Chronicle Editor
Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter
TALKING about Zimbabwean literature gurus without including Barbara Clara Makhalisa Nkala would be an unforgivable travesty indeed.
This woman has gallantly stood the test of time and showed everyone that the phrase, “wine matures with age” is not just a nifty saying but is laced with the truth.
Under her maiden name Barbara Makhalisa, the now Barbara Nkala has done most, if not all that there is in the literature industry. This includes teaching humanitarian subjects in schools, being a commissioning editor for book publisher Longman Zimbabwe in the early 1980s, co-ordinating Bible translations, penning fiction and non-fiction books published in both Ndebele and English languages and also doing editorial work.
Her experience in the industry has also led to her mentoring budding authors and poets. Barbara Nkala’s latest protégé is National University of Science and Technology student Sisanda Mantoba Ncube whom she roped for an anthology of Ndebele poems titled, Giya-Giya: Iqoqo lenkondlo zembongi ezikuleli lezisemazweni.
Over the years, Barbara Nkala has penned novels and books like Umendo, Umhlaba lo!, Impilo Yinkinga, The underdog, and other stories just to name a few. Such a collaboration with arguably the best Ndebele author to ever live in Zimbabwe has left Sisanda awestruck.
It is not every day that you get to have your poem included on the anthologies of one of the best in the business so what was the trick for Sisanda?
Chronicle Showbiz tracked down the former Zimpapers intern to ascertain how her poetic journey was carved leading to the collaboration with Mrs Nkala.
“I was brought up in a Ndebele-speaking environment in Gwanda where I did my primary level at one of the schools.
I then proceeded to do my secondary and high schooling at Mpopoma High School in Bulawayo.
This is where I developed a strong love for the Ndebele language as my siblings, friends, teachers, and classmates said I was creative,” is how she would relate her upbringing and the role it played in her literary career.
The young and self-driven lady’s inspiration for poetry came about when she was doing her O Level Ndebele set book for poems titled Ugqozi lwezimbongi.
“I liked the poems in that book so much and they inspired me, especially the poems by Ndabezinhle Sigogo.
Mrs Barbara Nkala has always been my inspiration also as she says she likes my style of writing, and of course my family and friends.
“However, to a certain extent, I think I inspire myself because I write out of my heart and with a purpose,” shared Sisanda.
Her first encounter with Gogo Nkala dates back to 2019 when Sisanda was tasked with identifying someone to write a biography about and little did she know that her literary luck would turn a corner for the better.
“In 2019 at school, we had an assignment of doing biographies for popular figures and I chose to do Barbara Nkala’s.
This is how I met her after setting an appointment. Before I started interviewing her, she told me of her blog and the bit she has for poems from young people. She also mentioned that the poems would one day be compiled into an anthology (iqoqo).
“My interest shot up as I told her I write poems too and she requested that I send her so that she uploads them on the blog. I later sent her some of my literary work and the poems were uploaded. That was a huge encouragement to me,” said Sisanda.
She vividly remembers how being complimented by Mrs Nkala made her feel.
“I felt encouraged having my works being commended by one of the best novelists in the country. I then started poetry blogging and I’d send her links to published poems and she would highly commend my work and request some for the anthology and I’d gladly grant her.
“On Sunday evening last week, to my excitement, she sent a message notifying me that the anthology was now out. I felt humbled and happy for being part of the writers of the poems,” she said.
Unlike many poets and poetesses you may find in the precinct, Sisanda is not a performing poetess. She only writes poems and feels that she “does not have the energy to perform”.
Her poems border around a lot of themes with both correctional and educational subject matters.
Seeing her poems published in Gogo Nkala’s blog became a driving factor in Sisanda establishing her own Zim
Blogger Awards nominated blog called “Kuhlwile Mbongi Yohlanga: Re-igniting first love” whose purpose is to revive the interest in the Ndebele language among the Ndebele-speaking people, both young and old.
On her blog being nominated in the Zim Blogger Awards last year under the Most Creative Blog, Sisanda had this to say: “The nomination made me feel like a recognised poet-blogger and although I did not win, the nomination gave me the opportunity to view other blogs to see their work presentation and frequency.
The nomination worked to my advantage because since then, I’ve improved my blog posts.”
Just like any other endeavour, Sisanda has faced her fair share of challenges and top of that list was discouragement.
“I remember one-time asking one ‘popular’ poet to view my blog and offer help where I needed to improve. I regretted why I ever did that but well; the response I got was that I wasn’t writing poems but instead a boring composition.
That was a huge blow. The poet continued to say it’s better for me to let go of poetry.
“That was the major challenge I ever encountered as I broke down. For months I didn’t write any poem. But thanks to people like Mrs Barbara Nkala, my parents, siblings and fiancé who believed in me,” she relayed.
One thing is for certain though when it comes to the poetess, she is a perennial achiever and being a primary school head girl, Mpopoma High School Adventist Association President (2017), Nust Adventist Society Secretary/Vice President for the 2019/2020 Academic Year, Nust Book Prize for attachment (2021) and being part of the Bulawayo Story online magazine team backs up her claim.
Sisanda sees her inclusion in Mrs Nkala’s poem anthology as a springboard to better things and aspires to publish her own 30-poem anthology before year-end. — @eMKlass_49
Online Reporter