CHIMANIMANI born poet penned a poetry anthology in memory of his departed child. Business Wave Africa (BW)‘s Mendy Mandirahwe shared a moment with Joshua Muitire (JM).
BW: Joshua Muitire, it’s sad that you lost your beloved daughter. How have you responded to your loss?
JM: When my four year old lovely daughter Karen Makanaka Muitire passed away in 2020, a lot of my friends in poetry wrote poems to console us during the difficult times of our loss. As a way of preserving the messages conveyed in the poems, and to pass the message to other people in times of loss of their loved ones, I came up with the idea of compiling a book for future readers. That is how I came up with Dzangove Ndangariro.
BW: Before this current book, did you publish any poems in any anthology before?
JM: I have published quiet a number of poems with other well known poets in five anthologies namely Tipindewo mudariro, Chitubu chenduri, Maungira eZimbabwe, Mhere yenduri and my latest project is Dzangove ndangariro which is a compilation of poems in tribute to my 4 year old daughter Karen Makanaka Muitire who passed away last year in February.
BW: Why do you use vernacular languages in your poetry?
JM: Shona is a rich language and I would like to promote our culture and traditions beyond the Zimbabwean borders.
BW: How many poems have you written to date and what are their themes?
JM: I have written 91 poems. My poetry covers diverse themes from domestic violence, cultural degradation, corruption and power to love to mention but a few. I don’t focus on one theme when writing.
BW: How do you rate literature in Zimbabwe? Is it improving or is going down?
JM: Literature in Zimbabwe is improving and there are many budding writers in literature circles.
BW: If you were given the responsibility to oversee the development of literature in the country, what would you do for poets and writers?
JM: My first port of call will be to eradicate piracy in Zimbabwe and make sure all those who reap where they did not saw are dealt with vigorously. Piracy is the writers’ biggest enemy.
BW: What are your visions or plans with arts/poetry?
JM: I want to change people’s lives and impact positively on their way of thinking and perception about life and to reach the whole world with poetry and very soon i will be venturing into stage poetry.
BW: Turning to your personal life, who is Joshua Muitire?
JM: I was born on 25 July 1985 in Chimanimani. I am currently based in Harare and started appreciating literature long back when I was still in high school at Chimanimani High School around 2001. I wrote my first poem called Harinyare in 2010.
BW: What message do you want to leave to your readers?
JM: I would like to thank all the people who take their time to read poetry in general and my poetry in particular. Keep up supporting and encouraging others to read poetry.
BW: Who are the people you appreciate in your poetry career?
JM: I have a lot of people to appreciate in my poetry career. My mother is the first person who inspired me to be a poet I am today. I also appreciate Tafadzwa Moyo, James Chitamba, Brighton Chiguma, Tamutswa Muzana, Tinashe Muchuri, Lazarus Sauti, I cannot list them all.
BW: Any last words?
JM: I would like to thank my wife for the support, my mother and my fans for believing in me. Keep on supporting and may God bless you.