It’s always a moment of pride when I find a Zimbabwean author mentioned in the international media. What is largely published about Zimbabwe does a disservice to our country and us. Ours is not a single story. It is always a particularly proud moment when I find that the author is also a woman.  The shortlist for the Twelfth Caine Prize for African Writing was announced recently and Zimbabwean author Noviolet Bulawayo has been shortlisted for her story Hitting Budapest.

Of course the most internationally recognizable Zimbabwean women writers are Tsitsi Dangarembga, Yvonne Vera and more recently Petina Gappah. In an interview with Mazwi literary journal Noviolet discusses why there are only a handful of Zimbabwean women writers:

Of course there are a host of reasons, but I think it also speaks to the trying circumstances of African women, not just Zimbabwean women by the way, as the group that comes last in everything and writing is no exception. Of cause this is compounded by the politics of the publishing industry. Still, I believe Zimbabwean women have compelling stories and those who are writing are doing a good job representing, and I’d like to especially thank those who are writing from Zimbabwe, the little known and unknown ones. To me those are the bad-ass writers, imagine knowing you will never be read beyond your borders, never be an international star but still writing all the same! That’s writing as speaking, as insisting on one’s presence and I think that’s deep.

The annual ZIBF for 2011 has been set for the 28th to the 30th of July in the Harare Gardens. Running under the theme “Books for Africa’s Development”, the fair hopes to regain its rank of being the best in Africa. A two-day Young Person’s Indaba on the 25th and 26th of July will pave way for the Book Fair. Read more form the Herald website.

This event promotes the love of books, reading and writing. It is a well-known fact that when there were no televisions or computers, reading was the principal leisure activity. Thus Africans possess a strong traditional orientation to oral and cultural forms of education, communication and entertainment. Information transmitted through song, dance and storytelling is more widely embraced.

Book Fairs across Africa aim to encourage cross-border trade in books and create a reading culture in the region. They do so by bringing together the book chain functions; authorship, publishing, distribution and readership. ZIBF by virtue of taking an international stance accommodates writers, publishers, booksellers, reading clubs and libraries from Africa and the developed world.

We hope to see the stature of ZIBF grow to enable it to be considered as the one of the top International Book Fairs in the world. Thus librarians, documentalists and publishers, authors, writers should all come together to make this a success. Exhibitors can choose a display option that best fits their needs from a single or double dedicated space devoted exclusively to them.

On their Facebook page ZIBF wrote:

“The ZIBF was the biggest and best book fair in Africa during the 1990s. Sadly, it’s now gone the way of many other things in Zimbabwe.”

Exhibitors please rekindle the experience by emailing information [at] zibfa [dot] org [dot] zw or events [at] zibfa [dot] org [dot] zw to receive an Exhibition Stand Application Form. Early application is advised to avoid disappointment.

Zimbabwean audiences have been wowed for several years by Alenka Ponjavic who regularly performs at the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA).

Alenka graciously gave Kubatana some of her time and went Inside Out with us.

Alenka Ponjavic – the princess of the Balkans and Queen of Everyone and Everything and Everywhere else (she really believes this is true), Opera singer and Artist at HIFA.

Find out more about Alenka from her web site: www.alenkaponjavic.com

Describe yourself in five words?
Determined, a bit crazy, passionate, artistic, compassionate (I hope).

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
From my mother: if you’re going to do something, do it properly or don’t bother.

What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever done?
Stapling a dress together, and singing in it in front of 5000 people. Ridiculous is necessary and very present.

What is your most treasured possession?
My voice.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
On a global scale, a large number of people not having access to basic necessities. Also for us who have these things, I feel miserable that exists.

Do you have any strange hobbies?
I write poetry and paint and don’t have any talent for it.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My nose and my double chin.

What is your greatest extravagance?
I don’t really have any.

What have you got in your fridge?
2 litres of milk that’s gone off, a bottle of champagne and a bit of cheese.

What is your greatest fear?
To be imprisoned for no reason. To be imprisoned innocent.

What have you got in your pockets right now?
No pockets on me!

What is your favourite journey?
All journeys are favourite. As long as they are journeys I am happy, and life itself is a journey.

Who are your heroes in real life?
I make a point of having no heroes. Ultimately when you meet a person who you think is a hero you realise they are just a person.

When and where were you happiest?
The day I got accepted at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study music. Its been a holiday ever since.

What’s your biggest vice?
Addiction to popcorn. I am in the process of developing Popcorn Anonymous. The first thing I checked at HIFA after dropping my suitcase was where the popcorn machine was. Otherwise I would have called Manuel.

What were you like at school?
One of those people who wanted to have lots of results without working too hard.

What are you doing next?
Ordering a carrot cake, my second biggest vice

‘The Engagement Party’ is this year’s (2011) HIFA theme. The HIVOS Spoken Word Programme on Wednesday 27, April took time to engage Zimbabweans celebrating African expression as they listened to poems being recited by poets from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi and Ghana. The theme for the day was, “Diversity in our Voices”. The occasion wouldn’t have been a success without the colourful and wonderful audience. Not only was expression done in poetry, but in song too, as witnessed by the performance by Zimbabwe’s beautiful jazz singer Claire Nyakujara.

Mbizo Chirasha, The Black Poet, was the first poet to perform. The themes of his poetry consist of children’s rights, politics, social lives, gender issues, praise and protest, culture and African pride. He took us on an expedition of the African names from the King Jaja of Opobo to Chaminuka with his poem was titled, ‘African Names’. Another local poet who performed was, Bhekumusa Moyo. He has several of his poems published in the Sunday News Poetry Corner and other publications. On this day he took to the stage two of his poems titled, ‘A poetic crusade’ and ‘This hand’.

Power to the sisters hey! T J Dema from Botswana was the only female poet who performed on this day. I must say her poems are truly engaging as she tackles life issues with her African voice. She performed ‘Neon poem’ and ‘First born Lullaby’. An extract from ‘Neon poem’ reads:

Poems are bullshit unless they teach
They serve absolutely no purpose unless they reach
The audience they are written, the ears they are meant for

Q. Malewezi from Malawi well known as Q, delivered his poem in heartfelt verbal bursts interlaced with humorous suggestions. He managed to invite the audience on an artistic journey in his alphabetic poem, ‘Journey to Q’. One would think it’s a journey of his life but no, he dwelled on all the issues in Africa in alphabetical order (A-Q of course) in an artstic manner, which was just superb. The other poem he performed was ‘Recycling Politicians’.

Quaye Kojo known as Sir Black from Ghana delivered the last poem. He tackles poetry more on a thought provoking note. During his performance he got inquisitive as he threw questions here and there to engagea  the audience.  Below is a quote from one of his poems:

If vegetarians eat vegetables
What should humanitarians eat?
~ Humanity in diversity~

To end the programme singer Claire Nyakujara showed her diversity by performing three songs one in Shona, Ndebele and English.

To listen to more of the poetic engagement do make a date with The HIVOS Spoken Word at the HIVOS Poetry Café.

Saturday (Coca-Cola Day) – 3-4pm
Sunday (Alliance Insurance Day) – 12-1pm

The Harare International Festival of the Arts opened yesterday with the expected pomp and fanfare. The Festival grounds cover most of Harare gardens and have expanded to include off-site theatre locations like Reps and 7 Arts theatre. I like to shop, and one of my favourite festival locations is the Global Quarter Craft market, located behind the National Gallery. There you find artists and craftsmen who sell items that vary from jewellery and pottery to Zimbabwean stone sculpture.

Some of the craftsmen were working while exhibiting and selling like the potter in the picture above, who was putting the finishing touches on a vase.

And, I didn’t expect to find Carlos Mondlane, who had travelled all the way from the African Arts Centre in Maputo, Mozambique who is exhibiting wooden sculptures at the Festival.

This year HIFA expanded their reach into the centre of First Street. Pictured above are some of the crowds that gathered to watch a variety of local and international artists bringing theatre to Zimbabwean streets.