Embassy Commits Itself to Zimbabwean Literature

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By Beaven Tapureta

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The Cultural Centre of the Embassy of Spain, inaugurated in February last year, will establish a book club to offer relief to Harare writers and readers through regular book readings and discussions.

The initial club meeting to determine logistics, including frequency of meetings and types of books to read, will take place on March 6, 2012 at the Embassy of Spain.

Marina Garcia Sanchez, the Embassy’s Cultural Attaché, said the book club has been an initiative of the Deputy Head of Mission at Embassy of Spain Ms. Victoria Tur and Mrs. Lisa Maria Burgess Noudehou, a writer and literature scholar.

She said the meeting starts at 5pm.

“For our first meeting, we invite suggestions for the format that would most suit members’ tastes.  One of the options is an Open Discussion, where each month we will meet to discuss the books each one of us has read and particularly enjoyed. Members will bring their books and these will be circulated amongst the other members. Another option would be a Focused Discussion, where each month we will meet to discuss a book agreed in advance,” said Marina.

She said the book club, which adds to the other various activities offered by the Cultural Centre, seeks to create a space for informal gathering of people who like reading.

“It is meant to be very open in terms of discussions and literature genres. We felt that with a very low budget activity like this one we could actually fill a gap missing in Harare and offer this space for literary discussion without any special formality,” she said, adding that the Cultural Centre would really like to export this idea to other places like high-density suburbs where access to this sort of activity is much more limited.

Monthly writers’ get-togethers in Harare had become uncommon because similar initiatives by writers’ organizations or groups are often short-lived due to lack of resources. The much awaited re-opening of the popular Book Café in Harare, which is likely to coincide with the launch of the book club, will boost the writers’ morale. The Book Café was closed last year, inciting much outcry from artists.

The Cultural Centre of the Embassy of Spain aims to create a dynamic space to promote reflection, dialogue, debate and to transfer knowledge, exchange experiences and to propose initiatives related to cultural cooperation.

The Embassy of Spain’s commitment to the promotion of local arts and culture has seen it taking part at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair since 2010. In June 2011, the Embassy, in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Young Women’s Network for Peace Building (ZYWNP) launched a Young Women´s Open Forum at the Cultural Centre to provide “a safe space for young women to interact and discuss their world as well as to create a process of empowerment of young women to help them achieve their full potential”.

In February this year, the Embassy organised a function at Harare’s Theatre in the Park to commemorate the late Zimbabwean writer Julius Chingono.

In March, the Centre will start with the acclaimed book club on March 6 before conducting a break-dance workshop with street children and continue with the Cinema and Women Forums.

According to Marina, the Embassy also foresees the publication of the first guide of learning Shona for Spanish speakers.