(A paper presented by Pius Nyondo at the US Embassy Auditorium in Lilongwe for Malawian budding writers in December, 2011)
HISTORY OF MALAWIAN WRITING
History has it that Malawian writing originated
from an evening fire gathering, with elders proudly narrating their old
nostalgia stories and tales to their children and grandchildren. Sometimes,
such stories came in form of folk, myths, legends, riddles and proverbs,
whereas poetry lived and was accompanied by the beating of ceremonial drums and
special dances. But because such stories, tales and poetry were purely
narrative, as they were not put on paper, many were buried and forgotten.
However, the coming of the missionaries in the mid Nineteenth Century to spread
the gospel helped matters as some of this folk literature was written and
translated into publications for the country’s schools and for prevarications
of our culture.
Encouraged by such strides, a few ambitious
writers resurfaced with names such as Daniel Mtusu, George Simeon Mwase,
Clements Kadalie, prize-winning duo Samuel Nthara and Stevenson Kumakanga,
Josiah Phiri, Slyvester Paliani, E.W Chafulumira, T. Dossi, John Gwengwe,
Litete, Alousious Dziko, Chadza and others who were without school of writing.
Influenced by vast forests, long meandering
rivers, migration, fearful wild animals, myth and perhaps witchcraft, their
writings indeed provoked reading habits, with people glued to their books even
when taking strolls or tilling in their gardens.
Soon after Malawi attained her independence from
Great Britain in 1964, more ambitious authors were registered to take up
writing as a profession. But to their disappointment, the winds abruptly
changed direction. The climate was polluted with hazardous clouds of politics.
The one party regime which had a distaste of light brought authoritative rule
that instituted a conservative censorship board consisting of the clergy and politicians
who heavily monitored, trampled down, banned and at times burnt all literary
works that were considered subversive.
Even foreign books such as Animal Farm were bought out in all the bookshops and burnt. The
regime claimed Animal Farm imitated
and rebuked Dr. Banda’s style of leadership. To those who smuggled such
literature into the country were enemies of the regime. Such autocrats did not
stop there.
A number of writers were thrown into the
country’s notorious prisons without trial. These included high profile names
such as Sam Mpasu who authored a book entitled; Nobody’s Friend which earned him a two and half year detention as
his interrogators interpreted it to mean it was President Banda who had no
friends, Edison Mpina, whose poetry pieces attracted scrutiny and was
imprisoned for four years.
His 1983 prize-winning poetry in the BBC’s Summer Fires-New Poetry for Africa such
as Summer Fires of Mulanje Mountain,
Reborn, Journey to Mental Hospital, Deadly Sickness are nothing but a
marvel that attracted political scrutiny. Jack Mapanje’s most publicised poetry
collection, Of Chameleon and Gods
almost cost him his life. He was imprisoned at the notorious Mikuyu Prison for
four years, warranting him to write another powerful collection, Chattering Wagtails of Mikuyu Prison. He
was later released due to pressure from the International community and
Writers’ in prison of the International PEN.
However, prior to such crusades, many had
already crossed the frontiers to find peace elsewhere, thereby enriching other countries’
cultures and education standards. Such legion included Professor David
Rubadiri, nicknamed the ‘Godfather of Malawi Literature’, Legson Kayira, whose
novels; The Looming Shadow, Jingala, The
Civil Servant, I will Try and The
Detainee provoked the dictator’s anger to ban him even from visiting his
country and relatives, Mkwapatira Mhango, who with his family was bombed by
mercenaries of the regime at his home in Lusaka, Zambia, Felix Mnthali,
Chodziwadziwa Mjojo, Frank Chipasula, Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, Lupenga Mphande,
Wisdom Dede Kamkondo, Walije Gondwe who all wrote and some are still writing in
Diaspora and Kanyama Chiume, whose name still rings bells in people’s minds as
Dr. Banda’s number one enemy.
Though they continued to write in hiding or to
put it in a polite language Diaspora, their writings, even a mere letter was
heavily monitored and censored. The few that remained in the country wrote in
fear, others wrote the obvious, and sometimes in parables which politicians failed
to translate. Perhaps the most prolific who was never tried and is today a
proud author of over 19 books and a recipient of an honorary degree of
philosophy from the University of Malawi is Desmond Dudwa Phiri, former
diplomat, economist and historian.
Journalists were told what to write in praise of
Dr. Banda through only one state heavily censured newspaper organisation; the
Blantyre Newspapers Limited and only one public broadcaster, the Malawi
broadcasting Corporation. In addition to this, foreign magazines and other
publications that talked ill of the regime were either torn , burnt or if to
their thinking had some items that praised the dictator, only met the wrath of
censors by deleting the ‘bad pages’ with black markers. Any citizen related to
those in exile was spied on, in some cases banned from visiting friends or even
detained without trial for fear of polluting other people’s minds with foreign
ideologies.
Countries that harboured such writers cum rebels
were not friends of the regime. They were a threat to Dr. Banda’s regime and
the disciplined people of Malawi. But despite such blockage, writers in exile
continued to write, telling the Banda regime that, writers, no matter the
barrier subjected to, can write and pass through the hands of even the most
notorious dictator. Hence, Of Chameleons and Gods that earned Jack Mapanje
international fame and accolade.
Suddenly, Dr. Banda’s regime collapsed.
Democratic rule of government was ushered in. Freedom at last. For the first
time, people had too much to read. From one controlled newspaper, the streets were
now flooded with 25 newspapers! Books crammed the bookshelves. But to the
dismay, exiled writers could not make their mind whether such freedom was
theirs or it was for the new breed of writers.
Sixteen years down the line, after the formation
of the Malawi Writers’ Union in 1995, the response is still sluggish. Many
exiled writers are still writing in Diaspora. It appears many of these did not
believe that the writing climate in Malawi had changed and that the gravel had
been levelled for politicians to brush shoulders with writers.
And may be they were right, considering what
this current regime has turned out to be.
Though the first Malawi International Literary
Festival in 1996 smoked out many of these writing in Diaspora such as Frank and
Stella Chipasula, John Lloyd Luwanda, Tiyambe Zeleza, Walije Gondwe, David
Rubadiri, Kanyama Chiume, Jack Mapanje and a few others, many silently went
back to their caves.
They prefer to die in exile, while nursing the
wounds of dictatorship.
Professor Steve Chimombo, perhaps Malawi’s ever
prolific author of many titles and one of the founding members of the Malawi
Writers Union once wrote in his WASI magazine and I quote: “We have come a long
way. Our achievements have been so scattered in different places over the years
as to make our contributions seem insignificant.” End of quote.
So, since its inception in 1995, some of the
objectives of Malawi Writers Union have been:
·
To promote literary works including fiction, poetry, essays, plays etc. You should know that publishers in Malawi and
across the world have of late stopped publishing as many works of fiction as
previously because of the appalling reading habits. Malawi Writers’ Union,
however, has continued to live to its objective. It has published and is still
publishing a lot of works of fiction despite the poor reading culture in
Malawi. Malawi Writers’ Union is optimistic that if Malawian writers can write
well then the reading lust can once again be provoked among Malawians. So far,
Malawi Writers’ Union has published a number of books and anthologies some of
which include, The Blind Search, The Trap, This Small World, Modern Stories
from Malawi, Gone for a Walk, The Bachelor of Chikanda & Other Stories and
The Time Traveller of Maravi.
·
Secondly, Malawi Writers’ Union is also committed to bringing back works
banned in the autocratic regime.
·
To publish works that can be used in Malawi schools.
·
To start writing at grass root i.e. at primary school level with a
recognised creative writing syllabus at all levels.
·
To enhance the culture of writing and reading.
With an initial membership of 15 at its
formation, current membership is now at 720. And the following Desks exist:
·
The Budding Writers’ Desk
·
The Women Writers’ Desk
·
The Non Fiction Writers’ Desk
·
The Religious Writers’ Desk
·
The School Affiliates Writers’ Desk
Current Executive is as follows:
·
Sambalikagwa Mvona- President
·
Shadreck Chikoti- Vice President
·
Norah Lungu- Secretary
·
Kuleza Phokoso- Treasurer
·
Christopher Chitukula- Publicity Secretary
·
Pius Nyondo- Budding Writers’ Desk Chairperson
·
Rhoda Zulu- Women Writers’ Desk Chairperson
·
Ndongolera Mwangupili- Non Fiction Writers’ Desk Chairperson
·
Bro. Gerald Manjankhosi- Religious Writers’ Desk Chaiperson
·
Apostle Raphael Chikwakwa- Regional Chairman ( South)
·
Petros Phiri- Acting Regional Chairman (Centre)
·
Albert Mtungambera Harawa- Regional Chairman (North)
Our Board of Directors include:
·
Drs Desmond Dudwa Phiri and Vera Chirwa as advisors to the board.
And the members include:
·
Emmie Chanika (Mrs.)
·
Fr. P. Gamba
·
Justin Kusamba Dzonzi
·
Jimmy Koreia Mpatsa
·
Dr. Justine Malewezi
WHY DO YOU NEED TO WRITE?
Perhaps questions that come into our minds now
are: why should we write? Why have people suffered throughout history just
because of writing? Have you ever asked yourself these questions, why do people
write? Probably, the following are some of the reasons why you and I need to
write.
·
Writing is one way of becoming a complete human being. Writing enables a
person to live life to the full. It is not very different from such sporting
activities as playing football, netball and volleyball; dancing to Black
Missionaries or Zembani band. If you have a tiny skill in writing or a faint
desire to write, and yet you do not exercise the gift, then you are
experiencing death of some kind.
·
Secondly, words are beautiful things to deal with. They make human
beings different from animals. There is animal and human language. Therefore,
those people who write in life are different from things such as animals, trees
and tables.
·
Those people who sharpen their skill in writing tend to have more power
and influence than others in the society. Think of such writers as Chinua
Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Jack Mapanje, Steve Chimombo, Sambalikagwa Mvona,
David Rubadiri and D.D Phiri; they are admired by other members in the society.
People who write influence the pattern of life in their communities and beyond.
They even influence the pattern of life for future generations. In short, those
who write have the power over others.
·
People write for pleasure and profit.
·
Creative or imaginative writing can be used to challenge present systems
of government.
THE FUTURE OF WRITING IN
MALAWI
Like the rest of the world, the future of
writing in Malawi is uncertain. Most prolific writers in the names of Sambalikagwa
Mvona, Steve Chimombo, James Ng’ombe, Walije Gondwe, David Rubadiri, Jack
Mapanje and many others have aged. The current generation of writers is
shunning creative writing and instead it has become so engrossed with modern
technology. Young people are not reading. Instead, they spend most of their
time either on Facebook or television sets watching movies.
Young people have forgotten that reading is not
only meant to prepare one to pass an examination. Reading is meant to equip one
with some knowledge, it is meant to enable one communicate with others, but
above all, it is also meant to entertain one as the only companion at that
particular time.
And the youths in Malawi are missing this.
But who is to take over from these veteran
writers whose days on this planet are numbered? We are the ones. With a current
membership of about 250 in the Budding Writers’ Desk, we are supposed to help
other young Malawians that they too can write.
Our fellows should realise that it is a fact
that reading and writing contributes to the development of a particular
village, town, city or nation. Being one way in which people can easily
communicate, reading thus keeps people who read abreast with current affairs.
For such people, theirs is a world of knowledge and not ignorance.
Reading and writing can also save several young
Malawians from indulging in indecent behaviours since reading and writing will
always keep them busy. Much as we understand that modern technologies such as
Facebook and TVs are difficult to resist, the crop of budding writers in Malawi
can as well spare some time for reading and writing.
After all, the young generation of writers in
Malawi should count themselves lucky. Using the older generation as standard
bearers, they should be able to employ their own creative skills to produce
creative writing that is marked by simplicity of expression, creative rigour,
originality and freshness.
For writing in Malawi to continue living, the
young blood should believe that a single pen is mightier than a billion
swords. As people who form a significant
chunk of the country’s population, they should be able to put off their caps
for people who believe in such a statement.
The young generation of writers should realise
what pens have achieved for the Malawian nation. They should not forget their
painful past; the unlawful detentions of Jack Mapanje, Edison Mpina and several
others who were thrown to rot behind bars under the Dr. Banda’s regime.
Personally, I wonder why, in this day and age, when democracy is claimed to
have been ushered in, Malawian writers are still unable to write critically and
challenge this present system of government. It is unfortunate that we,
writers, who ought to be freedom fighters, are also watching as this government
goes to the dogs.
The recent arrest of Montfort Media’s journalist,
Ernest Mahwayo, by government cops for taking photos at Ndata is deplorable. It
infringes the writers’ freedom to write. And yet the government is claiming to
be a democratic one. What a shame!
This however, should not make the budding writer
in Malawi restless and afraid. I strongly believe that writers are supposed to
thrill, entertain and criticise the delinquencies in their societies. In fact,
writers, by the nature of their job, are activists. So in this era, we need
more of the Of Chameleons and Gods. I
strongly think that, if we fail to achieve this then we are betraying the souls
of our freedom fighters and writers in the names of Mkwapatira Mhango, James
Sangala, Orton Chirwa, Jack Mapanje and Vera Chirwa plus several others who
fought hard so that we can exercise such basic freedoms today.
In a nutshell, therefore, the young generation
of writers in Malawi should be brave to keep the art of writing alive. The
budding writer in Malawi should be focused on speaking for the voiceless.
THE CREATIVE WRITING
PROCESS APPROACH
Writing is not a natural activity. People learn
to become writers. One of the ways in which a person learns to write is by
going through the writing process.
The process approach has five stages:
1.
Finding a topic then brainstorming for ideas. You jot down ideas that
are related to the topic. What is it that you will write on the chosen
topic? These could be topical issues for
personal concerns, personal journeys, politics and many others.
2.
Drafting- at this stage you write continuously without bothering about
sentence structure, grammar and spelling. That is, you finish writing about
those ideas you brainstormed in the first stage without worrying about
language.
3.
Revision and Editing-after drafting you read through your work and
change certain things. This is the time you are concerned about language. You
look at the whole purpose of writing and content of your piece of writing and
check on the language. Are the spellings right? What about sentence structure?
4.
Proof reading- this involves reading and correcting your work. You check
on the form (the structure and arrangement of your work, it has nothing to do with
content), you check on the order of words and sentence construction. You read
the work aloud and silently.
5.
Publishing – you now write the final piece and submit it for
publication.
You can send your articles, poems or short
stories to Malawi Writers Union. MAWU can look at your writing before sending
it to publishers. You can send your article to buddingwriters@ymail.com or mawumagazine@yahoo.com.
You can as well choose to personally send your
writings to the newspapers or magazines that receive works of fiction. Some of
the newspapers that accept works of fiction are:
Since you write for pleasure and profit, when your
work is published in the papers you are paid. The Weekend Nation, for example,
pays K3500.00 for a short story and K1500.00 for a poem.
There are also writing competitions, local and
international, to which you can send your short stories, poems or essays. In
Malawi, for example, there is the MAWU/FMB AWARDS, the most prestigious award
in the country which runs every year. The overall winner carries home about
K120, 000.00.
There is also the John W. Gwengwe Literary Award
which was introduced last year to encourage Malawian writers to write because
they are writers and not just to write for money.
The following sites on the internet can link you
to international competitions:
In addition to the MAWU/FMB AWARDS Malawi
Writers’ Union is looking for sponsorships to introduce more literary
competitions. For example, plans are underway to introduce the Walije Gondwe/
Budding Writers’ Award which will see young people of not more that twenty five
years participating and walking away with prestigious prizes.
CONCLUSION
The future of creative writing in Malawi is in
our hands. It is up to us to prolong the life of creative writing in this
country or to kill it- which I am sure we do not want to do. We must be brave,
focused and creative to keep the art of writing in this country alive.
The End
References
Mvona S., (2009) The Stranger from Milanje
Nation Publications for an article by Pius
Nyondo, (2011) Introduce Literary Page in
Nation on Sunday Please
Domasi College of Education, (2001) Introduction to Literary Criticism, Linguistics
& African Languages, Module 4
Malawi Writers’ Union, (2011) The Time Traveller of Maravi, new poetry
from Malawi, Edited by H. Aipira and S. Mvona
K. Gadausi & P. Nyondo, (2011) An Ode To A Malawian Daughter
Mvona S., (2008) A Guide to Writers’ and Artists’ Contracts
