The Sunday Mail
THE poetry scene been awoken by upcoming talent. A group of young writers has teamed up to produce an anthology titled “Fresh Ink”.
The collection was launched last week in Harare and I had the privilege of getting a copy then.
Despite being written by first-timers, I was impressed by the bulk of the poems in the anthology as some of the writers show a lot of promise.
The poems from 30 writers was compiled by Joseph Mahiya, who won an essay award at the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards in South Africa last year.
Some of the writers who contributed include Tanatsei Gambura, Lisa Diwura, Stephen Rusike, Sara Chibwe, Kudzai Gezi, Tadiwa Gwede, Ashleigh Musa, Ruvarashe Marikano and Watson Hungwe to name just a few.
The diversity in content and styles is vast with each poet bringing his/her own signature elements to the party, which makes for an interesting read.
This collection is made up of fresh ink indeed, the writers give a fresh perspective of nature surrounding us.
Besides talking about nature, some of the poems examine many aspects of life in general, creatively combining art and fact.
Tanatsei Gambura’s piece “The Sun Won’t Shine”, is one of the many poems in the book that caught my eye.
Besides manipulating rhyme to enhance the poem, the writer made use of imagery to great effect for an extraordinary outcome.
The poem talks about how the prevalence of evil has been blocking the light to shine upon humanity.
“The sun won’t shine for its warmth you’ll kill, it doesn’t have the power and it doesn’t have the will, so forever it will hide behind the murky hill, for your heart is drenched in a hostile chill.
“The sun won’t shine over a world of sins, or a heaven that weeps and a hell that grins, where the good soul loses and the bad spirit wins, or where brief peace ends and long war begins,” goes part of the poem.
Rutendo Kakora’s “My Life’s Composer”, is another interesting piece where the writer likened creation of man to the composition of music. The way the poem flows is mesmeric and the similes are dripping wet with musical diction.
In the poem, life is described as a perfect symphony of flesh and air, orchestrated like Beethoven’s first or Debussy’s Clair De Lune. The challenges that many students face are unearthed in Ashleigh Musa’s “Judgment Day”.
The poet artistically talks about how some students lose focus only to realise the time they have wasted as they edge towards final exams, which are being likened to the biblical judgement day.
“As the judgement day approaches, there will be the weeping and gnashing of teeth, the hardworking will be rewarded, the lazy will reap laziness and whirlwind, the status of everyone is reviled on judgement day,” says one verse.
I appreciated the fact that the writers came up with diverse themes, covering a wide range of issues thereby enriching the text. From love stories to the appreciation of nature, this legion of young writers showcased an abundance of raw talent.
Despite having a good number of brilliant poems there are some, which turned out to be the opposite. While other writers made use of clever wordplay and other enhancing tools, there were a few who lacked the poetic flair thereby writing their pieces like general story compositions. Overall, the book is not bad at all and shows signs of a brighter future for the literary arts.
