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Elliot Ziwira @ The Book Store
NOW that the books wagon which recently docked in the Harare Gardens has departed, leaving in its wake a replenished, emancipated, wiser and hopeful, yet not satiated readership, we at the Bookstore find pleasure in reflecting on the impact of literature in shaping man’s aspirations and desires in a world so rich in hope, nay expectation, but so poor in introspection and self-belief.

Books indeed have a way of shaping mindsets and changing lives, not so much because of the way they may have been written, but the way they may not have been written. The written word has a way of leaving an indelible mark on the reader whose story is told through the experiences of others.

True, hurt is ever juxtaposed with love, life with death, wounds with healing; such is the irony of creation, yet you are convinced that no one knows or understands your story; you who is just faceless and nameless. You want all and sundry to fathom the intricate nature of your joyous, gleeful, sorrowful, hurtful and ennobling being, but you seem devoid of words. There seems to be no words to describe it all; that is when you yearn for the artiste to soothe you with his or her music, paintings, poetry, stories or plays. Artistes have such a way with words that experiences become anew and a whole lot of meanings interact and merge into one social or national discourse.

The universality of suffering, the reality of lack and the uncertainty of hope, find base in the choice of words that the competent artiste uses or decides not to use.

Words have a way with the soul, and if blended well, the musical repertoire issued is both soothing and therapeutic; in written form as in the spoken one. Words are like a tornado that hits with such force that only he whose exposure in the vale makes him vulnerable through shared experiences, feels their torrential impact. Words have a way of hitting at the core of the soul – in a negative or positive way. Sometimes as in music, words will hit you and you feel no pain. Such is the essence of poetry – the poetical allure of music and literature.

Oh! How we, at the Bookstore, are astoundingly thrilled by the combination of literature and music; the sound that refuses to be heard and the words which remain on the tip of the pen, that word which the poet, musician or comedian, wants to utter but adamantly remains lodged in his/her mouth – but the beat and rhythm from the adept hands of the guitarist, pianist, mbira player, saxophonist and drummer refuse to be subdued.

All the unspoken words melodiously come out in the form of decibels of suffering, glee, gloom, melancholy and hope.

It is this merging and interaction of the spoken, unspeakable and unspoken word which give art in all its different genres, the voice that it so much needs in its quest to make man accountable to his actions for the good of humanity.

Literature in all its facets is indeed the interface of all the genres that make up art, which is why the motto of the 3rd Edition of Harare International Literature Festival (LitFest Harare) is apt: “We write. We speak. We inspire.”

The jamboree at Theatre in the Park which opened on November 30 and closed on December 3, 2016, featured writers, readers, critics, performance poets, academics, journalists and radio personalities. It was a befitting occasion for literary enthusiasts.

The occasion was graced by such luminaries like Chirikure Chirikure, Memory Chirere, Mbizo Chirasha, Joseph Woods, Professor Rungano Zvobgo, Professor Kizito Muchemwa, Monica Cheru Mupambawashe, Ignatius Mabasa, Philani Nyoni and Shoes Lambada, among others.

Without taking anything away from the well-organised event which was able to transcend artistic barriers through well-polished presentations from all in attendance, it was the closing day that took our fancy at the Bookstore. This is especially so because of the way the tempo was brought to a crescendo in the conversation between Memory Chirere and Mbizo Chirasha facilitated by Joseph Woods, Hector Mugani’s rendition on “Mbira, Orature and Literature” under the watchful eye of the immensely knowledgeable Furanzi Matambirofa; and the enthusing engagement between Kizito Muchemwa and Joseph Woods on “Perspectives on Irish Poetry – Past and Present”.

Mbizo Chirasha’s oratory mastery kept the house on edge as his booming voice thunderously brought to the fore the tragedy of begging on a beach of gold, as he explored how the African continent keeps on extending the begging bowl to the erstwhile coloniser without realising that the real enemy lurks in the mirror.

Although colonisation cannot be wished away, it is trite for Africans to keep on harping on that horse. As a griot, or travelling artiste (which he is), whose business it is to go about spreading the tidings on the existence of another world besides the one fraught with suffering, individualism, avarice and materialism in which the oppressed have to carry the burden for the aggrandisement of the powerful, Chirasha bemoans the lack of political, social and economic will on the part of Africans, who bring suffering on their own kin and kith, instead of uniting against a common enemy.

His poem “Maiduguri” is as touching as it is truthful and as hurtful as it is real, which makes the reader or listener both sad and despondent, as the motherland’s story is told without an ounce of sugar-coating. The switching of narrative voices from first person singular, through the third person voice to first person plural, then back to first person; back and forth, without changing tempo, is both artistically apt and topically significant in that several voices that make up Africa are adequately given vents.

Chirasha’s understanding of the African’s story blended well with his adept use of voice which is his forte, and it is this that kept the audience on the edge. Unlike “Maiduguri” which traces the calamity that has been brought by rebel outfits like Boko Haram, and its attendant disasters on the continent like xenophobia, the recruitment of child soldiers and incessant war-mongering, “Identity Apples” gives hope to Mother Africa. But hope must have a price tag, and for Africa the price of hope is identity. Without knowing who we are, where we are coming from, what we own and where we are going, as a people we will never be liberated, from both ourselves and others.

Through Woods’ facilitation, the conversation switched from the griot, who is “bored by politics” to the writer, poet and academic of repute, who hails from “Somewhere in this Country” Memory Chirere of the “Bhuku Risina Basa” fame. Chirere believes in “Tudikidiki”, those rather small or seemingly insignificant issues told in a few simple words. Where Chirasha would use a barrage of words to explore his disgust on the voyeur inherent in man, which draws excitement from trauma and suffering, Chirere would use a few lines in the simplest of language.

Chirere is of the belief that reading, or listening is cumbersome, thus overloading the audience with too much detail and contrived language would rob art of thrill. He read from his poetry collection “Bhuku Risina Basa Nekuti Rakanyorwa Masikati” (2014). His first poem “Mashoko Ekutanga” purveys the nature of hope and suffering through an old man who despite his love for the written word, has never come across his name. He is aware that his story is known, but no one seems to care about his condition until he decides to tell it himself.

Yes, Africa may be suffering, as it lies prostrate on the ground as alien gangs from the West molest her with the aid of her own progeny, but mourning about it is both unhelpful and tragic. Like the inspired old man in Chirere’s “Mashoko Ekutanga” the onus is on all of us to take the first step or pick the first stone in defence of our being, instead of lamenting ad infinitum.

In “Shoko Rekupedzisira” the poet purveys hope in regeneration. There may be hope after all, in the children playing outside, enthuses the persona. Yes, there may be storms across the landscape of our existence but as long as it keeps on raining, and children play innocently outside, there is still hope for us.

Children, as in Chirere’s poetry, can be our hope to land our hands on “Identity Apples” and avoid “Banana Republics” as metaphorically symbolic in Chirasha’s poetry. But it all has to start with words, in all their different forms and pitches.

The 15-year-old upcoming mbira player and songstress Tendai Mavengeni of Mabelreign Girls High School gave a polished performance which left the audience asking for more.

We at the Bookstore salute the organisers of LitFest Harare, among them Chirikure Chirikure and Shoes Lambada for a successful third episode, and look forward to an even more thrilling, sizzling and enthralling one next year.