What inspires you to write poetry?

I have come to realise poetry is woven into everything in our day to day lives. As a result, my inspiration can come from mundane ordinary things and also really deep and meaningful experiences. It can range from conversations, routines, patterns, experiencing human beings, experiencing life and the different emotions and things like the weather, nature, food etc.

How does it make you feel to be part of a published anthology?

I must say it feels really amazing to be a part of a body of work that is bigger than myself. I value collaboration, particularly with other women like me, finding little pockets and spaces to fully express themselves and speak their mind.

Do you face any challenges as a Zimbabwean woman poet?

I have not experienced anything in particular in terms of inequality in treatment at a professional level. I however, have been vulnerable and subject to terrible things such as manipulation, exploitation and there have been instances where I did not feel safe and was definitely being preyed on. I was lucky to have escaped certain situations, otherwise I would have been a victim of sexual abuse. I think the industry as a whole is unfortunately unsafe for a lot of us women, especially when you are either young or starting out, or both.

Briefly describe your writing journey, from how you started to where you are today.

It started around primary school. I was very shy growing up, but I somehow really needed validation and always sought out ways of getting it. I realised writing was one of the very few ways I could get that. I would share my short story writings with everyone I could at that point and would eagerly wait to see and hear their reactions.

Fast forward to 15 in high school around form 2. I experienced Sithandazile Dube for the very first time, an amazing poet, and ironic because she was my Accounts teacher as well. It was a Wednesday afternoon during an assembly, she performed an amazing poem. There was just a lot of things about the experience that made me want to be so much like her. It felt like she was there for me specifically, like I had found what I have been looking for. I ran to her after the assembly and luckily, she was looking for students to mentor. That’s where all the magic began. She ushered me through writing and performing, and I have not looked back ever since.

How do you want your work to be remembered?

As a translation of what life is, was or will always be. Struggles and many other life experiences are not unique.  That we are more alike than we think.

Would you like to share anything about yourself to help your readers connect with you?

I’m an average girl sharing her average interpretation of really ordinary things in a way I hope is thought provoking and somewhat intriguing.

Who is your favourite poet and why?



I absolutely love Sipholazi Jonas and Koleka Phuthuma, I think they have done things with poetry that a lot of us don’t imagine is possible. They have taken the art to places we didn’t think could accommodate and receive poetry like that. 

What are your future writing aspirations?

I would like to finish all 3 books I started and could never get the courage to revisit. I hope to continuously build up courage to not only believe myself enough but to just share my best and worst stories unfiltered. 

What is your biggest dream?

To get to a place where I don’t have to do other things in life, to enable me to just write or perform poetry; like getting another job or studying for something else to guarantee security or stable income.