Chronicle Editor
Tafadzwa Chibukwa, Chronicle Reporter
A 21-YEAR-OLD National University of Science and Technology (Nust) student has decided to pursue her dreams by publishing her first poetry book.
Miss Lorraine Sicelo Mangena from Old Lobengula suburb in Bulawayo writes poems on wide ranging themes but her favourite is love, which she says is inspired by her young generation that is greatly involved in relationships.
She said she chose love as her main theme because she believes love is the main push factor behind most of the decisions that human beings make in life. She said all human decisions; be they good or bad, are still guided by relation to a particular subject hence coming back to love.
Apart from love, Miss Mangena has also written: “Gracefully broken” that describes economic hardships, “Broken mirror”- an exposition on the brutality of gender-based violence (GBV) and “Tale of sorrows” which addresses poverty.
The talented verse-maker said she got the inspiration to write from poems she critiqued when she did her Advanced Level at Mpopoma High School in 2019.
She said she admired how poets used words to express ideas, convey messages and create images in people’s minds.
Miss Mangena said her major inspiration is Mennaseh Chisvo, a Zimbabwean poet also known as Sir Octa.
“I used to follow poetry competitions on social media. I got inspired by Mennaseh Chisvo who was doing incredibly well in the art so I was motivated to give it a try because even in high school, Literature was my favourite subject,” said Miss Mangena.
She said she followed her inspiration on Twitter until she got in touch with him on WhatsApp and informed him that she was interested in poetry.
Chisvo saw potential in her and mentored her until she could write poems of her own.
She started writing poems at the age of 18 after doing her A-Level.
She would send them to her friends for critiquing and got positive feedback, which gave her the confidence to start writing for a wider audience.
The poetess said she was convinced that she was going to do well in the field when her poems got the attention of relevant boards both national and international.
“I was invited by the Loziba Arts Festival organisers for spoken word competitions last year, for a poetry competition which was held at the art gallery in June for which I qualified to the finals and took second prize in my first experience,” said Miss Mangena.
While she thought she had been lucky to make a breakthrough at the Loziba Arts Festival, she got a message inviting her to an international poems’ anthology in June this year.
“This year I was invited by Robin Barrat — a renowned international poet — to contribute to the international poetry anthology as my poems had qualified. The anthology was a compilation of poems titled Advocacy and my poems were considered worthy to contribute towards that book,” she said.
Miss Mangena said she was astounded by this feat, which was a step towards making a bigger name for herself.
She said in as much as she had contributed to an international anthology, there was a need for her to work harder and compile a book for herself that would market her name better.
That is when she spoke with her mentor and they agreed to combine their skills and write their own anthology.
They drafted lines of verse for Ice and Roses which was published on August 31 and is a compilation of love poems.
In the anthology, the bards explore the cycle of relationships from courtship right up to break-up.
Miss Mangena said the poems show the co-existence of joy and emotional hurt in relationships.
She said her family and friends have been very supportive.
Miss Mangena said the journey has not been easy as she faced challenges with exposure and funding towards publication, which she has tackled with her courageous character.
She said she is ready to publish more poems as the sky is the limit in her career. — @Sagepapie14
Online Reporter