WEALTH OF IDEAS

There is an abundance of it on US soil; it seems American publishers have discovered African writers (never mind that that haven't discovered me yet, because I haven't given them a chance to). I remember in the 90s, when I came to this country, I would scour book shelves, in bookstores and libraries, but it was hard to find many books by African writers. Yes, there was Achebe, and of course Ngugi, Soyinka. I needed more though. I couldn't find Marechera (I came to the realization that he had not penetrated the American market). I couldn't find Nervous Conditions, nor Why Don't You Carve Other animals. I couldn't find Bones, The Harvest of Thorns; I couldn't find  The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born; I couldn't find Song of Lawino, nor even The Breast of the Earth. I was okay I guess, because then I made it a mission to find more Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Charles Johnson and others in the African American canon. It was good that th

Who are you?* That's a tricky question. I was born Emmanuel Hove Mhike but I think I'm just a crazy Prince, Prince of Mazvihwa. Why do you write? Writing is my life blood. I think the pen inhales the cabon dioxide I exhales and I inhales the oxygen it exhales :) How do you write? My writing is inspired by events. I do not think deeper. I write about my everyday experiences. Does it pays to be a writer in Zimbabwe? No, you pay to be a writer in Zimbabwe. Writers are living in abject poverty. The whole arts sector is languishing. What can be done? Writers, we are agents of change. Zim politics is the culprit. We don't need violence, Pen is mightier than the gun! Do you enjoy writing? Absolutely! I live to write. I enjoy readers' comments, complaints and complements What can you say about your poems? Here is the Universal remedy. This universe needs some healing, it is suffering from dangerous but curable diseases such as corruption, civil war