The Sunday Mail
Book Review
Edmore Zvinonzwa
FINALLY, the poetry anthology is now out and ready to be “consumed”, so to say.
Margaret Chideme’s “First 30” is a unique collection of poems about lust, love, pain and abuse, divorce, womanhood, searching and rediscovery.
The poet’s first book, the 174-page collection — whose official launch was held last night in Vumba, near Mutare — is a real scorcher and centres on topics that resonate with women’s issues.
It comprises a five-section anthology of 30 exciting poems which are a rendition of uncensored thought processes, feelings and emotions of a woman persona, essentially, who is going through mourning following a heartbreak, love, searching, discovery and tributes.
The patriarchal setup has never favoured women. Traditionally, they have been subordinates of males – an unfair arrangement by any measure.
To make matters worse, they have also been forced to respond to male initiatives, over and above remaining at the periphery of economic activity, something that modern governments are trying to address through ensuring gender parity.
Reading through the verses reminds the reader of Tsitsi Dangarembga’s “Nervous Conditions”, a book that moans the inexorable fact of being born female while at the same time asserting the rights of the girl-child. Chideme goes even further to deny any association that is abusive and does not consider her natural capabilities and sexuality.
Sadly, like in “Nervous Conditions”, the woman has to contend with not only male domination but being black as well. In one of poems, Chideme decries being “African, Female and Black.”
“Female…black
“African, Female…aaaannd Black
“Three minority qualities rolled into one…
“With wings clutched…
“Born with an illusion to fly,” she writes.
As an African – together with men — she is not an equal.
But still, she is female in a patriarchal setup and, sadly, African.
The avid reader is automatically reminded of Wole Soyinka’s poem “Telephone Conversation”, which is set in the United Kingdom and in which the persona says he is not prepared to waste time viewing accommodation when he knows racial considerations will eventually push him out of the competition.
The concerns Chideme tackles in “First 30” are universal for women.
“It all comes back to me as I lie next to you That the arm tightly holding me is the same that blackened and
Bruised my thigh . . . my cheek, the other time That those lips that love to suckle my breast are the same that speak words that chip at my chest,” she further writes.
The persona is disgusted at the contradictions that are being displayed by her supposed lover who also physically and verbally assaults her.
In the poem “Nhlanhla”, the persona moans the loss of virginity at the hands of Nhlanhla. Poems in the second batch subtitled “Her lust … The love” seem to express the persona’s sexuality, which is going against societal prescription.
It is perfectly in order for a man to openly show his desires and yet a woman is not expected to show the same.
Clearly, Chideme — whose other writings can be found on her personal blog, Maggies Diary — does not censor herself in her verse, a poignancy that makes her art unique, unusually refreshing and interesting.
In an earlier interview, the writer, who is also an entrepreneur, said she never had an audience in mind when she penned “First 30”.
“When I wrote these poems, they were never meant for an audience. The public was never supposed to read them. I wrote like no one was watching.
“At the time, it was an honest raw release of my true emotions and thoughts, and I decided to publish a book of poetry because it represented my uncensored thoughts and my truth. I wanted a true version of myself represented in my work, and poetry is that place for me where I feel I can be myself,” she said.
“It contains poetry that covers the experiences I had in life. In a way, it is a story of my life. It revolves around womanhood, searching and rediscovery, love and lust, pain and abuse, among others. It is about the rediscovery of a woman; the experiences of a woman like love and pain,” Chideme said.
The poet, who is a single mother to a seven-year-old daughter, said she started writing while in high school at Monte Cassino.
“My first, and of course biggest, inspiration was my high school Literature teacher — Mr Chigariro. Because I studied Literature in English, I immediately fell in love with writing. I remember I was just writing poetry, but it was something I did but never thought much about. However, it was when I was around 21/22 years of age that I started writing in earnest,” said the artist.
Born on November 17, 1985 in Warren Park, Harare, Chideme’s formative years were not spent in one place as her grandparents first took her to several places, among them Beitbridge, Hwange, Lalapanzi and Harare.
She says she is coming up with “Next Thirty” soon, another collection that will trace experiences after the “First 30”.
