Chronicle Editor
Beaven Tapureta Bookshelf—
As the year comes to a close, everyone in the writing sector must be reflecting on what was done and not done and what needs to be done in the New Year.Looking back, we see moments of joy and sadness, of activity and lapse, and of reading which immersed us in surprising fiction and poetry, nonfiction and academic stuff.
We also danced when new babies arrived in the bookshelves. Local and international based Zimbabwean writers unleashed their imaginations to give readers a variety of writings from which brilliant lines of thought were drawn.
We got to know about new writers who had been hiding in anonymity. We heard the writers’ concerns at different fora.
Who knew about Patony Musendo, a lawyer and author of “The Emmaculate Calling” (2014)? In January, he appeared here and in his novel introduced us to Emma, a young woman who gets on a self-given, dangerous investigative task to expose some church wolves misleading the modern church.
Of lawyers who are also writers we seem to have a growing number as later in the year Bookshelf would read “The Fire I Know” by lawyer and church leader Joshua John Chirambwe. Furthermore, Petina Gappah, a lawyer and renowned writer, needs no introduction.
However, take it or leave it, the truth is that the number of books being published by local Christian scribes has been escalating from, say last year.
Leaning on each other in the Bookshelf are such books as the poetry anthologies “In Memory of the Future” (2015) by Stanley Mushava, “Days of my Youth” (2016) by Lisbon Tawanda Chigwenjere, Sympathy Sibanda Mazuruse’s “On His Bossom versus Celestial Sympathy” (2016), and many others.
These poets should push for the recognition of this type of Christian poetry, for instance, asking the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe to introduce a category that covers creative (and not the obvious) Christian poetry in its NAMA literary awards section.
Some of the amazing new books published this year include US-based Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s “Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun” (Cassava Republic Press), Shimmer Chinodya’s “Harvest of Thorns Classic: A Play”, “My Son” (Imbongi Arts Publications) a poem co-authored by Ignitius T Mabasa and Albert Nyathi, “Behind the Wall Everywhere” (Mungoshi Press) a short story anthology by Farayi Mungoshi, son of legendary author Charles Mungoshi, “Izinyawo Zayizolo” (Radiant Publishers) by Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya, Petina Gappah’s short story collection “Rotten Row” Penjeni Madzikangava’s “Dungeon of Despair” and “Tears and Scars”, “The Latter Rain” by Phillip Kundeni Chidavaenzi, “The Circumcision of Adam and Eve” by Tatenda Charles Munyuki, and many others which Bookshelf is yet to review.
Many of them! New self-published writers claimed their space with new books as well. We also eagerly await the promised English version of “Izinyawo Zayizolo” next year.
The Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) this year ran under the theme “Igniting Interest in Reading for Sustainable Development”. The ZIBF remains a wonderful event despite being strained by funding problems which, for instance, saw this year’s literary evening being scrapped off programme at the last minute.
However, Shimmer Chinodya’s launch of his new book “Harvest of Thorns Classic: A Play” held on the same evening in Harare did provide an inspirational ‘outing’ for writers.
The ZIBF and Litfest Harare have become two major book events on the writers’ calendar. Litfest this year was held late in November and overlapped into December with an assortment of exciting events. However, both events only need to come up with annual publications or journals that at least capture and review certain ideas/themes which would have been outstanding in their different sessions.
Sometime in March, we got familiar with “Status of Women in the Arts and Culture Sector”, a 56-page book containing important findings of a study that exposes gender imbalances in the arts sector. How much will be done next year to fight for equal opportunities in the arts sector is yet to be known.
What this book echoes in its research format is very well illustrated in the recent novel “The Latter Rain” by Chidavaenzi in which a character named Divine, a female modelling artist, had “to offer beyond the public stage, alone with a judge, a pageant organiser, a sponsor . . . It had usually come to one thing: sex.” (Page 7)
In the month of April the writing sector was thrown into mourning when prominent writer and liberation war hero Alexander Kanengoni died. Kanengoni will be remembered for his works such as “Effortless Tears”, “Echoing Silences”, “Vicious Circle” and lots of essays. May his soul rest in peace.
Book piracy or copyright infringement is a big thorn in the flesh of writing in Zimbabwe. The issue was under spotlight throughout the year.
In June, Zimcopy which is responsible for copyright issues was revived and the new board led by Dr Samuel Makore deserves applause for speaking out on behalf of authors. In July, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Lazarus Dokora added voice to the issue when he officially opened the 2016 ZIBF. He warned schools against photocopying and taking part in book piracy.
The Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association also said at the ZIBF that it had been holding anti-piracy workshops and working with the Zimbabwe Republic Police to curb this “disease”. Zimcopy later in the year held a licensing workshop in Harare and indeed the recommendations which emerged from this gathering must be put into practice next year. With ZimCopy now active, there is hope for writers!
It has been a busy year in the literary sector despite the economic challenges, a year which heralds more good things in the future. It is with so much love that Bookshelf column wishes all Zimbabwean writers, poets, publishers, book readers and followers of this column, a 2017 of “overflowing rivers”.
Keep writing and reading.
Online Reporter