The Sunday Mail
Andrew Moyo Beyond the Cover —
GROWING up in the ‘90s and having developed a love for reading early in life, I was exposed to literature from some of the best Zimbabwean writers of that time. Zimbabwe has always been blessed with abundant talent.Some of the writers who made an immense contribution to the local book industry include Aaron Chiundura Moyo, Dambudzo Marechera, Shimmer Chinodya, Chenjerai Hove, Ignatius Mabasa, Charles Mungoshi, Tsitsi Dangarembga and John Eppel.
From poetry to fiction, these writers were the kings and queens of the pen, crafting brilliant novels and anthologies that kept us entertained and informed. While some of these legendary writers of yesteryear have passed on, those that are still alive continue to inspire our generation.
However, it seems like most of the veteran writers have decided to put their pens down as there has not been much recent work coming from them. The unconducive environment, where piracy has killed the profitability of writing, could be to blame.
Although, the void left by these literary gurus might be difficult to fill, there is a new breed of writers rising to the occasion, producing brilliant works and proving that there is still hope for the industry.
Some — Tatenda Charles Munyuki of TCMPub — have gone on to establish independent publishing houses. TCMPub has produced more than 20 books from upcoming writers, with one of them winning an international award.
Samantha Chihuri, who released her debut novel “Chaotic” last year while still pursuing her O-Level studies, is also testament to the fact that young people are stepping up to take their place in the writing community.
Another writer who is proving to be a force to reckon with is Philip Chidavaenzi.
After winning a National Arts Merit Award for First Published Creative Work in 2007 for his debut novel “The Haunted Trail”, he has not looked back. Last year he produced “The Ties That Bind”, which was nominated for Outstanding Fiction at this year’s Namas.
The writer has struck again with another novel, “The Latter Rain”. The Sunday Mail Leisure had a chat with Chidavaenzi, who spoke about his tale of two teenage girls who flee Mt Darwin for Harare in search of a better life.
“This book is about the spiritual depravity that has afflicted mankind and how the challenges of life can push people further away from God as they seek respite from misfortune’s roll call,” said Chidavaenzi.
“The book has varied themes around subjects of love, faith and poverty among other things, and the overarching message is that after all is said and done, God is the final arbiter of our lives and apart from him, there are no solutions to the manifold crises that man face.” He said “The Latter Rain” was 10 years in the making.
“I was experimental with style so you will notice that instead of the third person narrative throughout, there are instances where the story is told in the first person narrative from the perspective of different characters.”
He also shared his opinions on the challenges the book industry faces.
“I think I have been fortunate enough to be able to publish, unlike many other aspiring young writers because established publishers are hardly publishing fiction and it costs quite a lot to self-publish. I think our literature landscape has taken a knock from the general economic downturn because many writers need support to release their work.”
He was full of praises for the current crop of young writers whom he said were slowly taking over the industry.
“This is a new generation slowly taking over from the old guard but it is quite unfortunate that publishing opportunities are too limited and there are not much structures and systems to support these emerging writers.”
