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Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter
LAST year, budding author, poet, and aspiring journalist Mntungwa KaMbulazi (born Kwanele Khumalo) had a dream of penning an anthology with fellow classmate Sikhanyisiwe Lunga, but little did he know that something big was coming his way.
From the idea sprouted an international anthology titled, “Chronicles from Africa” with which 17 poets from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Botswana, Angola, and Uganda collaborated.
In an interview, Mntungwa KaMbulazi who spearheaded the initiative said he did not envisage international collaboration coming up.
“Initially, I wanted to write an anthology with Sikhanyisiwe Lunga, my classmate, and having been approached by various young, up-and-coming poets, I ended up thinking of broadening the project. So, the project ended up accommodating a number of Zimbabwean poets as well as those from Botswana, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, and Ghana.
“The anthology has a combination of love stories from Africa, cultural poems, and some current socio-economic issues affecting Africa. These issues encompass poverty, religion, patriotism, and what people encounter in their daily lives,” said the poet.
The anthology is available in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Botswana, Angola, and Uganda as a paperback, with every poet printing and selling copies and the book will be uploaded to online platforms soon. Other contributors to the anthology include Anyanwu Izuchukwu, Akinola Sesan, Ukegbu Ifunanya (Nigeria), Beni Dya Mbaxi (Angola), Daniel Tusiimukye K’abaasa (Uganda), Dr Lesedi Gaeemelwe (Botswana), Bekezela Mguni, Michelle Dube, Jannety Ncube, Obey Chiyangwa, Munsaka Fortune, Sikhanyisiwe Lunga, Cebolenkosi Ndlovu and Ruvarashe Rukuni (Zimbabwe).
Mntungwa KaMbulazi attributes the success of the anthology to the power of social networking and referrals.
“The project would not have been a success had it not been for the power of social media. I met most of the poets who are from Nigeria, Botswana, Uganda and, Angola through WhatsApp groups. Michelle Dube was referred to me by a journalist and I mentored her. She said she was willing to publish something as well.
“Cebolenkosi Ndlovu was referred to me by a friend while Jannety Ncube was referred to me by her sister,” he said.
Before this, Mntungwa KaMbulazi who is a student at the National University of Science and Technology had penned two anthologies, Nama nominated “Who Killed grandfather?” and “Vendorlogs”.
Mntungwa KaMbulazi is already planning to adapt, “Who Killed grandfather?” to expand his fan base. – @eMKlass_49
Online Reporter