The poems that got under my skin
This year I have been assaulted by books that left a bitter taste in my mouth. Most of the prints delivered were a brutal justification of the importance gate-keeping processes have on manuscripts.
POETRY anthologies and motivational books submitted for review were difficult to engage with, as they appeared to be shabbily done and rushed. After all, there is a degree of perceived importance attached to being a published author that inspired literary recklessness among many budding writers.
When “Under My Skin”, a new poetry anthology by new writer Prince Rayanne Chidzvondo was handed to me, my first instinct was to kindly hand it back in protest, I had suffered enough and had concluded 2018 as a year new writers failed to hit the mark.
In what could be a clichéd oxymoron, I judged a book by its (curious) cover and decided to flip through the pages as I devised ways of politely protesting to the person who had assigned me to review the anthology.
My eyes landed on a piece that gave me hope, there could be a future for page poetry in Africa.
The poetry was full of colour, a characteristic of a writer ready to risk it all to relay the story with enough doses of emotion.
In a piece titled, “Inevitable Things”, which was the first I read, Chidzvondo wore his heart on a sleeve, fighting for space as a writer in a world where reading is becoming a superpower of sorts. “I am a writer by nature I feel everything too deeply I take too much to heart I am not always logical, sometimes Absolutely rational — or irrational Or both?
I feel first, think second”, read the first piece that alerted me to the first signs of poetic competence from the writer.
Last year, the Zimbabwean poetry scene got robbed of a brilliant writer Rae Lyric who had a pen that thawed even the most cynical of hearts.
Chidzvondo wrote a tribute to his late friend, a piece which is guaranteed to inspire a few warm cheeks in the literary circles.
“You and I were different from all the other people.
We had demons that the others never had. We felt feelings, we shared our dreams You allowed yourself the task to say the things I never did.
You saved me from myself and I loved you like a new dream,” read the poem titled “A lyric for Rae”.
The anthology challenges the usual verse structure carried in poems, sometimes trudging the thin line between pure conventional poetry and prose.
It was evident that the writer gave precedence to the narrative than the style as he ignored the rule on verse uniformity favoured by poets of the past generation.
Maybe still engulfed in the raw emotion that drive most word-smiths, Chidzvondo has found his element in dark writings sprinkled with peculiar romantic nuances. He writes representing a generation of young adults who believe they are different from the world and could do with a space where rules are different from what dominates the mainstream.
Although his poems will be a welcome addition to literature for creative in pursuit of self-definition, Chidzvondo will have to show versatility widening his range from writings that appear to be set in the same phase in time.
The book could have done with a wider conceptual range, the writer has the vocabulary to explore other elements of society, he did not do justice to his ability by sticking to the same sphere, which critics could describe as “dark”.
In an interview, Chidzvondo said the connectedness in ideas within the book was deliberate.
“‘Under My Skin’ is a story about love, love for myself, love for my scars and love for things around, but most importantly it’s a manifesto for the misunderstood, on how to get over it. It also marks my journey from being the person that society wants me to be, to truly owning myself and will,” he said.
He added, “The book was inspired by my self searching journey, the experiences that shape me and people like me. They are songs of rebellion, we rebel from everything that has tied us down, toxic love, labels, society.”
Chidzvondo believes there is need for new poetic voices to address contemporary battles being fought by young generations.
“We (young poets) are birthing new stories, stories about depression, rape, domestic violence — even heartbreak. Back then poetry spoke much against the injustice of the world but mostly in relations to politics, racism, patriarchy and war but now the enemy is not always the same, we are speaking against new enemies that include self-hate, depression and inadequacy,” he said.
The debut offering was decent, at the age of . . . Chidzvondo has communicated his intent to continue stirring the feared conversations with his poetry.
Many fail at consistency and it remains to be seen whether he will maintain the form he has shown.
“Under My Skin” was a brilliant way to waste my time, as it earned space in my hard to enter personal library with prospects of permanency. ◆ Feedback: dzengavisuals@gmail.
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