dyton mupawaenda
Elliot Ziwira @the Bookstore
The late inimitable academic, Professor Jameson Kurasha, once pointed out that “until lions learn to write their own stories”, the tale of jungle conquest will “always glorify the hunter.”
This philosophy is affirmed in the ongoing 11th edition of the Harare International Literature Festival (LitFest), which opened its doors to literature enthusiasts on Wednesday, marking the beginning of a four-day celebration of African stories and voices.
At the heart of LitFest is the recognition that indigenous stories have been stifled for long.
“The idea came from the realisation that we didn’t have any platform celebrating literature, and looking at literature in detail—inspiring young writers.
“It had input from Chenjerai Hove, Petina Gappah, and other artists and publishers, like Weaver Press”, said LitFest director, Chirikure Chirikure.
He underlined that the festival is focused on promoting local languages and cultures, saying, “We need to find our voice so that we can tell our own story.”
The festival, which ends today, is a celebration of African literary talent and a platform for writers from across the globe to share ideas, brainstorm, discuss challenges, and explore opportunities for growth. It features a diverse line-up of writers, poets, publishers, and performers from across Africa and beyond.
This year’s festival features 45 artists, including writers, performing poets, theatre artists, and musicians from Botswana, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe.
The line-up includes renowned Zimbabwean writers such as Petina Gappah, who was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony.
Notable participants include Nomonde Sky from South Africa and Sidos from Botswana, who featured last year, alongside newcomers like Dr Lame Pusetso from Botswana, Thabang Thai (South Africa), and Tawona Sithole from the University of Glasgow.
Zimbabwe is well-represented in Sarungano, Ulethu, Mambo Guramatunhu, Bradley Sibiya, Professor Malinga, Hupenyu, and Victor Kunonga, among others.
This year’s festival, themed “Stories—The Measure of Life,” brings together writers, poets, publishers, and literature lovers from across the world to explore the power of storytelling in shaping understanding of ourselves and our communities.
This requires supporting local writers and publishers, as well as promoting literacy and literature in African languages.
LitFest is not just a celebration of literature, but also a platform for writers to develop their skills and connect with readers.
The festival includes workshops for writers, as well as discussion sessions and readings at Nhaka Gallery, and ticketed night performances at Alliance Francaise.
On Thursday theatre featured, while spoken word poets and musicians carried the day yesterday. As part of the closing ceremony, full bands will perform today alongside performance poets from Botswana and South Africa.
Representatives from partners and embassies also participated.
Divine Simbi-Ndhlukula and Happyton Bonyongwe also gave insights into their books; “Entrepreneurial Success: Insights on Growing Business in a fluid Economy”, and “One Among Many: My Contribution to the Zimbabwean Story”, respectively, in a discussion with Ray Mawerera.
In her address, Gappah paid tribute to Zimbabwean writers, publishers, academics and historians across generations, pointing out that they are “adding to what (Chinua) Achebe calls ‘the balance of our stories’”.
She noted that there was a missing part in the legacy of writing in Zimbabwe — the biographies and the memoirs.
“What I wish for this wonderful country is that we continue to contribute to the balance of our stories. We add to the tapestry of what we call the story of Zimbabwe,” she said, adding, “Each one of us has a story to tell.”
She argued that contrary to popular belief in the donor community, African stories can be told without donor funding, which she said limits creativity to set agendas in western capitals.
Gappah also spoke about her own writing journey, including her novel “Out of Darkness, Shining Light”, which tells the story of David Livingstone’s African companions.
She spent 20 years, from 1998 to 2018, researching for the novel, which took her to Zambia and Tanzania—moving from one village to another for nine months.
“I wrote other things, of course, in between, but my obsession was the story of David Livingstone’s companions. I spent 20 years just to answer the question, why? And, what I found was absolutely extraordinary.”
Ironically, the venue of the event is located along Livingstone Avenue, and close to David Livingstone Primary School.
“The companions, the African companions, were in the history books, talked about, pleasantly, as footnotes to the story of this great Scottish explorer’s heroism,” Gappah bemoaned.
Her novel has received international acclaim, and she has been approached by the David Livingstone birthplace museum in Scotland to retell the story of Livingstone’s companions from their perspective.
“It sometimes moves me to tears to think that what I thought was simply me fulfilling an obsession to write a novel is now part of the legacy of Livingstone’s companions, as told by an African in the very home where Livingstone was born, 150 years after their extraordinary journey,” she said.
She revealed her desire to locate their graves, some of which are in Mozambique, Uganda and Tanzania. She may never find all of them, but their stories have been immortalised.
“I hope that long after my book is forgotten, long after it’s out of print, that museum will be there and their legacy will continue to shine.”
Indeed, as Gappah asserted, the purpose of life is to leave a legacy, and, the essence of writing is to “honour both the legacies of others and to build our own,” ultimately, weaving “that great tapestry”.
As has been roundly discussed, one of the challenges facing writers in Africa is access to distribution channels. Chirikure noted that many self-published and budding writers struggle to get their books to readers.
However, he indicated that the festival is working to address this challenge by partnering with bookstores, particularly Zimpapers’ Typocrafters Bookshop housed at Herald House, and encouraged writers to convey their books to such spaces.
LitFest has also established partnerships with local and international organisations to promote cultural exchange and collaboration. One such partner is Room to Read, an international non-profit organisation, which promotes literacy and literature in Africa.
Alison Ziki, a practitioner in the international development space, who works with Room to Read, noted in his presentation, “Telling our Story: The Importance of a Vibrant African Book Sector,” moderated by Memory Chirere, the lack of access to reading materials and the dominance of Western literature.
Such dominance has contributed to the dearth of African stories and voices in the literary landscape.
The respondent to the presentation was Tawona Sithole.
“We need to work together to create a vibrant African book sector that promotes literacy, literature, and cultural exchange,” he said.
Ziki underscored the importance of the mother tongue in academic performance, cognitive growth and cultural identity, particularly in children.
He, therefore, implored African writers to contribute to the publication of books in mother tongues to preserve local identities and cultures.
His call comes at a time when many languages are dying due to technological advancements and an increasingly globalised village, with at least 43 percent of the 6 000 tongues spoken across the world facing extinction.
Due to colonial education systems globally, people rely mainly on a few hundred languages, which disadvantage 40 percent of the world’s population that neither speaks nor understands them.
Research reveals that a language dies every fortnight, taking with it a whole cultural and intellectual heritage. Such a loss cannot be ignored.
Naturally, when language suffers, culture becomes the biggest loser.
Some languages and cultures may never be redeemed as they collapse under the guise of industrialisation and progress.
However, LitFest is more than just a celebration of African literature; it is also a call to action.
As Ziki highlighted, the festival is about creating a vibrant African book sector that promotes literacy, literature, and cultural exchange.
This requires addressing the challenges facing the literary industry in Africa, including what he terms “book poverty,” limited access to reading materials, and the need for more African languages to be recognised and promoted.
As Thomas Bvuma’s poem “The Real Poetry”, which Ziki cites in his presentation, reminds us: “The real poetry is sweat pouring down/The backed valley of the peasant’s back/Down to the starved gorge of his buttocks.”
It is this kind of poetry, this kind of storytelling, that LitFest aims to promote and celebrate.
The festival’s focus on promoting local languages and cultures, as well as its efforts to address the challenges facing writers in Africa, make it an important event for the literary community on the continent and yonder.
