Before his incarnation as a newspaper editor, Ruzvidzo Mupfudza (may his soul rest in peace) was a high school teacher, and a brilliant one at that.
He taught Literature in English (not English Literature, he always pointed out) at Oriel Boys High School, extracting good results from rebellious teens who more often than not believed society’s claim that they were doomed because they were at such a poor institution.
In the first lesson for every new Lower Sixth Form class, he made the largely disinterested class — usually comprising misfits who were not wanted by their Ordinary Level schools for a variety of reasons — write down an excerpt of a Walt Whitman poem.
The poem was titled “O me! O life!” and was contained in an anthology called “Leaves of Grass”, first published in 1885 but which Whitman continued tweaking until his death in 1892.
The excerpt Mupfudza would give his class went thus: “Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish …
“The question, O me! so sad, recurring — What good amid these, O me, O life?
“(The) Answer. That you are here — that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”
Mupfudza would then add his own line: “What will your verse be?”
His purpose throughout the two years of instruction was premised on this challenge: what contribution would these young men make to the world?
He did not see before him the failures that many outside that classroom saw. He wanted to mould — much like the Renaissance Men in Bryce Courtenay’s “The Power of One” — people who would contribute a positive verse to the play called life.
Mupfudza was onto something. The Editor of The Herald sat in that Literature in English class, even though he was not studying the subject but religiously attended out of interest. So did the Editor of The Sunday Mail.
Last Wednesday, the Zanu-PF Youth League pulled off what the ruling party’s detractors fought before the event and have been trying to ridicule since multitudes marched in Harare to show their support for President Mugabe.
We will not waste ink and paper pointing out the ridiculousness of attempting to demean a march that attracted so many Zimbabweans.
We won’t dwell on Obert Gutu’s hyperbolic claim that “Tuku has sold out his soul for a few pieces of silver” because he sang at the Million Man March. Never mind the horrible syntax in that statement, and never mind that Gutu and his party “sold” the country to sanctioning Western nations.
Rather, our focus is on the import of the march. Yes, it was an opportunity for the Youth League — much like our war veterans earlier this year — to meet their First Secretary and President and air their grievances. They raised some valid issues, such as the place of youth in the national economy and the matter of Government procurement tendencies (which we had also raised on this page some two weeks before the Million Man March).
But more importantly, this was an opportunity to reaffirm their belief in and support of what President Mugabe stands for.
This is a man who for decades has fought for the recognition of Africans as equals in the comity of nations. This is a man who has consistently been a firm proponent of the economic independence and empowerment of the people of this land. He has been vilified greatly for his pains, he has been imprisoned for a decade for his beliefs, he has spent much time away from his family in pursuit of the national interest.
This is a man who has always put Zimbabwe first.
And the world has read the verses he has written for the play called life, making his mark and establishing a legacy of freedom and empowerment that inspires millions.
So, inasmuch as the Youth League has its genuine grievances, the young people of this country should start thinking what their verse will be. What shall be their contribution to the play called life?
Shall they be remembered as drunken louts who wait for hand outs, or shall they take charge of their destiny and shape this country in their own image as President Mugabe has done?
Shall the young people of this country be remembered as the generation that pined for jobs but did not create any? Shall they be remembered as a corrupt generation with an undeserved sense of entitlement without having contributed a mite to national economic development?
COMMENT: What will your verse be?
The Sunday Mail
Before his incarnation as a newspaper editor, Ruzvidzo Mupfudza (may his soul rest in peace) was a high school teacher, and a brilliant one at that.
He taught Literature in English (not English Literature, he always pointed out) at Oriel Boys High School, extracting good results from rebellious teens who more often than not believed society’s claim that they were doomed because they were at such a poor institution.
In the first lesson for every new Lower Sixth Form class, he made the largely disinterested class — usually comprising misfits who were not wanted by their Ordinary Level schools for a variety of reasons — write down an excerpt of a Walt Whitman poem.
The poem was titled “O me! O life!” and was contained in an anthology called “Leaves of Grass”, first published in 1885 but which Whitman continued tweaking until his death in 1892.
The excerpt Mupfudza would give his class went thus: “Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish …
“The question, O me! so sad, recurring — What good amid these, O me, O life?
“(The) Answer. That you are here — that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”
Mupfudza would then add his own line: “What will your verse be?”
His purpose throughout the two years of instruction was premised on this challenge: what contribution would these young men make to the world?
He did not see before him the failures that many outside that classroom saw. He wanted to mould — much like the Renaissance Men in Bryce Courtenay’s “The Power of One” — people who would contribute a positive verse to the play called life.
Mupfudza was onto something. The Editor of The Herald sat in that Literature in English class, even though he was not studying the subject but religiously attended out of interest. So did the Editor of The Sunday Mail.
Last Wednesday, the Zanu-PF Youth League pulled off what the ruling party’s detractors fought before the event and have been trying to ridicule since multitudes marched in Harare to show their support for President Mugabe.
We will not waste ink and paper pointing out the ridiculousness of attempting to demean a march that attracted so many Zimbabweans.
We won’t dwell on Obert Gutu’s hyperbolic claim that “Tuku has sold out his soul for a few pieces of silver” because he sang at the Million Man March. Never mind the horrible syntax in that statement, and never mind that Gutu and his party “sold” the country to sanctioning Western nations.
Rather, our focus is on the import of the march. Yes, it was an opportunity for the Youth League — much like our war veterans earlier this year — to meet their First Secretary and President and air their grievances. They raised some valid issues, such as the place of youth in the national economy and the matter of Government procurement tendencies (which we had also raised on this page some two weeks before the Million Man March).
But more importantly, this was an opportunity to reaffirm their belief in and support of what President Mugabe stands for.
This is a man who for decades has fought for the recognition of Africans as equals in the comity of nations. This is a man who has consistently been a firm proponent of the economic independence and empowerment of the people of this land. He has been vilified greatly for his pains, he has been imprisoned for a decade for his beliefs, he has spent much time away from his family in pursuit of the national interest.
This is a man who has always put Zimbabwe first.
And the world has read the verses he has written for the play called life, making his mark and establishing a legacy of freedom and empowerment that inspires millions.
So, inasmuch as the Youth League has its genuine grievances, the young people of this country should start thinking what their verse will be. What shall be their contribution to the play called life?
Shall they be remembered as drunken louts who wait for hand outs, or shall they take charge of their destiny and shape this country in their own image as President Mugabe has done?
Shall the young people of this country be remembered as the generation that pined for jobs but did not create any? Shall they be remembered as a corrupt generation with an undeserved sense of entitlement without having contributed a mite to national economic development?
What shall their verse be?
CARTOON
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