Fortune's blog

Mr. Fortunes:
I am pleased to know you Nyashadzashe. Are you in a good space? I would love us to engage in a short dialogue. If I may know, who is Nyashadzashe Chikumbu?

Nyashadzashe:
do you want to know Nyashadzashe the person, or the artist?

Mr. Fortunes:
Nyashadzashe the artist

Nyashadzashe:
well, nyashadzashe is my given name, my mother gave it to me actually, i was supposed to be named rodrick or some other. i’m better known as svovanepasi my ancestral family name. i’m a poet, editor, critic and a writer. put simply, i write.

Mr. Fortunes:
This is good Mr. Chikumbu. Let us get into details. I understand you define yourself as a poet. What does being a poet mean to you and how has it changed or influenced you as an artist?

Nyashadzashe:
haha, you just called me mr. chikumbu, i have a deep mistrust of titles, they almost always mean someone is trying to force their authority down your throat. my mistrust and distrust of titles, partly has to do with me being a poet, because poetry in a way demands that you have to constantly evaluate your position as being one in or with others, you’re story telling you see, and sometimes the stories you’re telling are not yours. of course, there is an element of yourself there, but you also realise that on certain parts you’re not an authority, you can’t claim ownership

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Mr. Fortunes:
Lol, can this be laid as a pardoned move considering well the world we are now living in and so would anyone develop the same feeling towards the stamping of a title over someone which they don’t even know.

Nyashadzashe:
haha, you’re fully pardoned.
well to respond on how poetry has shaped me; poetry for me is living, its a livity as the rastafarian famously say, that’s because my poetry draws heavily from our deep oral tradition as a people. having said that, poetry is everywhere, if you listen closely, you’ll realise that the way you greet and talk to elders is poetic, especially in sacred spaces like dare or roora, the language there is musical, mystical, its also deep, playful and sometimes naughty.
poetry there defined is performed as it is spoken. because of that i mostly write poetry in small caps and unpunctuated, because i’m also trying to capture the poetry as it is spoken. in a way also trying to say screw you grammar.
poetry demands a lot from as the writer, especially if you’re writing something genuinely felt, lived and experienced. in that poetry has taught me that listen in itself is an art

Mr. Fortunes:
Poetry is living, how I like this expression and from what you say one can conclude that you are poetry as you come.
There are a lot of poets out there with yourself included, who brings the best poet in you, do you have one who inspires you or it’s just an innate talent to find yourself as a poet?

Nyashadzashe:
oh yes, there are a lot of poets living and those who have carried on, who inspire me on a day to day basis. i read a lot you see, basically because i have been a reader long before i was a writer, and also because i am trying to see and learn from others who have done it, and are still doing it. there are times i find it very difficult to write, when that happens. i turn to reading.
there are poets i constantly turn to for advice and wisdom within thier works, philani. a. nyoni, donte collins, keno evol, dambudzo marechera, onai mushava, Charles bukowski, the list goes on and on.

Mr. Fortunes:
I am noting the ponds you drink from are toxic literary champions especially when you mention of donte collins and Mushava. And so this makes you one I suppose.
This sounds good my writer extraordinaire and it is more said the best reader breeds a unique writer which is a commendable culture in our pen society. If I heard you well, you also get to some points of sailing low in writing and remedy that ail with reading. Is this difficulty a result of writer’s block or what and how best would you advise a ladder climbing writer who befalls in the same snare of lack of energy to write…most often many lose the zeal of writing altogether after temporarily experience writing lows.
I’ve understood your vast stance in this cause and one can easily tell your position as an artist.
Just like many others we drink of this cask from old and new dogs who bring the best in us and so are you.

Nyashadzashe:
i am not so sure how writer’s block is actually defined. however, what i understand is that people face unique situations on a day to day basis that pulls them away from writing, in those dark heavy moments, it is always important for a writer to remember why they write in the first place, and also try to do things that they feel most comfortable doing.

Mr. Fortunes:
Noble word of advice there. So the key is to know why you started writing in the first place.
Taking my binoculars towards which you say the use of unpunctuated works is common with you to which I find it a very rare style of writing which a more people may struggle to understand, Is it your new discovered style of writing or there are other writers who have gone through the same lane?

Nyashadzashe:
its not a discovered style of writing, in fact i am simply carrying on with the very long tradition of oral poetry, or praise poetry. poetry on the african continent has existed for millennia on end, through its griots, its praise poets, storytelling around the fire, through tsumo, madimikira, through people as they speak. the question(s) is do people speak in punctuated words, strick grammatical rules? i certainly don’t speak like that, and i’d like to think most people don’t.

Mr. Fortunes:
And how best can you convince a traditional reader who would want to follow formally English which is ungrammatical because here I see you bend the rules of gramma deliberately so as to meet your own standards which I personally find it good in my world.

Nyashadzashe:
haha, i find the word ‘formal’ ironic, what actually constitutes formal or formality in writing. but, yes answering the question while an artist has the artistic freedom to bend time, and allow their work to take certain shapes; fortunately, unfortunately there are still industry lines that have to be toed, like word count, certain structures that allows your work to be defined in certain ways, patterns within patterns. like what diffentiates a work of ‘pure’ literary fiction from say horror or pulp fiction. we may not like that, but, hey, its the industry these things are there. at the same time, how much you get away with depends on the ingenuity of the writer.

you see, the thing or problem is what gets to be defined as traditional, canonical or ‘proper’ in grammar and all, especially within the academy by its critics, and through so called cultural journals, magazines and periodicals. we’re told that is meant to follow these very strict and narrow rules of grammar, blah blah blah so it looks good to the reader. but, if you go back enough into history, you’ll find that even during Shakespeare’s time, poems where written to be performed. most people got their poetry through the ear, right.

Nyashadzashe:
i don’t think writing unpunctuated poetry or poetry in small caps is particularly difficult to understand or comprehend. i am attempting to write something that’s tuned to the ear, as it is to the eyes, and the rest of the senses. a poetry that interacts with both the mind, as well as the heart.

Mr.Fortunes:
Sense of aural and oral poetry. With poetry being made to be read out aloud it never runs aways from it’s original state of being more performed than written. I am pretty sure one can now understand where you are coming from. This sounds good and new to my ears. One should be learning from this and so I am.

Nyashadzashe:
yes, precisely. the aural and oral. poetry demands that you listen, listen to everything intently, listen to emotions, to actions, to gestures, to posture, to try and listen to what the earth is trying to say when it moves. listening itself becomes an art.

Mr. Fortunes:
This is good. Now in other Literary works that involves short stories, essays, novels and other areas, do you also use the same style of writing?

Nyashadzashe:
well, writing is kind of write and let write. i do find punctuation beautiful in its own sense, however, i am also saying, hey look, i am also carrying the tradition of my ancestors. and, this is my offering.

Mr. Fortunes:
Taking history and culture with us is one roadway to make a man understand his roots. What an oration!
Well, shifting the dimension a little bit. As an editor when editing, what exactly do you look for in a script and are there types of editing that are involved in book editing? And what are those briefly. Again let us say you are working on a formally written script, with you holding your own unique approach in breaking the English grammar, how do you balance the two, are you able to also appreciate the formal way of writing or what?

Nyashadzashe:
well, generally speaking, within writing and the business of writing, one often needs to wear different hats every so often. because the nature of the work is never constant, its like quick sand always shifting. as an editor, you don’t deal with your own voice, when i am working with a writer on a book, i am merely playing the role of listener, advisor or whichever way that can be put, they are the one telling the story, and i am there to help guide them through that. of course, here and there i play devils advocate, and bite.
haha, a friend of mine once said you’ve got to smuggle your ideas within the establishment. whenever i can smuggle my way of doing things past ‘literary’ customs, i most certainly do. mind you, this is not something new, there are a lot of poets, wrists, academics blah blah who are already doing it, or have done it. the likes of lucille clifton, tawona sithole, bell hooks, david graeber.

Mr. Fortunes:
Okay, I am following closely, in case you notice the unnormal in a piece of work and you wish to advise the writer to kill their darlings or slaughter their fat cows, but because they feel their line or paragraph is unique to them but to you as an editor it doesn’t add taste and it’s not appropriate at all. How do you deal with such a writer who less take heed of advice from the editor?

Nyashadzashe:
i don’t think that’s my job as an editor, really. or thats how its categorised, there are different paths editing takes, for example with developmental editing, you’re looking at how the story (as in short stories, novellas, novels) is unfolding, are the events following up on each other chronologically, or are there gaps within the narrative structure. in those instances, that’s when you tell the writer that part so and so isn’t fitting well onto the narrative, i offer my recommendations. or maybe you’re looking at pacing, perhaps the story is moving too fast for a reader to make of the details or its taking a rather slow turn enough to bore whoever reads it.

Mr. Fortunes:
If they don’t take your recommendations, what becomes your position as an editor? I ask this because I understand there are those writers who are so stagnant to say they see it good whilst with you as a professional editor you see something is not okay in that regard…

Nyashadzashe:
if a writer refuses to take editorial recommendations, unfortunately the story is dropped. that’s how ruthless the writing industry can get.
oh yes, there is certainly that to writing and writers. i have experienced my fair share of it. the truth is genius however it comes is never an entity unto itself, there are many stages writing has to take before it becomes a final consumable product, which makes it essential for a writer to take the advice of their first readers, editors seriously. we’re not monsters out to get you and your work. editors are there to make that process as smooth as possible. haha, look at me speaking like a true representative of the writing establishment.

Mr. Fortunes:
Because they’ll always end up tarnishing your name if you go ahead and publish that kind of shoddy work. And not only the name of the editor even the product itself. And in such instances, I have always told writers to be the first editors of their works and the job of the editor is to facilitate and append a name but surprisingly most of them tend to be so complacent.

Nyashadzashe:
precisely, to be a ‘successful’ writer, one first needs to be their own critic and editor.
yes, there is that when i am taking on an independent project. sometimes, you have to say hey, i love your work and all, but we both dont want to come out like we don’t know what we’re doing, in those instances you have to put your foot down.
on the other hand, my work within a publishing house is guaided by editorial policies which have to be followed to ensure that work comes out constantly. there is still a lot of work that goes on after a book is published. publicity, book sellers and retailers, reviewers, libraries, audiobooks, translations, blah blah blah. these are all people who are industry stakeholders and like their things in certain ways.

Mr. Fortunes:
Yes yes that’s very true and the production line never ends. This is what most writers forget. I think it’s high moment we hold such workshops to have writers understand these aspects.

Nyashadzashe:
yes, a lot of writers are not aware of how the industry actually works. most, because they are too eager to have thier names in print have themselves cheated by self publishing firms, and doggy editors out to get a buck. yes, we most certainly do need workshops and education in those areas, urgently so.
yes, there is lot of work that needs to be done for the sector, writers also need to be educated on the workings of the industry, a lot are unfortunately being cheated out of contracts in the name of seeing their name in print, what’s worse is that one walks out thinking they have made a deal of thier life.

Mr. Fortunes:
Before we get to the tail of our conclude conversation; Is Nyashadzashe a published author? If so, in which category: poetry, novel, or what?

Nyashadzashe:
if by published author you mean, have i put out a single body of work in print yet, no i haven’t.

Mr. Fortunes:
What’s your observation with regards to the reading culture in Zimbabwe?

Nyashadzashe:
well, the thing is people read, people have always read in the country. nothing much can be said about the reading culture, rather its the bolts and nuts of publishing, and the health of the arts sector (main stream) that’s kicking and screaming. main stream publishing is almost a dying bread, which brings other problems such as access; readers don’t readily have access to the kind of work they would prefer reading. which makes it all seem like something is terribly wrong with the reading culture and, that people are not reading at all.

Mr. Fortunes:
Now I’ve run my mind over the case once again and I’ve now collected what you meant previously. So the now predicament that we are faced with is the fading existence of the traditional publishers as we most take the self Publishing route.

Nyashadzashe:
we’ve got a new crop of publishing houses now, text books publishers, why, because that’s were the market is they say. avenues for publishing poetry, novels and work like that are dwindling fast, because of cost of production. the economy is hard, its especially harder for a publishing houses and the writers that depend on them.

Mr. Fortunes:
And so because of that, are you saying writers of such fiction, novels and poetry writers have now little chance to get their works published only because they hardly can meet the costs of selfpublishing companies.

Nyashadzashe:
yes, that’s precisely it. self publishing is alright, it means a lot of creative freedom, but its also expensive for the writer both in time and dollar bills. there is a lot that you’ll have to do in order to sell that much work.
a writer needs thier comfort inorder to keep writing, that might often mean a good advance, fair royalties, a commission here and there, that kind of thing.
yes, which makes the whole process of self publishing scream rape. writers should be paid for thier work, not the other way round.

Mr. Fortunes:
This is brilliant Nyashadzashe. Now with outcries in piracy, how best would you suggest means to minimize such an unruly act in order for artists to enjoy the yields of their hard work?

Nyashadzashe:
yes, piracy has always been a huge thorn in the hill of an artist as far back as i can remember, especially in the country. one of the major problems are that the country doesn’t have definable laws in the form of legislation that deals specifically, and to the fine points of privacy and copyright infringement. that is a huge problem, for artists, publishing houses, studios etc. for that to be fixed, everyone who is a stakeholder in the country needs rally up, and lobby for such legislation.
piracy cannot be completely overhauled, but there are certain things that makes the life of an artist a little bit more comfortable to keep writing, such as advances, better royalities, paying outlets for poems, short stories, articles etc. that also needs to be seriously looked at in the country.
Mr. Fortunes:
And this is so sad because this has been a very huge downturn for artists and it is unbecoming. What a lovely session we had. But before we close the curtains, do you have any last words you would wish to leave with an upcoming artist who finds it hard to step his foot into the arts industry?
Nyashadzashe:
oh yes, on artists that are first starting, you need to make friends, and link up. who is who, if you’re looking into working in genre fiction, know who are genre writers, who are the editors, who publishes that etc. etc. attend events, book readings, performances, get familiar with the cultute, and most importantly buy books.

Mr. Fortunes:
Otherwise, this has been a transforming conversation which I strongly believe it stands to motivate a man. Networking and seeking mentorship and guidance is key if you are to make it in this area. These are very pregnant insights Nyashadzashe. I believe if one gets a chance to sip from this gourd they’ll not remain the same. It’s been a long fruitful and interesting day indeed.

Nyashadzashe:
the pleasure is equally mine, i enjoyed our conversation, too. looking forward to more engaging conversations with you.