In-depth Interview Series
Cecil Jones Myondela better known amongst his legion of fans, writers and readers as Chenjerai Mhondera is mystery in the world of literature. What makes me a mystery is that nothing is very clear about circumstances around my birth. Some say I was born in Ujamaa Village in Tanzania in the late 80s so is the name Umoja Ujamaa while others are of the mind that I was born Cecil Jones Myondela in the streets of the remote district of Colonial Melsetter (now Chimanimani) in Zimbabwe in around 1990 and grew up under. What is known about me is very sketch as I am also in the process of discovering myself. Owing to difficulties at office of Registrar, I could not be given proper identity. I was renamed in favour of local identity so is the name Chenjerai Mhondera which I have then adopted as my writing name. Anything else about me stands to be discovered. For this reason I can't seem to identify myself as a Zimbabwean or Tanzanian. I therefore say I come from the East and I am a citizen of the world. When the white family believed to have adopted me finally left in early 2 000 offered to take me out of this country citing Mugabe as cause, I was said to have said 'If you want to go, go. I will remain with David here rather than to be pushed and scared out of this country by Mugabe who does not know the inside of Chimanimani. I will remain to see Mugabe.' So by writing I seek to reconnect with this white family who jetted to SA or Zambia. I believe she owes me some form of truth I seek to know about my origins.
I am the writer of Chinotimba Jokes/ Masasi aChinoz, an Academic Book O LEVEL GUIDE TO ENGLISH EXAMINATIONS, published in several anthologies; Shona and English but mainly in English. My works have also been published on online blogs, journals and online Magazines. I am also the writer of the BOOK OF GREAT QUOTES (which has over 5 600 quotes of my own). I am inspired by Jesus Christ of Nazareth and Dambudzo Marechera of Zimbabwe. I am a novelist, author, motivational and inspirational speaker, poet, Founder and Patron of International Writers Association (IWA) formerly Young Writers Club
Poetry in Zimbabwe is growing large especially with the rise of new voices and youths to fill space created by our predecessors and seniors in Zimbabwean literature or those of African descendants. I can safely say if you are to throw a stone in the air on average when it falls you will hit a poet. Poetry has not only become synonymous with just writing. Poets are taking their poems to a point where they are now performing it. However lack of funding and helping juniors to get attention perform or get published is a gap that I feel honoured when people like Mwanaka, Edward Dzonze come as helpers to announce publication of budding poets and those having challenges with publishing, juniors and seniors alike through series of BNAP and Zimbolicious poetry. We wish to appreciate this commendable effort by those senior writers ploughing back into the community and nurturing these artistic talents.
The people around me, and the experiences I have reacted to are my greatest influence. When I see things happening in their order or disorders, I know I am being summoned and commissioned to write about it. I write the past, the present and my predictions of the future. I feel writing is a way to clear confusion about myself and to help explaining mysteries surrounding me. I started writing when I was in grade four when I felt I could not keep reciting other people's poems or works. Poems to me are mini novels or novellas. They expose life in my background or what crosses my mind at that particular time and deserving to be recorded.
I feel our poetry in Zimbabwe and or Africa is not direct in addressing ills in our societies and communities in Africa. It is somewhat afraid of tackling and addressing real issues affecting us and failing to identify who offenders might be and relaying our grievances and solutions before our leaders and authorities for practical constructive criticism and for adoption as transformative mechanism and guidelines to positively develop our societies and communities in Africa and the entire world
We should therefore be founders of literature that is very communicative as it is the only way reliable we can engage our neighbours, friends and relatives, our juniors and seniors, our leaders and authorities in positive talk that betters humanity without having to write what's foreign about and too metaphoric and fable as not to make sense with them. It is high time we understand writing is a way to engage our leaders and address them effectively and thoroughly without having to go to politburo or parliament.
If I were a poem I would have been a protest poem because once a protest poem I will keep protesting even to times to come later after us and I would stand like that to all authorities and leadership to come after us.
If I were to be a President I would love to improve the relation between my security agents and my people. I would listen to constructive advise and criticism from my people and commit to address challenges in my people before people can turn them into grievances and the situation gets chaotic, warring, antagonistic and out of hand. I would also commit to inspect if there is no gross abuse of power by my cabinet, government officials, my army, law enforcement agents and my security agents. I would also maintain that peace exists and during its period of existence I would take it into my hands to see that while my army would not be on war to defend the nation, it will be busy on community work and up to improve social amenities such as construction of schools, bridges, roads, hospitals, old peoples homes, orphanages, pothole filling and be on forefront of leading in indigenous programs that boosts national food reserves and guarantee food security to my people. I would also ensure that only criminals are jailed and stop a system that victimises people even when they are innocent simply because they are opposed to the ruling government. Instead of wasting prisoners in jail and all their energies in cells and ultimately starve and or kill them by hunger, I would create prison farms and install irrigations there so that inmates all year round will be punished in such a way that is productive to the society they belong rather than waste them in jail. I would make jails very correctional and rehabilitative in such a way that the nation will realize value from use of inmates. Those in craft work we would procure them materials required to get carpentry started, metal work and so forth.
My poems in BNAP 2015 and 2016 respectively are evidence of the world of justice we seek to achieve in peace, understanding, unity and togetherness but with all courage and determination to do one another what is good. Some of them bemoan lack of energy in the way we tackle serious issues affecting. We seem to procrastinate or delay unnecessarily when it comes to implementation against a background that our minds are very sound and health in the way they think and push forward to suggest answers and solutions to our crises. I leave my people to read my poems IS THIS THE WAY?, AT KING AGRIPPA'S BANQUET, THE RUINS OF DAMBUDZO and many others in this series. I was questioning on justice for the individuals, justice for our nations and societies. So is justice everywhere.
When it comes to BNAP, I start by saluting the brains behind this series of anthology. It is for the first time if I may admit that people of African descendants are published in one literature book and come up together as a single voice in multiple cries. I thank you our dear Editors Tendai R Mwanaka and Daniel da Purifacacäo for this great revolution you have pioneered for us in the world of literature. We the people of Africa owe you so much gratitude. The series of BNAP in my view is very thorough and broad enough to include all those who open up to get published in it. The interviews as I see them are very important as they guide people and enhance understanding in them as they interact with our literary pieces since this sharing of our thoughts with them gives us common interests and objectives in the way we perceive the world and seek to bring normalcy into it. The book readings, book launches, reviews are some of the promotional moves of the book. I wish videos of these interviews be also on Youtube and circulating on social media platforms. Those published also elsewhere outside BNAP may also have to reflect or allude to BNAP while they may be having their own book launches and interviews.
I thank you
Cecil Jones Myondela better known amongst his legion of fans, writers and readers as Chenjerai Mhondera is mystery in the world of literature. What makes me a mystery is that nothing is very clear about circumstances around my birth. Some say I was born in Ujamaa Village in Tanzania in the late 80s so is the name Umoja Ujamaa while others are of the mind that I was born Cecil Jones Myondela in the streets of the remote district of Colonial Melsetter (now Chimanimani) in Zimbabwe in around 1990 and grew up under. What is known about me is very sketch as I am also in the process of discovering myself. Owing to difficulties at office of Registrar, I could not be given proper identity. I was renamed in favour of local identity so is the name Chenjerai Mhondera which I have then adopted as my writing name. Anything else about me stands to be discovered. For this reason I can't seem to identify myself as a Zimbabwean or Tanzanian. I therefore say I come from the East and I am a citizen of the world. When the white family believed to have adopted me finally left in early 2 000 offered to take me out of this country citing Mugabe as cause, I was said to have said 'If you want to go, go. I will remain with David here rather than to be pushed and scared out of this country by Mugabe who does not know the inside of Chimanimani. I will remain to see Mugabe.' So by writing I seek to reconnect with this white family who jetted to SA or Zambia. I believe she owes me some form of truth I seek to know about my origins.
I am the writer of Chinotimba Jokes/ Masasi aChinoz, an Academic Book O LEVEL GUIDE TO ENGLISH EXAMINATIONS, published in several anthologies; Shona and English but mainly in English. My works have also been published on online blogs, journals and online Magazines. I am also the writer of the BOOK OF GREAT QUOTES (which has over 5 600 quotes of my own). I am inspired by Jesus Christ of Nazareth and Dambudzo Marechera of Zimbabwe. I am a novelist, author, motivational and inspirational speaker, poet, Founder and Patron of International Writers Association (IWA) formerly Young Writers Club
Poetry in Zimbabwe is growing large especially with the rise of new voices and youths to fill space created by our predecessors and seniors in Zimbabwean literature or those of African descendants. I can safely say if you are to throw a stone in the air on average when it falls you will hit a poet. Poetry has not only become synonymous with just writing. Poets are taking their poems to a point where they are now performing it. However lack of funding and helping juniors to get attention perform or get published is a gap that I feel honoured when people like Mwanaka, Edward Dzonze come as helpers to announce publication of budding poets and those having challenges with publishing, juniors and seniors alike through series of BNAP and Zimbolicious poetry. We wish to appreciate this commendable effort by those senior writers ploughing back into the community and nurturing these artistic talents.
The people around me, and the experiences I have reacted to are my greatest influence. When I see things happening in their order or disorders, I know I am being summoned and commissioned to write about it. I write the past, the present and my predictions of the future. I feel writing is a way to clear confusion about myself and to help explaining mysteries surrounding me. I started writing when I was in grade four when I felt I could not keep reciting other people's poems or works. Poems to me are mini novels or novellas. They expose life in my background or what crosses my mind at that particular time and deserving to be recorded.
I feel our poetry in Zimbabwe and or Africa is not direct in addressing ills in our societies and communities in Africa. It is somewhat afraid of tackling and addressing real issues affecting us and failing to identify who offenders might be and relaying our grievances and solutions before our leaders and authorities for practical constructive criticism and for adoption as transformative mechanism and guidelines to positively develop our societies and communities in Africa and the entire world
We should therefore be founders of literature that is very communicative as it is the only way reliable we can engage our neighbours, friends and relatives, our juniors and seniors, our leaders and authorities in positive talk that betters humanity without having to write what's foreign about and too metaphoric and fable as not to make sense with them. It is high time we understand writing is a way to engage our leaders and address them effectively and thoroughly without having to go to politburo or parliament.
If I were a poem I would have been a protest poem because once a protest poem I will keep protesting even to times to come later after us and I would stand like that to all authorities and leadership to come after us.
If I were to be a President I would love to improve the relation between my security agents and my people. I would listen to constructive advise and criticism from my people and commit to address challenges in my people before people can turn them into grievances and the situation gets chaotic, warring, antagonistic and out of hand. I would also commit to inspect if there is no gross abuse of power by my cabinet, government officials, my army, law enforcement agents and my security agents. I would also maintain that peace exists and during its period of existence I would take it into my hands to see that while my army would not be on war to defend the nation, it will be busy on community work and up to improve social amenities such as construction of schools, bridges, roads, hospitals, old peoples homes, orphanages, pothole filling and be on forefront of leading in indigenous programs that boosts national food reserves and guarantee food security to my people. I would also ensure that only criminals are jailed and stop a system that victimises people even when they are innocent simply because they are opposed to the ruling government. Instead of wasting prisoners in jail and all their energies in cells and ultimately starve and or kill them by hunger, I would create prison farms and install irrigations there so that inmates all year round will be punished in such a way that is productive to the society they belong rather than waste them in jail. I would make jails very correctional and rehabilitative in such a way that the nation will realize value from use of inmates. Those in craft work we would procure them materials required to get carpentry started, metal work and so forth.
My poems in BNAP 2015 and 2016 respectively are evidence of the world of justice we seek to achieve in peace, understanding, unity and togetherness but with all courage and determination to do one another what is good. Some of them bemoan lack of energy in the way we tackle serious issues affecting. We seem to procrastinate or delay unnecessarily when it comes to implementation against a background that our minds are very sound and health in the way they think and push forward to suggest answers and solutions to our crises. I leave my people to read my poems IS THIS THE WAY?, AT KING AGRIPPA'S BANQUET, THE RUINS OF DAMBUDZO and many others in this series. I was questioning on justice for the individuals, justice for our nations and societies. So is justice everywhere.
When it comes to BNAP, I start by saluting the brains behind this series of anthology. It is for the first time if I may admit that people of African descendants are published in one literature book and come up together as a single voice in multiple cries. I thank you our dear Editors Tendai R Mwanaka and Daniel da Purifacacäo for this great revolution you have pioneered for us in the world of literature. We the people of Africa owe you so much gratitude. The series of BNAP in my view is very thorough and broad enough to include all those who open up to get published in it. The interviews as I see them are very important as they guide people and enhance understanding in them as they interact with our literary pieces since this sharing of our thoughts with them gives us common interests and objectives in the way we perceive the world and seek to bring normalcy into it. The book readings, book launches, reviews are some of the promotional moves of the book. I wish videos of these interviews be also on Youtube and circulating on social media platforms. Those published also elsewhere outside BNAP may also have to reflect or allude to BNAP while they may be having their own book launches and interviews.
I thank you
No comments:
Post a Comment