Ruzvidzo Mupfudza on the Writer's Role in Zimbabwe
Ruzvidzo Mupfudza, a Zimbabwean writer, has answered some of the questions the literary community may have for the writers in Zimbabwe. In a posting on Zimbablog, Mupfudza shares the following:
Someone made a remark, the other night, which had me thinking about the role of writing and value of writers. We were at the Book Café for a Literary Discussion on Valerie Tagwira’s The Uncertainty of Hope. The person asked why there was such a fairytale ending to the novel, given all the vicissitudes explored and the woes that Onai, the protagonist endures.
“Real life is not like that. Why is it our writers can’t tell it like it is?” lamented the participant. I wonder if the Brothers Grimm ever had to answer such a question. Why are fairytales still fascinating even up to this day?
As a creative writer, I know that we are not creators of dry sociology or journalistic traits that seek to tell it like it is or explain why and how things are the way they are in brittle terms. We seek out the marrow of life, explore symptoms of a malaise and aspects of life and dramatise them. If we are really good we create captivating enduring works of art. And many of us who have been chosen by the craft are always seeking perfection.
It is not enough for us to chronicle woes. For some of us whose writing is tendentious, we are not satisfied with simply telling lit like it is, but are driven by an inner passion which if we find the right voice and medium to express it, just might end up giving us a vision of how it could be.
It was William Faulkner who wrote: “I believe man will not merely endure; he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he has a soul, a spirit, capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of courage and honour and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice. The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure.” Read more.
Someone made a remark, the other night, which had me thinking about the role of writing and value of writers. We were at the Book Café for a Literary Discussion on Valerie Tagwira’s The Uncertainty of Hope. The person asked why there was such a fairytale ending to the novel, given all the vicissitudes explored and the woes that Onai, the protagonist endures.
“Real life is not like that. Why is it our writers can’t tell it like it is?” lamented the participant. I wonder if the Brothers Grimm ever had to answer such a question. Why are fairytales still fascinating even up to this day?
As a creative writer, I know that we are not creators of dry sociology or journalistic traits that seek to tell it like it is or explain why and how things are the way they are in brittle terms. We seek out the marrow of life, explore symptoms of a malaise and aspects of life and dramatise them. If we are really good we create captivating enduring works of art. And many of us who have been chosen by the craft are always seeking perfection.
It is not enough for us to chronicle woes. For some of us whose writing is tendentious, we are not satisfied with simply telling lit like it is, but are driven by an inner passion which if we find the right voice and medium to express it, just might end up giving us a vision of how it could be.
It was William Faulkner who wrote: “I believe man will not merely endure; he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he has a soul, a spirit, capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of courage and honour and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice. The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure.” Read more.
Comments