Nyamavhuvhu Fest spurs new generation poetry
OVER the years spoken word poetry has become popular in Zimbabwe as a tool for cultural expression and a driver for community transformation. is was the case during the third edition of the Nyamavhuvhu Poetry Festival held at Moto Republik in Harare last Saturday where youthful revellers thronged a hybrid event in full colour.
e hybrid event — which fused spoken word poetry with music, dance and fashion — was an expose of raw energy from a new generation spoken word poets on the local scene yearning for their voices to be heard. Nyamavhuvhu literally means the “windy one” and is named after the month of August which is characterised by strong winds that blow throughout the month.
e event was organised by Moonchild District, spearheaded by Prince Rayanne Chidzvondo, Nicole Chimanikire and Rubzi Chikanda. It is a movement of artists that come together to achieve common interests in creating art and sustainability. It is a celebration of colour, rhythm and energy and was awash with exciting, innovative and energetic young voices such as Inamar, Banshee, Tinashe Madawaenda, Sag3 e Philosopher and others who took turns to express their raw and radical imagination.
Speaking to IndependentXtra, Chidzvondo said they were hosting the event for the third time, as a result of the need to make poetry mainstream in the entertainment industry and further create a culture of hybrid art which blends spoken word poetry with music, dance and fashion.
is year’s theme was dubbed “Afrofuturism, B(l)ack to the Future” and highlights a movement which, according to Chidzvondo, is a “fluid ideology shaped by generations of artists, musicians, scholars and activists whose aim is to reconstruct ‘Blackness’ in the local culture”.
e organisers said by fusing spoken word poetry with music, dance and fashion, the poetry festival promises to be a wide-ranging social, political and artistic movement on the local performance arts calendar that dares to imagine a world where African people and their cultures play a central role in the creation of the new world.
Added Chidzvondo: “In our theme of Afrofuturism through poetry, we imagine ourselves and create whole worlds where we not only achieve greatness, but also thrive in our own culture. A narrative that simply features a black character in a futuristic world is not enough. To be Afrofuturistic, ideology must be rooted in, and unapologetically celebrate the uniqueness and innovation of black culture which is what we hope to achieve.”
As for the future of the festival, which was launched in 2020, Chidzvondo said “the turnout keeps getting bigger and very soon we need to evolve in terms of space”.
“We are already excited as we look forward to next year’s August edition. e best part about the past three years is that we still wish to go further, to grow bigger, to also host on bigger stages with collaborating brands and international acts and have the event on international stages as well,” he said.
“Each year has been a ground of infinite possibilities and we are all certain one day the festival will take us places if not bring places to us.”