admin
Elliot Ziwira-At the Bookstore
Musaemura Zimunya, who turned 75 on November 14, and illuminated the 11th edition of the Harare International Literature Festival (LitFest), which enthralled literature enthusiasts last week, profoundly weaves a rich tapestry of themes, imagery, and symbolism into therapeutic poetry.
Toasting to his mighty pen, fellow writers, who included Memory Chirere, Tinashe Muchuri, Batsirai Chigama, and Ray Mawerera, among others, read from his works at Alliance Francaise in Harare.
The birthday boy serenaded his elated audience down memory lane in his usual calm witticism as he reflected on his Jikinya background.
With the curtains drawn at LitFest 2024, at the Bookstore, we pay tribute to Zimunya through his poetry, including “Kingfisher, Jikinya and other Poems” (1982), “Country Dawns and City Lights” (1985), “Thought Tracks” (1982), and “Perfect Poise and other Poems” (1993), which offers a nuanced exploration of the human experience, love, and the complexities of post-colonial society.
The concept of home is a universal theme resonating with people from all walks of life. For Africans, the idea of home is particularly multifaceted, marked by a deep sense of longing and disconnection.
Through his poetry, Zimunya adeptly juxtaposes the beauty and serenity of rural life with the harsh realities of urban existence.
His depiction of the city as a monstrous entity, devoid of warmth and humanity, confronts the disorienting effects of colonialism and urbanisation.
The rural home, especially in “Country Dawns and City Lights”, encompasses beauty and embraces pastoral innocence and tranquillity, highlighting the vulnerability of women and children, untainted love and freedom.
In his portrayal of the rural landscape, which espouses home, Zimunya, like Chenjerai Hove in “Red Hills of Home”, is inspired by the unblemished Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe, where he grew up before the advent of colonialism. He seeks to immortalise the beauty and sacredness of home as a golden paradise, as is expressed in “I like them” in “Thought Tracks”.
The essence of home—its roots and well-being, evident in “I like them”, also manifests in “Home” (“Thought Tracks”). In this instance, the poet is conscious that even in the face of starvation and deprivation, a spiritual shelter still abounds in the rural home.
For him, therefore, home ceases to be an “aftermath of an invisible war/a heap of dust and rubble”, where “the sharp-nosed vulture smells carrion”, and “the witch demands ransom for your soul”, as in Charles Mungoshi’s “Home” (1975).
Zimunya’s home has an unbreakable spiritual connectedness.
This spiritual attachment to the land unites people along lines of kin and kith, drastically absent in the city. His community is neither “sick and corroded” as Mungoshi’s, nor yearns in defeatist eulogies, like Dambudzo Marechera’s.
To him, home is a space where traditional values and customs are preserved, and where the individual can connect with his heritage.
However, this idyllic portrayal of rural life is not without its challenges. The poet is aware of the vagaries that burden the rural abode, such as drought, floods, and witchcraft.
In contrast, the city is characterised by brutality, violence, and deception. Its walls and ramifications are rustic, hostile, and luminous, offering no protection to the migrant.
City lights are not only deceptive but also disrupt the flow of time, making them an antithesis to country dawns.
The poet’s use of imagery and metaphor adds depth and complexity to his work. His portrayal of the city as a “grease pile”, where “men are mangy dogs”, is a striking indictment of the dehumanising effects of urban life.
Correspondingly, his depiction of the rural landscape as a “golden paradise” highlights the importance of preserving traditional ways of life and cultural heritage.
Equally thought-provoking in Zimunya’s poetry is his exploration of love and relationships.
He impactfully captures the intensity and vulnerability of love, as well as the pain and disillusionment that accompanies it.
In the poems, “To be young” and “Love Potion” (“Country Dawns and City Lights”), the poet traces social aspects of sex and love in a traditional society. He suggests that these should be preserved as opposed to the rather puritanical view of love and sex enforced on the black youths as portrayed by Marechera in “House of Hunger” (1978).
In “Love Portion”, the unnamed boy has to indefinitely postpone the inevitable trial of manhood by hiding behind “a screen of books”, much to the disappointment of his father, who sarcastically retorts: “Then you will marry the alphabet”.
Sex is symbolic of regeneration, the vitality of youth and good health in traditional communities. As such, it should be pleasurable and productive as contrasted with the disease-ridden carnal entanglement in the city.
This is evident in the poem “Country Dawns” in “Country Dawns and City Lights”, where an extended tutorial celebrates creation as a boy enters life by deflowering a virgin. Virginity here is symbolic of purity and the African people’s uncorrupted life before colonialism.
The strong images of hope, harmony, love, and unity as well as communion pervading Zimunya’s poetry lends him a companion in Hove. His later work, “Perfect Poise and other Poems” (1993), continues to explore themes of love, politics, and social commentary. The collection is characterised by its use of ambiguity and irony, which adds a layer of intricacy to the poetry.
The anthology delves into the complicated relationships between politics, religion, and life. Through his masterful use of metaphor, imagery, and poetic license, Zimunya explores power struggles, domination, and betrayal, without openly provoking anyone.
The collection is divided into three sections, each of which offers a unique perspective on the human experience.
The first section, “Perfect Poise,” explores love, relationships, and the passage of time. In poems such as “First Kiss” and “Dance”, Zimunya captures the intensity and beauty of love, while also acknowledging its potential for hurt and disillusionment, using vivid imagery and sensual language.
The boy, who is thrilled in “First Kiss”, reminds his sweetheart in “Dance”:
“Came to you like a raging storm
You flew into my embrace like a flower in agony
Thus, we whirled and whirled
till the night yielded the gentlest
songs of dawn.”
The visual images of the “raging storm” and “flower in agony” suggest the passionate force of their love. However, if read closely, the images have a connotative meaning, since they seem to be premonitions of doom.
This is made poignant in the poem “Like Twenty Years Ago”, as the persona flashes back to his youth, and describes the apple of his eye. Her beauty, lips and eyebrows have remained as infectious as ever, yet he has become alienated from her.
He admits being “unable /to rediscover her old fancy/or surmount this chasm between us/I am unable to look in her blackberry eyes.”
Thus, he becomes the “raging storm” that places a psychological burden on the woman. The image of the “flower in agony” becomes apt here. It is this unappreciative nature of men, which creates distances in marriages or relationships, which the poet is contemptuous of, for it leads to the shattered ties alluded to in “Broken Union”.
The second section, “Gallery”, combines social, political, religious, and economic issues encumbering the national psyche. Zimunya effectively uses ambiguity and irony to expose humanity’s shortcomings. In “A Farewell to Youth” and “Hooray for Freedom”, he critiques the post-colonial society and its capacity to scupper collective dreams.
“A Farewell to Youth” challenges the disillusionment and deceit that can accompany the passage of time. The image of the “ghost of fear”, which haunts the poet’s landscape, is a potent symbol of the toils of post-colonial society in Africa.
The third and final section of “Perfect Poise and other Poems” creates a sorrowful atmosphere, as the poet awaits rain or thunderstorms, yet the sky remains unyielding. Nonetheless, this sense of despair is a fitting conclusion to a collection that explores the complexities and challenges confronting humanity.
Refreshingly original, the poet uses idiosyncratic symbols, though burdensome at times, to tell an individual story that captures the aspirations, desires and yearnings of an entire family, community and nation. Chronicling his own biography, the poet takes the reader on an intriguing voyage of love, the passage of time, deceit and hypocrisy.
As we celebrate Zimunya @75, therefore, we honour not only his extraordinary body of work, but his enduring legacy as a poet, thinker, and social commentator, too. His poetry continues to inspire and challenge us—reminding us of the importance of preserving our cultural heritage and promoting social justice for the greater good.
Online Reporter