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Chirikure performing a poem in Durban

Godwin Muzari : Memory Lane

In Shona language “chirikure” refers to something that is far from a particular location.In relation to the law of repetition for emphasis “chirikure, chirikure” means something far, far away. Ironically, Chirikure Chirikure is the name of a talented Zimbabwean artiste who has done a lot behind the scenes.

Besides being known as a performing poet, Chirikure Chirikure seems far away from many other developments in the arts sector yet he has steered many projects, discovered talents and created successful products.

He has been involved with a number of events, productions and successful artistes. Chirikure is not far at all. As he went down memory lane this week, Chirikure recalled some of the highlights of his career that has seen him working on projects involving well-known artistes like Oliver Mtukudzi, Dumi Maraire, Chiwoniso Maraire, Memory Chirere, Daves Guzha and Ignatius Mabasa, among others.

In addition to his poetry, he has contributed immensely to the development of the literary scene while he has also been involved in music, theatre and film.

Early days in arts

“I had interest in the arts as I was growing up and when I enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe in 1982, I joined the writers and drama clubs. There was no theatre arts department at the university those days and we were doing it on our own,” Chirikure said.

“I was studying for a BA General and many students from other departments had interest in the arts and we joined hands in the clubs and did a number of productions.

“Filmmaker and author Tsitsi Dangarembga was also in the club and I remember that we did a production based on one of her scripts. It was exciting and we all loved it. When my mother heard that I was into the arts, she said I had shown the traits when I was young. In fact, she was my Grade One teacher and she said I enjoyed making fun in front of other pupils.

“When the likes of Dr Robert McLaren (founder of Chipawo) and Stephen Chifunyise began efforts to set up a theatre arts department, they started working with us as we were doing our productions and they set their foundation for the department.”

Chirikure said he had been writing and performing poetry since he was at school and at UZ he would ask for slots to go on stage when musicians came to entertain students.

“Musicians like Stella Chiweshe and Pied Pipers came to perform at the college and I asked for permission to perform my poetry during their shows. I became known as a poet at college although I was also involved in theatre. That was the beginning of my journey in the mainstream arts industry.”

Literature

Chirikure has published books that include “Rukuvhute”, “Hakurarwi” and “Chamupupuri” while his works have appeared in various anthologies. His poems have been translated to German, Chinese, Dutch, French and Spanish.

He specialises in Shona poetry and has performed at various stages in more than 30 countries. Besides his works, Chirikure has contributed to the literary scene in many ways.

“After graduating, I joined College Press as trainee editor and I worked for 17 years at the company, grooming writers and sharing experiences with renowned authors. Stanely Nyamupfukudza was the editor at College Press when I joined and I learnt a lot from him. By the time I left, I was assistant editorial manager.

“I am happy that some of the writers that I worked with in their early days have become known authors and these include Memory Chirere and Ignatius Mabasa. They would bring their works and I assisted them until we published their poems in an anthology, ‘Tipeiwo Dariro’.”

Chirikure also discovered many budding authors through the programme “Vanyori Vemangwana” that was aired on National FM (then Radio Four) that he did with current National Arts Council of Zimbabwe director Elvas Mari and producer Charles Mumanikidzwa.

“There are a number of writers that came through that programme. I laughed recently when musician Kireni Zulu launched his debut novel ‘Miromo Yavakuru’ because he was one of the most consistent contributors to that programme way before he became a musician. He would send his poems and we discussed them on radio. He showed great potential.”

At College Press, Chirikure edited works of known authors like Dr Herbert Chimhundu and the late Professor Solomon Mutsvairo among others.

Music

When he got involved with the likes of Stella Chiweshe and Pied Pipers at UZ performances, Chirikure developed an interest in working with musicians and after college he hooked up with the late mbira maestro Dumi Maraire (father to Chiwoniso). They formed a group Detembira — derived from combination of detembo (poem) and mbira (music genre) — and had regular slots at the original Book Café.

Chirikure also became close to Oliver Mtukudzi and he was invited for a show in Gweru together with Albert Nyathi.

“Tuku invited us to Gweru and he asked us to go on stage before his performance. We both did our poems and I performed ‘Kanyanisa’. When I went backstage, Tuku said he had enjoyed the poem and wanted to develop it into a song. He got the lyrics and after two weeks he did the song. That was how his song ‘Kanyanisa’ came to be. Let me set the record straight here, some people say I write songs for Tuku but that was the only song I contributed to him.”

When he was working with Dumi Maraire, Chirikure would regularly see Chiwoniso who was doing music with Peace of Ebony and they developed a musical connection. After Dumi’s death Chiwoniso approached Chirikure asking for a composition and that culminated in the song “Ivai Nesu”.

“I gave her two poems. One had a social theme and the other focused on environmental issues. I thought she would do two songs, but she decided to combine them into one track. The way she linked the songs was fantastic. That is why you hear the song alternating between the two themes. She did it in a way I did not expect.”

The success of the song enhanced their relationship and Chirikure has at least one composition on all Chiwoniso’s albums. They also did an unreleased album together.

“She died before we released the album. We had completed recording and it will be released sometime to come. I enjoyed working with her because she was so talented. We toured various countries together for performances as we spiced up music and poetry.”

Chirikure has also penned songs for musicians like Dumi Ngulube, Transit Crew, Pied Pipers, Progress Chipfumo and Andy Brown.

He has another music project with Albert Nyathi that culminated in the album “Connected” that was released in 2014. They toured some countries with the project and are set to go on a national tour soon.

Theatre

Acting skills were sharpened at the UZ drama club and Chirikure went on to feature in a number of productions at the university. With four other students, they formed a group called Taako that did numerous plays. After college, he was involved in community theatre projects that saw him featuring in a number of productions that were staged in various parts of the country.

He was also involved in theatre tours across the region for performances of “Song of Lawino” play in countries like South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.

“Acting is one genre I enjoy most. I have travelled to many countries doing theatre. After the community theatre projects, I was involved in some Rooftop Promotions plays at Theatre in the Park. I took part in many productions and we toured many countries with Chifunyise’s play ‘Pregnant with Emotion’. There was a time when we performed in six European countries without a break and it was really a challenging tour.”

“Pregnant with Emotion” had the cream of local actors and also had music elements. The cast included Daves Guzha, Walter Mparutsa, Mandla Moyo, Chiwoniso Maraire, Eunice Tava and Chirikure.

Chirikure’s relationship with Rooftop Promotions has continued over the years and early this month he took part in “State of the Nation” production at Theatre in the Park.

Current projects

Because of his vast experience, Chirikure now specialises in arts consultancy. He travelled to Masvingo this week for an arts festival that ends today and he will be presenting a paper on literature and technology.

He has worked in live literature sect for Zimbabwe International Book Fair and was instrumental in setting up the Poetry Café at Harare International Festival of Arts with assistance from Hivos. Chirikure worked for Hivos as programmes manager for cultural issues before he travelled to Germany for an artiste-in-residence project.

Since his return, Chirikure has done a number of projects as a consultant.