“IN CELEBRATION OF FEMALE LITERATURE”

To honour the 2013 Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF), the bookshop at Book Café in conjunction with ZIMBABWE WOMEN WRITERS and PAMBERI TRUST announces an evening “IN CELEBRATION OF FEMALE LITERATURE” on Wednesday 2nd October at Book Café, 139 Samora Machel Avenue, Harare.

 

The celebration features performances and readings from Zimbabwe’s sensational young poet Cynthia Marangwanda who brought the house down at Poetry Africa (2012) and who has performed in Netherlands and South Africa, and alongside her the fast-rising Mbira player and vocalist Pauline Gundidza, with a literary reading from Zimbabwe’s very own doyenne of women writers, Barbara Nkala.  

 

Cynthia Marangwanda: A Dikson Slamajamjar Photo

A discussion platform on the theme: “How are female figures represented in contemporary Zimbabwean fiction?” will be led bywriter and a media consultant Tinashe Mushakavanhu with writerIsabel Bandason (nee Mafuso).

 

Tinashe Mushakavanhu holds a PhD in English from University of Kent and degrees from Welsh and Zimbabwean universities. He has co-edited four books including State of the Nation: Contemporary Zimbabwean Poetry (2009) and Visa Stories: Experiences Between Law and Migration (2013). Creative writer and businesswoman Isabel Bandason is a passionate exponent of positive images of African women in literature and has been a member of Zimbabwe Women Writers since 1992.

 

Tinashe Mushakavanhu
 

The moderator will be Mrs Ruby Magosvongwe who is a ZWW and ZIBF board member and Lecturer in the Department of English at the UZ, among other portfolios.

 

Literary Competition

The celebration will launch a literary competition, to write a 300-word essay on “The female writer (or a novel or story written by a female) that changed my life and perception” open to Zimbabweans, with prizes and public readings to be announced.

 

 

JAZZ TRIO THRILLS AT INTWASA

BULAWAYO-BORN jazz diva Dudu Manhenga’s second bite of the cherry at the Intwasa Festival KoBulawayo left an indelible mark on Thursday night as she performed with two other female jazz artistes in a colourful event held at Elite 400.

Luyanduhlobo Makwati
Own correspondent
Southern Eye

Dudu, as she is affectionately known, shared the stage with sibling Zanele Manhenga, aka Uza, and Clare Nyakujara on a night dubbed “Intwasa Spring Jazz Night." The three women performed in the mould of Three Generations and left the audience captivated and asking for more through their sweet and powerful voices.


PAMBERI TRUST PHOTO: BY DENNIS MADYIRA

The performance was the main attraction of the night.

The three talented women who had earlier on promised to put up a scintillating performance did not disappoint as they gave the audience lively entertainment. They treated the audience to an assortment of fun which some revellers termed a three-in-one performance because of their sharp voices that were well varied.

PAMBERI TRUST PHOTO: BY DENNIS MADYIRA

PAMBERI TRUST PHOTO: BY DENNIS MADYIRA
 

The three phenomenal jazz vocalists were led by veteran Dudu, who kept revellers on their toes.
Clare and Uza backed Dudu with their sharp voices that made the performance a gig to remember.
The super-charged stars put up a superb show from the moment they took their act on stage.
Uza and Clare said they were happy to be in Bulawayo and looked forward to be in the city more often.

The Spring Jazz Festival was a successful partnership between Intwasa Arts Festival and F.L.A.M.E(Female Literary Arts & Music Enterprise), a project by Pamberi Trust, a Harare based arts development organisation.

Dudu, Clare and Uza Do the Boys

Three Generations are (LtoR) Clare Nyakujara, Dudu Manhenga and Uza Manhenga. FUNGAIFOTO | FF&A PHOTOGRAPHY

The group Three Generations performs at the Book Café, September 12, 2013. The show was themed 'Girls Doing Boys' and featured the three ladies doing a set of songs by the legendary Zimbabwean township music groups, Mbare Trio and Cool Crooners.

With one of the boys. Three Generations invite Friday Mbirimi of the Mbare Trio onto stage. FUNGAIFOTO | FF&A PHOTOGRAPHY

Three Generations is made up of three artists who have made it in their own right; Dudu Manhenga, Clare Njyakujara and Uza Manhenga. They say being in the group allows them to break out of their typecast performances as solo artist and 'just get crazy'.

There was a change of outfits for the Cool Crooners set.FUNGAIFOTO | FF&A PHOTOGRAPHY

Three Generations has another show at the Book Café on Saturday, September 21, where the theme will be 'Girls Bands Bang'. After that they head to Intwasa Arts Festival in Bulawayo for a performance on September 26.

Courtesy of zimbojam.com