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 in the ZIBF 2013 Indaba on pa

Lately, I have been reading fiction that features Bulawayo a lot, starting with Short Writings from Bulawayo II and Long Time Coming, both edited by Jane Morris and published in Bulawayo by amaBooks, to Yvonne Vera's Stone Virgins and Chris Mlalazi's Many Rivers (the latter is set in Johannesburg, but Bulawayo plays a significant part), and now I am reading The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini, which gives abundant details about Bulawayo as a setting. Bulawayo matters to me, especially in my fiction. Since I grew up in Mazvihwa, I had easier access to Bulawayo than Harare. Mine was known as the Harare family, because all my older brothers worked in Harare, but most families in Mototi sent their children to Bulawayo. Even our local bus brought more passengers from Bulawayo than anywhere else, and most of my school mates spent their holidays in Bulawayo, and when they came back, we heard all about it. It was where, for instance, Leni (fictionalized name) escaped to when his un