Mbizo Chirasha interviews Zimbabwean Writer Francis Muzofa
MC: Who is Francis Muzofa and What have you written so far?
FM: Francis Muzofa is a boy from the rural areas of Gutu Chiwara who grow up a very active cattle herder. Fortunately or unfortunately all that I am today i owe it to my upbringing herding livestock in the mountains and valleys of Chiwara, Muzofa kraal to be specific.Turns out I am not only a village head but royal blood that is part and parcel of the Chiwara chieftainship.The Matengarufu dynasty. I am of the Moyo Chirandu totem who are the custodians of the cultural and social values of the entire chieftainship. It is from this back ground that my destiny was moulded. I don't regret a thing about the environment I grow up in, the lessons I learnt are priceless.All said and done Iam poet who is still scaling the poetic ladder and enjoying the climb. I am a poet by birth because informal poetry runs in the clan. My great great grandfather was a great poet. I am not a self taught poet but a clan taught poet because it runs in the DNA of the clan. I am a technician by profession, poet by birth and prince by blood. I saw it all, I lived it all, I appreciate all. Kambuzuma township helped to leak the newly born calve, and made it clean and ready to run.
I have not written a solo anthology yet ,it's deliberate.I do have more than enough building materials for the house.However my poems have been published in a several anthologies both local and international. One of the highlights being writing the Queen's language for Queen Elizabeth II after her passing and a poetry anthology was done in her honor by The Poet Magazine.My poems have been published by magazine and newspaper and some of them I do them for private entities.The public never get to see them.By the way I only started to go public with my poetry courtesy of the idleness of COVID-19, before that I was a private poet I didn't share my poems publicly and the writing wasn't that consistent and serious.Unlike today where I write and read at least a quote a day in either language shona or english.Most of my poems are accessible on google. I am currently housed in the wind corner of Windhoek.
MC: You love your mother language so much and I can see how you coin your shona words , what inspires you?
FM: Given the history above, culture, norms and values is ingrained my DNA. The Chirandus being cultural figure heads wherever they go , I attended and listened to court sessions every second day. They by default speak a language called chiduma, which is more like a coded language, it's very deep and in riddle form That's when I fell in love with the language and the wisdom behind and I have spoken like that to date. The wisdom in our mother tongues is priceless.I think most people are like me, they originally think in their mother language and than convert it to any other second language.I have transfered this wisdom to the Queen's language too.So whichever language I am using I am not on the surface but way deeper.I have so much love and respect for the wisdom that you find in our proverbs, idioms, and folktales.
MC: Why do you think it is good using our mother language when communicating ?
FM: You learnt more than 60% of what you know in you mother language, therefore expressing yourself in your mother language is much richer than any adopted/ acquired language. Indigenous languages are also getting extinct and conversing and writing in them becomes a way of preserving them. To destroy a culture first kill the language and the passage is clear. Sometimes languages like English fall short of the intended weight or intensity. It waters down the statement or the story.
MC: Are you an advocate of our indigenous language , what activities are you doing to promote such?
FM: I am a huge advocate of mother languages and in the various poetry groups that I am in I am always helping the young who come to my inbox for assistance be it for the right word to use or statement. Some even ask to use my coined quotes in their work which i gladly agree. Every second day Iam coining a new statement. Although I have not yet published,in the near future I will publish a shona anthology with brand-new proverbs/quotes/idioms of my own. Over and above the poems and they will be in the chikaranga dialect.Thats a sure way of mummifying mum's language.
MC: What are you currently writing?
FM: Poetry is the horse I love and trust, i hardly write prose. I like the freedom in poetry anything goes, the poetic license is a license that allows you to drive the way you want and I find that liberating and it encourages creativity.Like I said I write at least a poem or a qoute a day. Some are for funny and some are more serious but I have to get them out of my head to make way for others to come in. A well that is not used will eventually dry up. That's why I said I have enough building materials for the house. And I write in any of the two language english and shona although I would say the abacus is showing more on the english side. I am a fanatic of folktales too although I prefer them in audio. I do create some for humor. I love humor and I am humorous too.
MC: Do you write anything that on gender equity and equality?
FM: I have always had a soft spot for the softer gender most of my writing is biased towards women and girls. One of my poems called "Period Pain" which is part of an International anthology published by Sexual Health And Reproductive Matters Journal and was published on International Women's Day in 2022.It tries to highlight the challenges around mensuration and how the poorest of the poor have to resort to the use of tree leaves because of the challenges in getting sanitary pads over and above the stigma surrounding the topic.The judges of the competition who were all ladies were even surprised when their realized the writer is a male.I have another poem i wrote which talks about the challenges of menopause in older women.I also write about mental health and have contributed in three anthologies that were published by Poetry For Mental Health UK in the past two years.
MC: Do we have free Expression in Zimbabwe, if not what do you think should be done?
FM: Although it's slightly better now, it's still a big challenge.Arts are not free to express themselves you have to constantly check and tone down your language which compromise the quality of the issues you will be try to adress.Freedom of expression is not guaranteed, once you express yourself fully your freedom can't be guaranteed. Artist ought to unite and speak with one voice and remind the nation that artist are messengers send by the gods , to warn , advice and rebuke.Also thanks to technology some of the restrictions can now be circumvented.
MC: We have lost a lot of publishing entities in Zimbabwe , what do you think should be done and do we have a hope of the book industry in Zimbabwe?
FM: The book industry went into decay for a while but i think it's slowly coming back thanks to technology. A lot is happening on social platforms which have become incubation centers for a lot of book projects. The major challenge is on the cost of data. Maybe internet cafes with free wifi should be rolled out especially in the high density areas.The is also need to increase competitions for writers and the rewards from such competition ought to be tangible.Authors are not very much respected in Zimbabwe. Authors should be a stand alone department for them to stand out and be noticed, for now they are foiled in foil.
MC: Have you ever won any artistic award , may you mention some?
FM: I wouldn't say I won directly although my poem called "Funeral OF Trees" won best video although the person who was reciting it is the one who won.That was at local competition.
For the poem Period Pain to make it into that International anthology was a win.
To have my name in the shelves of Beckham Palace via the International anthology "Celebrating The life Queen Elizabeth II" is a big win.
One of my poems called "Tears" also made it into the largest anthology on climate change to date it's called "Our Changing Earth" by poets from around the globe.
MC: Where do we see you in the next five years?
FM: You will see me all over the internet saying the right words that help to make communities and the world at large a better place. The anthologies are going to be there to teach. Leaving a good foot print is the destination, however enjoying the journey is the aim. Poetry is my Chess.
Francis Muzofa (aka@Pope) is Zimbabwean poet who is currently based in Namibia. He is published both local and international via different platforms that include, newspaper, magazines, journals and anthologies.He is a philosophical poet who enjoys humor and allegory in most of his writings.His favorite writing themes include gender, health, climate and nature. Francis strongly believe poetry is the PhD of creative writing and has the power to mold the world. Poets are the messengers from the gods, they deliver celestial messages.
