WEALTH OF IDEAS

I was in Zimbabwe at the beginning of the year. I travelled cross-country by car, and this was my first time driving in Zimbabwe, a vantage point quite different from the bus or combi journeys. I was also with nearly all the members of my US-based family, an experience which put us in situations of thinking we were meeting for the first time, or perhaps it was just that I excited by this whole thing of being back in Zimbabwe with family, with my American kids, so to speak. And we travelled, we lived the different Zimbabwes I grew up through . I use the word "through" because each stage of my life in Zimbabwe was like a passage to another stage. We were tired, but each stage of the journey was worth the effort. The word effort works here too; the condition of the roads made the travel or ride a bit bumpy. That road from Mandamabwe through Chivi, then the Beitbridge road itself too the fun out of the journey  somewhat, but one we go on the road from Ngun...

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 ...

A line of trees outside of the Kohls department store in Natomas, Sacramento. I started off shopping with the family, then after a while, when there was nothinig else interesting for me to see in the store, I excused myself and went outside to put my camera to use. Somehow the linearity of these trees, truly an obession in tree-planting here (as in a lot of other urban locales), always amazes me. You have to appreciate linear beauty whenever you get a chance, and these trees, aren't they just beautiful. They briefly follow a creek, then they stop, to mark the end of the shopping's parking lot. But still, they are trees. Since the beginning of the summer, and in anticipation of my upcoming trip to Zimbabwe, I have been exploring coastal Northern California with my family. While on the road, I have also rediscovered my interest in photography. Rediscovered in the right word, because I used to take a lot of photos in Zimbabwe (over sixteen years ago), especially in the rural...

______________ Beaven Tapureta ______________ Guests mingling few minutes before the start of Marechera commemoration at the ZGS, Harare, March 13 (Photo: Zimbabwe/Germany Society) Following the publication of short personal narratives on the late Dambudzo Marechera’s love affair with his biographer Flora Veit-Wild (who authored the narratives) in the current issue of Wasafiri , a London-based journal for international contemporary writing, Marechera’s life has become a poser that will keep challenging even literary and cultural luminaries in new, interesting ways. The power of Marechera’s life story, which is inseparable from his texts, was clearly felt at his  commemoration held at the Zimbabwe-Germany Society, Harare, on the evening of March 13. The event, running under the theme “Re-visiting Dambudzo Marechera: Old Texts Brought to Life”, had a mixed-bag of panelists drawn from different fields in the literary sector and was moderated by Flora ...

For six weeks, One Ghana, One Voice will feature poems on Zimbabwe. The first featured poet is the vibrant Prince Mensah, whose poem centers on the history of Zimbabwe and highlight resilience through highlighting the idea that Zimbabwe is indeed Zimba Remabwe (house of stone). The poem is accompanied by an author interview, in which Mensah displays his knowledge of the challenge bedevilling Africa. Here is an extract: 4. What lessons can Zimbabwe learn from Ghana's history? What lessons can Ghana learn from Zimbabwe? Zimbabweans can learn the power of tolerance from Ghana. Trust me; we have had volatile situations that could have ended up in chaos. Yet, there is a cultural underpinning that rejects bloodshed as a way of solving issues. The way of Gandhi is better than the way of guns. In the end, the best person to change Zimbabwe for the better is the Zimbabwean who is ready to make sacrifices and take risks, in order to move the dream forward. Ghanaians can learn the value of hi...

Capture these ideas before they escape. Even those that sprout in dreams, catch them before they jump over the fence. Keep them in the kraal, tamed. The experience of remembering one or two dreams forces us to record them in the journal of our memory. Grow ideas like vegetables, take care of them until they ripen.  Ideas are tomatoes, chard, carrots, kale, covo, mustard, collard, pumpkins. Ideas are varieties in a garden.  I started this blog to capture ideas. To brainstorm. I started it because I could, but as a writer, I had to keep the creative spirit alive, to give expression to a wealth of ideas all around me. The name of the blog is not original, but that's the nature of ideas--we give character to them, but they exist in different forms to all of us. This blog thus will share ideas of a certain form and texture, but it will also capture those that have been shared by others; it's a confluence of ideas--a beginning that already has an idea about the end, like how we...