" who work for survival. Mariana uses bird migrations as a metaphor for the ordeal these immigrants face daily. Whether they are being hunted by corporations and governments, or by mortgages, debt, unemployment, lack of social services and underfunded retirement plans, people will do what it takes to survive. In this show Mariana utilizes canvas, prints, sales receipts and price tags as an artistic medium. She couples traditional and contemporary artforms in a collage of geese, ducks, swans and human portraits to represent the struggle of people in general, and immigrants in particular...

Time Tested Books Reading Series in Sacramento, California . Downtown Sacramento is rich poetry place. There are readings every week at venues like Luna's Cafe, Sacramento Poetry Center, the Book Collector, Avid Reader, Queen Sheba, and others. This is not even mentioning all the readings that take place in the area's colleges, bookstores and cafes.

CELEBRATION ARTS presents SIZWE BANSI IS DEAD by ATHOL FUGARD A great play about the impact of apartheid on the lives of Black South Africans. It stars James Ellison and Romann Hodges. Sacramento News & Review critic Kel Munger gives this play the top rating. She says "This is an intense, well-played drama, showcasing two of the area's finest actors in a play worthy of their skills."

I am introducing a series of posts that is on writing craft. I will start with why editors hate adjectives in prose. Let's listen to what veteran editor and agent, Noah Lukeman has said about adjectives:"[one of] the quickest and easiest way[s] to reject a manuscript is to look for the overuse, or misuse, of adjectives...." Designed to modify nouns by making them more vivid, adjectives, when overused, do the opposite. And editors hate that, and when they hate something, often, they just reject it and move on to the next manuscript. Lukeman gives six reasons why manuscripts heavy on adjectives (and adverbs) generally don't work: 1. More is less : he means that the piles of adjectives will start detracting from each other, and begin to eclipse the vividness they seek to give. So by the time the reader gets to the noun, he or she may not remember the modifiers. 2. Demeaning the reader : he means that overuse imposes on the reader's imagination. It takes the fun out o...

I am honored to feature this partial interview with Petina Gappah here on Wealth of Ideas. PG is a rising star, and in this insighful interview, she talks about her writing career, her soon-to-be-released short story collection, Elegy for Easterly , and her views on Zimbabwean literature. 1. Congratulations on the publication of An Elegy for Easterly. What does this big step mean to you? Thank you very much. It is a huge step. It means the fulfilment of a life's dream. To be published by Faber, to be in the company of T.S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath, Siegfried Sassoon, William Golding, Orhan Pamuk, Owen Sheers , P.D. James, Kazuo Ishiguro and other writers I love is almost too good to be real. 2. How has your personal background contributed to your writing of Elegy for Easterly ; for instance, are there traces of yourself in any of the characters in the stories? I think of my writing as a compulsive form of theft. Every story I have written is based on at least one true thing. This could...

At a time when mainstream publishers are cutting costs, laying off editors and lowering the number of new books they publish, many beginning writers are turning to self-publishing. And this makes sense. In a time of difficulties, art has a way of flourishing, defying any constraints.In fact, hard times seem to inspire heightened creativity. But more work needs to be put in ensuring the production of good-quality works. Yes, this expectation is legitimate; the expectation of quality in art, especially if we expect readers to pay for our art and enjoy it. POD publishing companies are seeing rising profits. Lulu, Authorhouse, iuniverse and others are busy helping writers fulfill their dreams or nightmares. Lulu CEO claimed at the beginning of the year that Lulu has contributed to the highest number of books of bad poetry in the history of mankind, and he was right. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that those remarks may even have led to an upsurge in profits; desperate writer...

Terry a O'Neal As part of the CRC black history events, there will be a poetry reading in the Hawk's Nest Bookstore on campus, which brings together three of the most dynamic Sacramento Poets. Indigo Moor Indigo Moor, of the Taproot fame, Keith Aytch, Dean of Library and Information Services at Evergreen Valley College, who is a vibrant poetry performer/actor, and Terry a O'Neal, educator, poet, novelist, activist, mother, will meet on Monday, February 23 from 1 to 2:00 pm. I am hosting the reading. Keith Aytch

The coordinating editor of Cosumnes River Journal informed me today that we have begun receiving international submissions, with the ones she remembered most being from Zimbabwe. Way to go, Zimbabwe!

They are on the Sacramento Poetry Center Website.

School children performing my play Ndizvo Zvawaitsvaga in 1986 at a Parents' Day. I was in Form 3. From Grade 7 onwards, until my temporary teaching days at Glen View High 1 in Harare, I wrote plays for immediate performance by (at first) fellow students and (later) my students. It was writing on demand, one act at a time, until a performance was ready. The community theater days, whatever happened to them? That tree, the ageless Muunga tree at Mototi, the primary school I attended, is a common feature in my poetry and fiction. Even after we had moved to our "uppertop", the secondary version of the school, which we named Gwavachemai High School, because we had to vote for a name for our new school, we kept coming back to this huge Muunga tree at the primary school to hold important meetings, to present our plays, et cetra. I once acted as Julius Caeser under this tree,and I remember that day, walking arrogantly talking about my Rome, and how invincible I was, etc... Ndi...

The New York Times has reported that the famous publisher Alfred A. Knopf Jr. died on Saturday.

Petina Gappah's new website is up. This is the official product website for Petina as a Faber author. See it here: Petina Gappah . Already there are comments by J.M. Coetzee and Yiyun Li.

We had a great program. Five poets (all dynamic & electrifying performers) and three open mic poets (dynamic too). The room was packed, with some of our audience members standing the whole time. Not too bad for a rainy and chilly night. The reading started at 7:30 and ended at 9:45. Powerful readings get me too excited and I know I will try to spend the a great chunk of the night using the inspiration. That's why I like hosting readings; they act as fuel for creativity. So now I am here thinking about how great the readings were, trying to replay it all over, thinking, perhaps I should revise the poems in "A House for Mother", then finish that one short story about two free-lance journalists who flash their press cards to get service everywhere they go, until they do it in Chimanimani and no one knows what they are doing...., or perhaps post an update about how I am happy about what everyone else is doing: Petina Gappah's official Faber website is up, Ignatius ...

Yahoo News has a story about a decision in Birmingham, Britain, to drop the apostrophe. "England's second-largest city has decided to drop apostrophes from all its street signs, saying they're confusing and old-fashioned," says the Associated Press press report. The city has been dropping the apostrophe since the 1950s in signs such as "St. Pauls Square" or "Acocks Green." But now the dropping of the apostrophe has been made official in the city. Good material for arguments on grammar, good material to share with students. Arguments similar to the Arkansas which was resolved in the Supreme Court, when the state fought for the right to retain use of the apostrophe and an additional "s" in Arkansas's wealth". Of course, some creative writers are smiling about Birminghams decision , and Derrida would be laughing too, about the arbitrary nature, the centerlessness, of signifiers and their signifieds. At least this decision is comin...

Artsinitiates, the Zimbabwe online literary update, has launched its first poetry collection and plans to publish more like it every month. The first publication features works by Richmore Tera, a regular feature on the website. The anthology was designed by Tendai Karumazondo who is now in Namibia. The anthology will be available in Zimbabwe at the end of February 2009. The second anthology, entitled Munotitadzisa Kunamata, will also be available at the same time as the first anthology. This Shona anthology will carry Memory Chirere's 10poems. Chirere is the Nama winner for the best children book with his short story anthology titled Tudikidiki and has published an anthology in English called Somewhere in this Country. His other works have been published in various anthologies in Zimbabwe and outside. He teaches at the University of Zimbabwe. The third or March anthology will be Ndebele poems by Jerry Zondo, another UZ lecturer. Last year artsinitiates unveiled plans to publish p...

Destiny Robbins is a freshman at Cosumnes River College. She is currently working on her general ed so she can transfer to a four year college in Los Angeles to major in theater. She is expecting her first baby any day now. Destiny found the love for poetry in middle school on the year anniversary of September 11th. She continues to write hoping to inspire others to rise to action and make it through life. She has participated and placed in various poetry contests, including the high school Poetry contest hosted by Sacramento Poetry Center and Poetry Outloud hosted by the California Arts Council. Destiny is honored to be invited to this event. About the reading: It is going to be held tomorrow evening at the Sacramento Poetry Center, at 7:30 pm. I am cohosting the event with Frank D. Graham.

Yesterday, while shredding old papers in the garage, I came across an exercise book that contains notes I wrote in 1990 (in Harare and Mazvihwa). I ended up getting distructed, amazed to find out why I like blogging, because I have always written (journaled) about anything, from the music playing on the radio to my thoughts about writing and publishing. I remember that the dual life between Harare and Mazvihwa always brought many opportunities to write, but as the 1990 notes in the exercise book show, I was satisfied just writing the thoughts, without worrying about what they would amount to. The book is a wealth of ideas . Here is an entry I made at 10:10 pm on April 11, 1990: Concerning Typing: it is very expensive. Great expenses. There are a lot of typing specialists in Harare City, but most charge $5.00 per page. This means that if I'm going to have Zvinonditadzisa Kuzvara typed, the expenses will go up to $1670.00. You see! Which means that even a 32-page story can cost $160...

StoryTime , an African new fiction magazine has been granted funding by the UK Arts Council to publish it's first anthology with The Lion Press Ltd . The writers' deadline is July 20, 2009 and the anthology will go to print in early August. The ST Anthology will be launched by The Lion Press at a Zimbabwean Writers festival being organised by them in August. Participation is by the writers already at ST and those who will publish work on the website by July 20. These works must fit the anthology's guidelines in order to be selected. The book is designed to be an eclectic anthology and will only feature the best of all the works at ST. The book is entitled "African Roar: An Eclectic Anthology of African Authors". Anthology Guidelines: Submit short stories between 1500-8000 words. All fiction genres and themes are acceptable, and must fit within the general ST guidelines No children's stories. Only writers born in Africa, or currently domiciled in for over 10 ye...

In celebration of love, StoryTime is featuring three Valentine-day short stories by Ivor W. Hartmann, Nigel Jack, and, of course, Emmanuel Sigauke.

The Heart that Remembers: A Tale of Musicians during Zimbabwe's Liberation Struggle* Performing Arts, February 17, 5 p.m.,Durham Studio Theater (Dwinelle Hall) *Paul Berliner in performance.* Speaker/Performer: Paul Berliner, Duke University Sponsor: Theater, Dance & Performance Studies, Department of Paul Berliner's career has been spent at the intersection of academics, human rights and music in the African nation of Zimbabwe. A professor of ethnomusicology at Duke University, he is the author of the classic /Soul of the Mbira/ and /Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation/. "The Heart that Remembers" is a mixed-genre presentation combining lecture with dramatic reading and performance of traditional Zimbabwean mbira music to tell the story of Zimbabwean musicians caught in the middle of a civil war. It explores the place of mbira music in the social and religious lives of Zimbabweans during years of the Liberation Struggle and in its aftermath. The p...

Christopher Mlalazi's book, DANCING WITH LIFE AND OTHER SHORT STORIES, has won the 2009 NAMA award under THE BEST FIRST CREATIVE PUBLISHED BOOK in Zimbabwe. Congratulations, Chris.

An engaging interview of Saru at Conversation with Writers . She talks about the challenges of publishing which prompted her to start her own publishing company, The Lion Press, which has published at least four books. She also raises the issue of the lack of a reading culture among Zimbabweans both at home and in the Diaspora. Having once targeted her works at the Zimbabwean readers, she has since gone universal, choosing instead to remove the nuances and ideosyncrasies of a writing style reflecting aspects of the Shona language in English. Her works thus seek to translate into standard British English the experiences of her characters. Readership, readership: I sometimes fear that there are more people writing than there are readers. It seems our families, friends, and fellow writers are the readers of our works at first, until we make a big breakthrough with publishers who are able to market our works. Good interview.

Here is another of our readers on February 16 at Sacramento Poetry Center. Dawn DiBartolo is the mother of three, and resides in beautiful, though legislatively challenged, Sacramento, CA. Several local and online venues have been gracious enough to publish her works, and she has served briefly as guest editor for PoetryNow. In 2005, her book collection of poetry entitled "Love & Other Eternities” was publsihed, and is still patiently awaiting avid readers. In 2007, Rattlesnake Press published a small collection of poems entitled "Blush," and is scheduled to release a chapbook of Dawn's work in November 2009. Dawn DiBartolo is the one the left. I am in the photo too, if you look closely.

Indigo Moor is a poet author, and playwright. His first book of poetry, Tap-Root, was published in 2006 as part of Main Street Rag’s Editor’s Select Poetry Series. He is a 2003 recipient of Cave Canem’s Writing fellowship, former vice president of the Sacramento Poetry Center, and editor for the Tule Review. He is the winner of the 2005 Vesle Fenstermaker Poetry Prize for Emerging Writers. Other honors include: finalist finishes for the T.S. Eliot Prize, Crab Orchard First Book Prize, Saturnalia First Book Award, Naomi Long Madgett Book Award, and WordWorks Prize. He has received scholarships to the Summer Literary Series in St. Petersburg Russia, the 2006 Idyllwild Summer Poetry Program, the Indiana University Writer’s Conference, and the Napa Valley Writer’s Conference. His poetry and short stories have appeared in the Xavier Review, LA Review, Mochila Review, Boston University’s The Comment, the Pushcart Prize nominated Out of the Blue Artists Unite, Poetry Now, Cave Canem Antholog...

Terry Moore Terry Moore is a dynamic and electrifying nationally known, experienced, and respected performer. The type of entertainer that you can't just hear about, but must see for yourself! He has all that it takes to control and mesmerize even the most challenging audiences. Terry Moore is THE REAL DEAL and the one poet who makes passing listeners become permanent fans! Awards 2001 Spoken Word Artist of the Year- Sounds of Soul Black Music Awards 2002 Nominated for Entertainer of the Year- Sounds of Soul Black Music Awards 2003 & 2004 Member of the Sacramento National Spoken Word Slam Team 2004 Nominated by the Los Angeles Black Music Awards for Best Spoken Word Performer 2004 Appeared on the world famous Showtime at the Apollo 2005 Best Male Spoken Word Performer- Sounds of Soul Black Music Awards 2005 Father of the Year- Center for Fathers and Families 2007 Sacramento Fastest Man in the Streets (Over 40) 100 meter champ 2007 Volunteer of the Year Spirit Award - Voluntee...

Left: V.S. Chochezi. On Monday, February 16, I will host a poetry reading at the Sacramento Poetry Center. Six plus poets are expected to participate in this event that honors Black History Month. I will be posting profiles of the poets here until the day of the event. We start with a vibrant poet, activist,dancer, scholar, educator: Sista V.S. Chochezi. Bio: V.S. Chochezi is a poet, writer, communicator, educator and activist. She has been widely published, has shared her poetry all over the country, has won numerous awards and accolades. She and her mother, Staajabu self-published six written collections and two cds of their poetry. They co-hosted a poetry venue at Carol’s Books for 10 years. They also performed their poetry under the name Straight Out Scribes. Though the Scribes are now bi-coastal, they still get together occassionally for that purpose. When Chochezi is not working or poeting, you will often find her in a West African dance class. She currently performs with Umoj...

Since I hang out a lot with poets at the SPC, I thought it proper to copy and paste information about the organization's history. So here we go: "Since 1979, the Sacramento Poetry Center has been a major force for literary artists in Northern California. Though primarily serving as the literary center for the greater Sacramento metropolitan area, SPC's publications are recognized nationally for their quality and literary content and its annual writers' conference has featured some of the most important poets of our time, including Pulitzer Prize winners Gary Snyder and Philip Levine, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, and other poetic luminaries such as Galway Kinnell, Robert Bly, Robert Creely, Diane DiPrima, Carolyn Forche, Lucille Clifton, Anne Waldman, Jack Hirschman, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Dorianne Laux, Kim Addonizio, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure, Jose Montoya, Robert Creeley, Robert Peters, and many others. Unique among literary centers in that it is...

This competition, which is to acknowledge excellence in creative writing in the Short Story genre, is open to any writer in South Africa who is unpublished. PRIZES: · First prize: R2000.00 and free entry into a 5-month course of your choice · Second Prize: R500.00 and free entry into a 5-month course of your choice · Top three entries will be published on our college site and the winners will receive individual editorial guidance on their submitted works. DEADLINE: 30 April 2009, via e-mail only to Nichola@sawriterscollege.co.za.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Entry is free. THEME: Growth TARGET PUBLICATION: We are accepting stories in two categories: 1. Stories suitable for magazines 2. Stories suitable for literary journals GUIDELINES FOR ENTRIES: · Entrants must submit a story of maximum word count: 2000 words. Any entries exceeding the word count by 50 words will not be considered. · We onl...

Oxfam Britain is sponsoring a writing contest in honour of the work of Susie Smith's life and work. She died in June 2006 after touching the lives of many people around the world in her 30-year career with Oxfam. Suzie Smith championed the cause of HIV and AIDS and pioneered new approaches to tackling the pandemic. With this prize, Oxfam wants to acknowledge and build on Susie's deep sense of justice and commitment to sub-Saharan African and her incredible talent and determination to challenge traditional thinking - especially about HIV and AIDS - wherever she found it. The prize of £3,000 will be awarded to a single piece of published writing on HIV and AIDS from sub-Saharan Africa. Any type of writing (for example poetry, fiction, a play, an article or a chapter of a book) of up to 10,000 words, in English, and published since January 2006, will be eligible. The judges will focus on two key elements: the quality of the piece itself (writing, analysis, insights) and evidence ...

The cover of the American edition (by FSG) of Elegy for Easterly . "In this astonishingly powerful debut collection, [Petina Gappah] dissects with real poignancy the lives of people caught up in a situation over which they have no control, as they deal with spiralling inflation, power cuts and financial hardship - a way of life under Mugabe's regime - and cope with issues common to all people everywhere; failed promises, disappointments and unfulfilled dreams. Compelling, unflinching and tender, "An Elegy for Easterly" is a defining book, and a stunning portrait of a country in chaotic meltdown." (A decription on FantasticFiction.com ) The book will be available from Faber (UK) in April, and from FSG (USA) in June.

I see it everywhere. In fiction how-tos, in poetry guidebooks. Write ten openings to a ten possible shortstories. Out them aside and come back ten hours, or ten days later; then write a ten-page short story using one of your ten openings. This works like magic, for some gets the creative juices flowing and for others keeps them on task, even if they may not be inclined to respond to prompts. If developing one of the openings into a full short stories, if the plan aborts, there are nine others to develop. Earlier today I was reading the current issue of Poets & Writers when I saw Kim Addonizio's feature "First Thought, Worst Thought", which is sub-titled "poetry exerices that inspire". She is against trusting those first thoughts that writers put on paper; she calls them "received thoughts", received from the noise around us, commercials, empty sayings,televions. A writer can record these thoughts to capture an opportunity of creativity, but shoul...

In 1998 I attended a book signing at Borders Books (Sacramento) by David Cumes , a South African-born surgeon. His book "Inner Passages, Outer Journey" had just come out, and he was spellbinding audiences across the United States with his declaration that trips to the wilderness led to healing and discovery of the self. Not necessarily a new concept then, but he was certainly encouraging many people to visit places in his homeland, Southern Africa.As he talked about places in South Africa I sat quietly thinking of places in Zimbabwe he could have mentioned, and then he did: Matopo, Great Zimbabwe, Chimanimani, Nyanga. I bought the book immediately and had him autograph it: "To Emmanuel, hoping this reconnects you with your roots. Everything--healing included--began where you were born." Before the signature, he threw in a Shona phrase, "Fambai Zvakanaka." Then he talked some more about places in North America that were comparable to the ones he had menti...

The British Council in partnership with Budding Writers Association of Zimbabwe Trust (BWAZ) is pleased to announce a project that seeks to "empower young people, develop and showcase creative skills, encourage a dynamic exchange of ideas and experience, explore contemporary issues, challenge assumptions and promote intercultural understanding" through writing and performance contests. The writing and performance contests will be run monthly as follows: February, March, April Writing TOPIC for February- April 2009 'Culture, as a way of life, has been important in shaping one's perceptions and how one interacts with others. In what ways has culture played a role in perpetuating difference amongst individuals, and in turn promoting conflict? In what ways has culture also helped create a ground of understanding and mutual respect between individuals of different backgrounds?' Competition Rules and Conditions 1. Entries to be submitted monthly in English, Ndebele or S...

Even stories set in very local, very specific places like those by William Faulkner and John Steinbeck will find a new setting when I read them. And the landscape I create for them is always specific to me, retracing, or retracting to, places I have lived in, or ones I am familiar with. So right now I am reading Sweet Lavender by Terry O'Neal, and I give it a setting somewhere in Elk Grove, California, either because I know that's where the author lives, but, remember, that's where I work too. The story is set in Cecilia, Louisiana, I place I don't know. I am picturing a house outside of the place described by O'Neal, but it has all the features suitable for the story. It's now my setting, something pulled out of my experience living in specific places. It's a reader-created setting in agreement to the writer's specific or imagined setting. By reading this story, I am bringing a certain experience into it, refusing to only receive what it contains, but ...

Zimbo Jam has reported that Nominations for the 2009 NAMA awards have been made. Wonder Guchu, Chris Mlalazi, Ignatius Mabasa, Jane Morris are competing in the Literature category. The awards will be given next week. NAMA stands for National Arts Merit Awards and is run by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.

Here is the shortlist for the 2009 PEN/Studzinski Literary Award: Ken Barris – “The life of Worm” Nadia Davids – “The visit” Ceridwen Dovey – “Survival mechanisms” Joan du Toit – “An informed decision” Graham Ellis – “No match for Fanie Smith” Rosemund J Handler – “Strident night” Jeanne Hromnik – “Love In troubled times” Karen Jayes – “Where he will leave his shoes” Suzanne Jordaan – “Beulah” Bobby Jordan – “Metalhead and Situation Orange” Chisanga Kabinga – “Display cabinet” Ken N Kamoche – “A kiss in Nanjing” Yvette Kruger – “What I wore” Lauri Kubuitsile – “Pulani’s eyes” Beatrice Lamwaka – “The star in my camp” Jennifer Lean – “To each his own” Irene McCartney – “Pauline’s ghost” Jenna Mervis – “The lives of dogs” Kirsten Miller – “Only in art” NoViolet Mkha Bulawayo – “Snapshots” Wame Molefhe – “Rainbow-coloured dreams” Natasha Moodley – “Spirit of Madala” Isabella Morris – “Bluette” Kyne Nislev Bernstorff – “The last supper” Naomi Nkealah – “In the name of peace” Maik Nwosu – I”...

The first time I read Mark Mathabane's "Kaffir Boy" and "Kaffir Boy in America", I was inspired to start my autobigraphy, some kind of trilogy which would trace my childhood in Mazvihwa, then follow me to my A-Level through university life in Harare, and the third installation of the book would follow me to the United States. Everything seemed perfect; somehow some aspects of my life matched that of Mathabane, and I also wanted to appear on Oprah Winfrey and talk about it all. That was ten years ago. No single sentence of this autobiography has been written, but I still remember my source of inspiration, and I know I have done nothing with the inspiration. So here I sit again, looking at a paperback copy of "Kiffir Boy", getting inspired again, but aware that perhaps I would write a biography before I attempted an autobiography. Besides, I have to get ready to go to work now. Memoir? Now that's another story.... For those who don't know, "...

Many years ago, Lewis Nkosi of South Africa asked Chinua Achebe which of his novels was his favorite, and he replied that choosing one as the best was like declaring that one of your children was better than the other, and he did not feel that that was a fair decision to make. Yet he still managed to say that he enjoyed writing Things Fall Apart , and there you have it, Things Fall Apart has served him well. What if readers really treated all stories like babies? So that each time they saw a novel or collection of short stories they would look at it and say, "How cute?" and want to play with it, want to do child talk with it? Surely, there would be more books bought and writers would be proud parents of that which should always be culturally beautiful.... And indeed, Things Fall Apart , even after fifty years of childhood, is very beautiful.

Synopsis: Rae Lynne Jonston was only five years old when her beloved father walked out of her life, leaving her mother to raise his love child. As she got older, the only place Rae Lynne could find peace was in the sweet lavender patch near her house. Could the one thing that offers her salvation be the very thing that tears her world apart? Follow this moving story as Rae Lynne walks us through this twelve year journey of life’s astounding reality in Sweet Lavender. O’Neal’s exceptionally charming story will take your heart for an unforgettable ride of shocking pain, uplifting joy, bitter loss, and ultimately resting at peace. In the past I have used books by Chinua Achebe, Divakaruni, Tsitsi Dangarembga as set books in some of my writing courses. For Spring 2009, I am using Terry O'Neal's Sweet Lavender in my Diop Scholars' English 300: College Composition. We start the discussion of the book tomorrow, and I am eager to hear what the students have to say about it so far....

Featuring.... Dawn DiBartolo, Khiry Malik Moore, Terry Moore, Indigo Moor, Mario Ellis Hill and more. Hosted by Emmanuel Sigauke …………………………………………………… February 16, 2009 at 7:30pm Sacramento Poetry Center HQ 1719 25th St. in Midtown, Sacramento, California I am still looking for more Northen California Poets interested in participating in this event.

photo by Fungai J.T. Listen, I am too excited about this news to know where to begin, but let's start with this announcement from the organizers of the Second San Francisco International Poetry Festival: Second San Francisco International Poetry Festival will Ring through the City in July 23-27, 2009 Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Jack Hirschman and the San Francisco Public Library will present the second San Francisco International Poetry Festival, July 23-27, 2009. The festival will take place at the Palace of Fine Arts and various venues and libraries throughout San Francisco. The Festival honors our City’s great legacy of hosting and encouraging cross cultural dialogue. In 2007, the three-day extravaganza drew thousands of people from the Bay Area for free and open-to-the-public poetry and music at both large and small venues throughout the City, including a street party in North Beach, youth events, book signings, translation workshops an...

Book publishing has a new tool, the blog book tour, which is defined by The New York Times as a tour "in which an author pops up on a series of blogs, usually over days or weeks, variously writing guest posts, answering questions from the host or sitting for a podcast, a video interview or a live chat. The blogs’ readers may comment and leave more questions." These appearances in different blogs have links to the author's book or books, giving readers access to online stores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and others. In the last quarter of 2008, I followed one author's blog book tour. Tania Hershman , author of The White Road , toured more than ten blogs in different countries for eleven weeks. I came to know about her tour through one of the host blogs, Thoughts from Botswana , where the blogger, Lauri Kabuitsile, interviewed her. The Botswana trip, which Hershman did without leaving Israel, was her tenth blog stop. All the entries which featured interview...

1. Compose aloud; poetry is a sound. 2. Vary rhythm enough to stir the emotion you want but not so as to lose impetus. 3. Use spoken words and syntax. 4. Fear adjective; they bleed nouns. Hate the passive. 5. Jettison ornament gaily but keep shape Put your poem away till you forget it, then: 6. Cut out every word you dare. 7. Do it again a week later, and again. Never explain - your reader is as smart as you. -- Source: Basil Bunting Poetry Centre http://www.dur.ac.uk/basil-bunting-poetry.centre/poems.quotes/quotes/

A submission call from Dike Okoro, professor of World Literature at Olive Hardy College, Chicago: Emerging Voices of African Short Fiction & Poetry 2008-09 We invite all unpublished and well-established authors to submit their original work. Original work in English and any of the indigenous African languages, including (Swahili, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, Swati, Vend, Tsonga, Ndebele, Yoruba, Hausa, Ibo, Kiswahili, Gikuyu, Amharic,Tigrinya, Tigre, Arabic, etc), will be considered. Please include translations in English). Fiction : Submit one short story (Entry may have any theme or subject but should not exceed 800 words. Stories must be original and should not have been previously published anywhere. Handwritten entries will not be accepted. Submit short story entry with a bio and contact details. Poetry: submit between 4-6 poems (Poems to fit a full page of the anthology). Submit poems with a bio (45 words) and contact details. All submissions must be emailed to: (Mphande.1@osu...