adminAndrew Moyo —
AS a journalist, Stanley Mushava’s writing skills have been displayed in many of his articles that have been published in numerous newspapers and magazines.
Being a passionate writer, he decided to express himself in poetry and prose, releasing his debut book “Survivors Café”, last month.
While I was doing my packing for the festive holidays, this is one of the books that I decided to take with me during my travels and this proved to be a brilliant idea after I started perusing through the text.
The talent and creativity that gave birth to this book is just extraordinary with the writer tearing into societal issues with finesse. The poems are so beautifully woven such that one might wonder what sort of space the writer was in when he was coming up with the verses.
The 51 poems and seven essays in this book explore questions of art, courage, suffering, economic injustice, obscurity, love, belief, culture and the quest for meaning against a landscape of modern disruption, among other things.
His love poems have hard hitting punch lines with a lyrical touch that gives the work a musical feel.
The way he describes his subjects create images that can easily send your mind wondering deep into the poet’s thoughts.
In “Royal Black”, the poet shows emotion, loyalty and appreciation for the woman he loves, describing her as royalty.
“A dark face is raking my spirit, with desperate thirst for life. Eyes that house another universe, habitable only love’s conjoined, glow in my heart more urgently, than constellation in its element.
“Princess, there won’t be time to package this, only the ink is diluted with my tears, as I address my loyalty to your royalty,” goes a verse in the poem.
By blending biblical and modern elements in some of the poems, Mushava creates some unique pieces that are not only mesmeric but also mind-blowing.
In “Holy Goldfish”, he dives into the world of social media and how it has impacted society at large, taking precedence over everything else, including religion. Written like a prayer, the humour in the piece and the way the poet drives his point home is just amazing.
“Our father whose mail redirects to Silicon Valley, your assemblies are overtaken by trends, but we can reach you from the internet café. Aggregate not our tithes but our tariffs. Take in our WhatsApp-Capable devotions, and like our Facebook-savvy alms. Cleaning our hearts is cumbersome but clearing our typos is less painful.”
This is just part of the explosive poem that displays the extent that human dependency on social media has reached.
The styles employed in the poetry differ as the writer displays his diversity and vast knowledge base on many issues.
There is no doubt that this writer is destined for greatness and after reading this book, I was totally convinced that the local literary scene has a lot to offer in terms of creative minds.
If you are a literature fan, this book should definitely be on your 2017 shopping list if you have not grabbed a copy already.
Online Reporter