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Elliot Ziwira, Deputy Features Editor
Acclaimed poet Ruth Tsopotsa is set to release her highly anticipated second collection, “Footprints of the Sun”.
Following the success of her debut anthology, “Oasis in Crisis” (2021), which was nominated for an Outstanding Poetry Book award at the 20th edition of the National Arts Merit Awards, her new work is a consummate exploration of love, identity, and humanity’s connection to the universe.
Inspired by the contrasting imagery of man and nature, Tsopotsa’s poetry maintains her signature lyrical style and depth of emotion. Her work continues to be a tonic for the heart, offering readers a chance to reflect on their own experiences and sentiments through relatable and thought-provoking verse.
Maintaining her unique hand, experimented on in “Oasis in Crisis”, Tsopotsa fractures form and style by tapping into several types of poems: from the haiku, ballad and lyrical, to the narrative and descriptive.
Her unique voice and style have been praised by critics, with Memory Chirere noting her modernisation of traditional Japanese haiku. Vuso Mhlanga describes the collection as “a body of diverse knowledge rendered through poetry”, drawing inspiration from women’s experiences, nature, religion, and love.
The collection, which will be launched at the end of April or early May, this year, explores themes of identity, culture, and the human connection to the natural world.
With “Footprints of the Sun”, Tsopotsa cements her reputation as a premier Zimbabwean poet, demonstrating her skill, complexity and versatility.
Hinged on her signature lyrical style and emotional depth, Tsopotsa’s poetry offers a reflective and cathartic experience, weaving individual stories into a shared human narrative.
Her relatable, stimulating, and emotionally resonant verse offers readers a chance to reflect on their own experiences. She has a way of exploring the paradoxical nature of humanity, effortlessly stitching up individual experiences into a communal discourse that takes everyone on board.
As Chirere observes, through effective use of natural symbolic elements, she “deviates from old rules to experiment with new formats, and explores new subject matter.” It is this inimitable ability to philosophically play around with words and conflicting images from lived and borrowed realities, which makes Tsopotsa peerless.
The prodigious skill she exhibits in “Footprints of the Sun” testifies to the soothing nature of words in capable and confident hands, as Shumirai Nhanhanga puts it.
The poet has such a brutal way with words that she can draw tears without causing pain — pacifyingly piercing the heart. She understands man as both an enigma and open book; capable of deceiving, even himself, when it suits him.
The book is an enthralling work of art woven with such magical prowess only a seasoned weaver can manage—nimbly, intricately, passionately, brutally and unambiguously—leaving the reader with a persistent feeling of hanging onto heaven’s gates.
Tsopotsa can withhold words where you would think she would unleash them; release a salvo where normally none would suffice, and unexpectedly turn a phrase, creating a surprising impact on the psyche.
This way, she leaves the reader both aghast and content, allowing him or her to hum along to the infectious tune created.
She reminds one of literary greats like the Romantic poet, William Wordsworth, T.S. Eliot, David Mungoshi, Tanaka Chidora, Roland E.T. Mhasvi, Thomas Sukutai Bvuma, Batsirai Chigama, and Memory Chirere.
The opening poem, “Sadza”, written in only six emphatic lines, celebrates Zimbabwean culture and tradition.
Using “steaming”, “inviting”, and “hot” sadza as a metaphor, the poet explores the essence of food in building or destroying relations, depending on how it is offered— “thin or thick.”
It is commonplace that food has created great relationships in the same way it has destroyed them, and impeded progress. No wonder why its use as a motif in literature cannot go unnoticed.
Employing food as a metaphor in the poems; “Sadza”, “Around the table”, “Strut not”, “Mother-in law”, and “Milk and honey”, Tsopotsa, like Brian Chikwava in “Harare North” (2009), examines how the palate can reinforce or strain relationships.
Many families have been broken up as a result of food wars, or the need to put food on the table. The victims of such disagreements, or desires to be on top of the food game — as providers and consumers alike, will always feel alienated and hurt, with new gods being fashioned out for them.
The use of emblematic rudiments, like food, as elixirs from a burdened existence, aggravates the situation, instead of mitigating it. The symbols become other forms of obsession and unreasonable behaviour.
The food crisis forces individuals to abandon obligation, familial ties and cultural mores. As Tsopotsa underscores, and the Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist and psychologist, Carl Jung, affirms, food becomes yet another deity that needs to be worshipped.
Enthused by the charming Eastern Highlands of her childhood, the poet paints varied hues of life through rich metaphors, images and symbols, especially in “Hippo”, “The Wild”, and “Dawn”.
Exploring the powerful connection between humanity and nature, she writes in “The Wild”:
“On native land we stand
Our feet planted in the sand.
We are the trees,
Tall evergreens:
The rainforest free.”
Here, man invariably becomes the wild, which he has to preserve at all cost, for it is his life. He is reminded in “Hippo” that nature has a way of hauling back in equal measure whatever he throws at it.
Tsopotsa warns: “Happy chubby hippo/Having fun in muddy water/With a smile full of knives”.
“Dawn” is a beautiful depiction of the struggle between light and darkness, while “Work” reflects on success and simplicity in a simple, yet effective way.
Burrowing into collective historical memory, Tsopotsa explores the cultural mores and values of the African peoples, in general, and pertinently the Zimbabwean people.
She is all too aware of how history shapes identities, and preserves cultures and ancestral heritage.
Poems that fall into this frame include: “Rozvi”, “Identity”, “Colonisation”, “Mbuya Nehanda”, “Africa has a history too”, and “A force to face”.
The poem “Identity” is a personal and introspective search of the self and heritage; while “Colonisation” is a powerful critique of the erasure of language and culture through imposition of alien concepts, which has become the bane of the African continent in its attempt to move forward.
In “Mbuya Nehanda” the poet pays tribute to the legendary heroine of the First Chimurenga, who inspired the Zimbabwean liberation struggle. She also celebrates the struggles and sacrifices made by ancestors across generations in “Journey of Sacrifice.”
Remaining rooted to the land of her ancestors, Tsopotsa revels in her roots in “Wasu” and “Motherland”—a heartfelt ode to Zimbabwe and the poet’s connection to the land. The beauty of the motherland is breathtakingly accentuated in the depiction of the majestic wonder of the Victoria Falls in “Mosi-oa-Tunya”.
In the title poem “Footprints of the Sun”, she motivates individuals to be better versions of their yesterdays, and strive to leave footprints, even on areas they would naturally be considered out of bounds, in the fashion of the sun, throughout the seasons.
Punning on the metaphor of the sun, she encourages:
“Arise! Wake up Sun of the soil;
From slumber of night, give your light!
Shine on heart and mind of men
Brighten fate and blind all doubt.
Hold son ‘n’ daughter in warm embrace;
Share your boundless energy
With a tiring worn-out mother,
Going one step at a time.”
Consolidating her forte as a motivator, in “Stone”, Tsopotsa celebrates the strength and resilience of her compatriots, regardless of how, in some instances, all seems lost upon pebble.
“Africa has a history too” and “A force to face” are authoritative rhapsodies of African history, culture and achievements, celebrating legends such as Mansa Musa, the Lion of Mali, famed to be the richest man who ever lived, and Amina, the warrior queen of Zazzau.
Other poems to look out for are: “Giraffe,” “English”, “Happy Heart”, “Wisdom”, “Selfless Ladder”, and “Rescue”.
These poems showcase Tsopotsa’s ability to explore complex themes with grace and sensitivity.
Overall, “Footprints of the Sun” demonstrates the poet’s extraordinary skill and depth. Her new work is a must-read for anyone who appreciates poetry that explores the human experience with nuance and emotion.
Ruth Tsopotsa’s “Oasis in Crisis” (2021) is available at Typocrafters Book Shop at Herald House in Harare, while “Footprints of the Sun” will be accessible in the first week of May. Grab your copy today!
Online Reporter