WEALTH OF IDEAS

The Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) Board has announced plans for 2014, and their theme looks great. It's kind of book fair I would love to attend. The focus of the theme is on literature and art in indigenous African languages. Below is the full text of a letter to stakeholders by Executive Board chairperson Musaemura Zimunya. Dear Stakeholders The Executive Board of The Zimbabwe International Book Fair Association with the approval of General Council has identified the following as our Theme for ZIBF 2014: Indigenous Languages, Literature, Art and Knowledge Systems of Africa .  In arriving at this Theme, we were guided by a few factors, among which are: ü     The overwhelming submissions on the subject of African languages, literatures, heritages and knowledge systems whose majority were unfortunate to be turned down for lack of space in the just ended ZIBF 2013 Indaba Conference Programme; ü     The enlightening presentations...

Business as usual at the Gulf in Harare. This place confused me at first; my sister took me to this place. We were looking for a mobile phone. I wasn't surprised by the crowds or the merchandise. But being at the gulf can be overwhelming; it was. In Zimbabwe, I took thousands of photos, some selective, others random, a lot clear, a few fuzzy. I was having fun with my point-and-click GE digital camera. I have always liked to carry a camera around, have always been a photographer in the making; and I remember in the 90s when I was a temporary teacher in Glen View, how I supplemented my income with photography, or back home in Mazvihwa, where people would see my camera and say, "Do you take?" and when I said, "Yes, I take", they would say, "Take me with my daughter." And I would take and take, take mothers and daughters, take fathers and sons, sisters and sisters; also, lots of solo shoots.  It was fun, even though I had a cheap 35 mm camera wit...

August 20th, last day in Harare. I had arrived in the city on August 4th, had spent a week, had proceeded to Zvishavane, where I spent another week,  and had returned to Harare to spend the four remaining days of my visit to Zimbabwe. I had paused to ponder why moments like this--of return, of reconnecting--had not been possible sooner, earlier, but I would end up with not much time to reflect, aware that soon I would be returning to the United States, so I had tried to utilize each moment, to pile up certain experiences that would, perhaps, be handy for some purpose later, maybe a short story (because I write those), or a whole book of poetry... And as each day passed so too did pure wonderment, and concrete had taken over, living now with the little aches of being in a physical place in real time. There had been much walking in Mazvihwa, and I had caught a cold, had visited a local clinic, (thinking, this is a rural clinic, I can't believe this, thinking, but I used ...

Approaching Harare on [what used to be] Second Street. This was a guided "tour" back to the airport, so I didn't have to worry about getting lost yet. I would be lost on the Monday I used a Kombi for the first time, from Borrowdale West to Copacabana. Some fellow Zimbabweans in Sacramento had warned me that I would be lost in Zimbabwe because I had lived out of the country for too long, but I had told them that I would not be lost; in fact, I had taken offense to the implication that I could be lost in a country I grew up in, and especially in Harare, a city I had known inside out.  And as for Mototi, down or up there in Mazvihwa, there was no way I would be lost in a village I lived in for the first seventeen years of my life. Villages don't change fast. In the city I would just follow the streets, look for familiar landscapes. There was no way I would be lost in Zimbabwe. But even as I got on the plane to Amstedam at San Francisco,...

Pamberi Trust's  Book Cafe, which recently won  the 2011 Prince Claus Award for its role in “culture and development”, continues to feature a diverse range of literary events: poetry slams, readings, book launches and literary discussions. The Prince Claus award is amongst the most prestigious global awards in culture. Based in Harare, the Book Cafe has been a literary center for decades. Next week, it will focus on book publishing and marketing in Zimbabwe, a very important topic in these hard times. Click poster for more details.

The Sacramento Poetry Center is holding a Fundraising Benefit at The Millers featuring Gordon Preston, Kathleen McClung, Allegra Silberstein, Shadi Gex, and Ellaraine Locke. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, December 1 at 6:00pm to 8:00pm. 1224 40th St., Sacramento, California. $30 at the door, $20 for members. Former Sacramento mayor Burnett Miller (and major contributor to Ken Burns’s series entitled “The War”) and his wife, Mimi, graciously open their home to support the Poetry Center. Tim Kahl, SPC events coordinator and board vice president says, "Please come and support the organization while you enjoy a tempting spread of delicacies and converse with a panoply of Central Valley literati. This year’s winners of the Sacramento Poetry Center poetry contest will be featured at the event." And from Zimbabwe, here is an announcement from the interim committee of a new (proposed) umbrella body of writers: INVITATION TO WRITERS GENERAL MEETING The Interim Committee of the ...

Below is a message from Ethel Kabwato, a writer/activist based in Zimbabwe: HUMAN RIGHTS FILM SCREENING ‘Promoting Social Responsibility through Film’ Profile The Creative Writing Africa Trust (CWA) and the Movies That Matter Foundation facilitated by the Pamberi Trust and the Zimbabwe-German Society are holding a Human Rights film-screening and discussion at the Zimbabwe- German Society (51 Lawson Avenue, Milton Park, Harare) on Friday 22 January 2010 at 17.30 hours and at the Mannenberg on Fife Avenue Shopping Centre on Saturday January 23 at 11.00 hours The Creative Writing Africa (CWA) Trust aims at developing the literary arts and associated fields on the continent. Towards this end, the Trust is instituting an annual Human Rights Film Festival for the benefit of the less-privileged of various communities of Zimbabwe. Activities to date The CWA Trust on 16 June 2009 (The Day of the African Child) used the Mai Musodzi Commun...