What inspires you to write poetry? 

LIFE inspires me! I have always loved the written word, and my paintings and canvas installations inspire my poetry…

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

I feel empowered, I feel like I am “Taking Flight, Re-Inventing myself…”

Do you face any challenges as a Zimbabwean woman poet?

Because my poems are inspired by my art subjects, the challenges I face are different from many other Zimbabwean women poets, in that I perhaps feel less pressure to ‘succeed’ as a woman poet, since poetry is one of multiple disciplines that I practise, whereas a poet who is solely writing poetry will feel a more looming pressure to ‘succeed’, to make a statement in their own right…

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

Biology and literature were passions for me during my school years. Plans to enter the world of science or literature were superseded only by the decision to pursue the lonely path of an artistic career! 

After completing a Fine Art Diploma in printmaking, painting and sculpture, at Durban Art College in 1980, I worked as a textile designer, travelling extensively to Europe and the Far East for business and pleasure. In 1991, having explored Chinese brushstroke painting and Indonesian batik techniques, I became a full-time fine artist in Zimbabwe. In 2010, I completed a Creative Writing course mentored by J.M. Coetzee, University of Cape Town. Myth, culture and storytelling has always had great power for me, especially so in Zimbabwe, where we have a rich history of the spoken word, ‘ngano’… and this informs my own writing and my painting.

How do you want your work to be remembered? 

With joy, with a sense of ‘looking afresh’ at the human and animal condition, the travails and triumphs of life, in a world where increasingly we need to re-invent, to re-connect, to our roots, culture, nature and biodiversity in every sense.

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

Third generation, born in Zimbabwe and expressing my hopes, fears and love for this country with my paintbrush and my pen, I respond to the world around me.  I believe that the essence of a landscape, person or animal can only truly be captured by direct observation. That direct and enquiring gaze can then grow into meaningful abstraction, whether as painting, prose or poetry.

Whether painting ocean or African sky, dancers or rhinos, skulls or African wild dogs, I strive for elusive abstract emotion, a heartfelt ‘impression’ of my subject. I dream poetry into my painted landscapes, skyscapes, mindscapes as I make my marks.

I feel an intimate connection with the natural world, with diverse ecosystems.  From field and life observations, I write and create drawings and works on canvas. Much of my painting inspires my poetry, and vice versa! 

Who is your favourite poet and why?

Historically: 

I have so many favourite poets, but one of my favourites would be an unconventional one, Eleanor Farjeon, (1881-1965), who penned “Morning has Broken” which, although it became a popular hymm that we all know and love, is simply a thanksgiving poem at heart. ‘A Dragonfly’ is another example of her deceptively simple but vital, earth-celebrating poetry….

A Dragonfly, by Eleanor Farjeon

When the heat of the summer

Made drowsy the land,

A dragon-fly came

And sat on my hand,

With its blue jointed body,

And wings like spun glass,

It lit on my fingers

As though they were grass.

Contemporary: 

I choose three African poets, simply because each in their own accessible, powerful way have opened my eyes and my ears wider to the wonderful world and the emotions around me… (and note, the fact that they happen to be all women is actually not the reason I choose them!) 

Batsirai Esther Chigama, for her pure, honest penmanship (For Women trying to Breathe…) 

Hope Masike, for her quirky and fearless approach to life, music and poetry (Die with Me) 

Samantha Rumbidzai Vazhure, for her evocative descriptive words, always (Starfish Blossoms)

What are your future writing aspirations? 

I feel that I am at a turning point. Previously, when I had completed particular paintings, my collection of poetry arose from those paintings, but recently I have started writing the poetry before the painting takes life, such as my new poem and artwork titled “Mutsvairo”. An interesting turnaround, a kind of liberation, to be continued…!!

What is your biggest dream? 

To continue painting and writing into a ripe old age, and to be able to have more and more freedom to “say what I want to say” with my poetry and my painting, as I grow older…!