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Authors Farayi Mungoshi, Aaron Chiundura Moyo and Tinashe Muchuri share a lighter moment at the ZIBF

Beaven Tapureta : Bookshelf

Although writers and related stakeholders were disappointed by the last-minute cancellation of this year’s much-awaited ZIBF Literary Evening, there were happier moments which hung over the overall book fair.The Literary Evening was scheduled to take place on Friday, July 29, at the Harare Gardens but was put off at the last minute mainly due to funding challenges, sources closed to the ZIBF said.

However, the book launch of “Passion: The Journey of Love” (2016, Tarch-Icon Press) by author Geoffrey Chaparadza did much to relieve and release much of the frustration as the launch took place at the same time and venue the Literary Evening was pencilled.

Apart from Geoffrey’s book, other new books by new authors at the ZIBF provided happier moments. Meeting the authors and talking about their works was indeed memorable.

To arrive on time for this year’s book fair were several fiction and poetry books which included renowned author Shimmer Chinodya’s “Harvest of Thorns Classic: A Play” (2016, Pearson Education Africa). The book was launched on Thursday, July 28, at the Theatre in the Park (Harare Gardens). Chinodya’s book launch was a literary evening retreat on its own as it brought arts loving people together to celebrate his theatrical adaptation of his award-winning novel “Harvest of Thorns”.

Film-maker and writer Farayi Mungoshi, son of iconic author Charles Mungoshi, also claimed his space with his debut English short story collection “Behind The Wall Everywhere” (2016, Mungoshi Press). Telling by the endorsements the book has received so far from certain local readers, it could be the start of an exciting expedition in Zimbabwean literature by virtue of Farayi being a “stubborn threat” to his family’s “fiction writing kingdom” when one notes that his father, Charles Mungoshi, is well known for his fiction and poetry, and that published writer and academic David Mungoshi, a brother to Farayi’s father, also writes fiction and poetry. Time will tell!

Another newly published book to be “announced” at this year’s ZIBF is a Ndebele novel titled “Izinyawo Zayizolo” (2016, Radiant Publishers) by Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya. This novel has some inspiring tags to it also. It was edited and published by a great woman in Zimbabwean literature. Barbara Nkala, who is the founder of Radiant Publishers, could be the answer to Ndebele literature which seems to have been dwindling after the closure of the Literature Bureau. South Africa based writer Nomsa Ngwenya, who will be in Harare, said she is following up the novel with an English version edited by another iconic local writer and academic Prof Musaemura Zimunya.

At the opening ceremony of the Indaba Conference renowned poet and musician Albert Nyathi performed a sample from the new book “My Son” (2016, Imbongi Arts Publications) which he co-authored with writer, storyteller and publisher Ignitius T Mabasa.

He performed another sample from it at the official opening of the ZIBF Book Exhibitions by the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Lazarus Dokora. “My Son” is a sequel to his highly received poem “My Daughter”, published few years ago.

Regardless of the extremely low number of visitors to this year’s ZIBF, students, librarians, poets and writers enjoyed a number of activities such as a poetry workshop facilitated by poet Tendai Maduwa and his friends in one of the gazebos at the Harare Gardens, the Junior Achievers Competition, Children Reading Tent, Live Literature, and the librarians’ and writers’ workshops.

The 2016 ZIBF ran from July 25 to 30 under the theme “Igniting Interest in Reading for Sustainable Development”.