The Herald, 11 November 1996
THE Bulawayo branch of the Zimbabwe Writers’ Union marked International African Writers’ Day amid calls to preserve culture through writing.
The guest of honour, renowned author Yvonne Vera, expressed concern over some Zimbabwean parents who kill African culture by preventing their children from speaking local vernacular languages.
She encouraged authors as custodians of culture to write in local languages, saying while the world was changing it was important for writers to “negotiate our identity” within that change.
“There is no greater moment than when culture shines,” said Vera here on Saturday.
November 7 was declared International African Writers’ Day by the Organisation of African Unity.
Writers noted that a common problem among most of them was failure to find publishers to promote their work.
“Seeking publishers to promote our books is like one man’s expedition through the jungle,” said Tracy Mutendereki, a woman writer and member of the national executive committee of the Budding Writer’s Association.
Ndebele author Ndabezinhle Sigogo said publishing books was very expensive as it cost about $21 000 to publish a booklet of about 20 pages, a fee most writers could not afford, forcing them to depend on local publishers who were very selective and few.
Meanwhile, Vera will on December 12 launch a new novel entitled Under the Tongue, which looks at the issue of incest and local culture.
Vera told writers that incest was an issue which was not spoken about culturally, but silence perpetuated the evil.
“The narrative of silence is a way of supporting the act,” she said. It was time people spoke against the evil whose effects result in victims suffering from psychological trauma. The novel explores the issue of sexual abuse of girls and how mothers were often forced into silence following the abuse of their daughters by relatives or parents because of fear and socio-economic dependency on men as breadwinners.
Lessons for today:
- Author Yvonne Vera argued that African culture can be weakened when children are discouraged from speaking their local languages. She encouraged writers to write in indigenous languages and help preserve cultural identity. The lesson is that language is an important part of who we are, and preserving it helps preserve culture.
- Writers have a vital role in preserving culture, promoting local languages, and speaking out against social injustices. At the same time, communities should support creative voices and be willing to confront problems instead of remaining silent about them.
- The article presents writers as more than storytellers. They help record history, preserve culture, and shape public thinking. Vera described writers as people who help society “negotiate our identity” in a changing world.
- The celebration of International African Writers’ Day highlights the importance of Africans telling their own stories rather than relying on others to tell them.
- One of the strongest messages in the passage comes from Vera’s discussion of her novel Under the Tongue. She argued that sensitive issues such as incest and sexual abuse should not be hidden because silence can protect wrongdoers and leave victims suffering alone.
