Article
Interview with Tari Mtetwa
September 20, 2011
Irene Staunton: May I ask why you write poetry?
Tari Mtetwa: I write poetry because it offers me a platform to express thoughts and feelings inspired by my social, political and emotional surroundings in the most sincere and honest way possible. In addition, poetry does not require that I recreate situations or give my thoughts to a fictional character as in prose; it does not require a budget as in film or theatre. I consider poetry to be the fastest means of expression of all the arts. It does not go through many processes before completion.
IS: So you choose to write poetry because you see it is an economically practical and efficient medium in which to express yourself. Would you say that you write to express yourself, or to influence others?
Tari Mtetwa: I write primarily to express myself – that is what I think, feel, foresee, or perceive from life in general, but once I externalise what is in my mind, I think my work assumes the function of influencing others.
IS: Like much other poetry in Zimbabwe, your poetry is haunted by death. Some critics suggest that because there has been so much personal and political tragedy in the country this preoccupation is inevitable. Others temper this comment with the idea that for many young poets who do not read widely, there is a certain essentialist belief that poetry must necessarily deal with the painful things of life. Where would you place yourself within this spectrum?
Tari Mtetwa: I think my writing about death is influenced by it being one of the most frequent occurrences in the world and an easily recognisable symbol. However, I try not to paint the gloom and darkness associated with it but just use a metaphor capable of representing other lighter and hopeful aspects of life. I don’t agree with the notion that poetry should be dark, but I believe it should reflect life in the closest way possible.
IS: Which poets do you read and who would you say has been the most influential poetic figure in your life?
Tari Mtetwa: The very first poet to have had an influence on me was Jacinto Antonio from Angola with his poem ‘Letter from a Contract Worker’. The other poets I read and still read are Charles Mungoshi, Chenjerai Hove, Musa Zimunya, Dambudzo Marechera, Langston Hughes, Dennis Brutus, Mao Zedong, and T.S. Eliot. It’s hard to point out one poet as having had the greatest influence on me, but Dennis Brutus and Langston Hughes are the first names that to come to mind. Other than poetry, prose has also had a great influence on my writing: Richard Wright, Maya Angelou, Mbulelo Mzamane in my early years, and Arundhati Roy, Kopano Matlwa, Chimamanda Adichie and Toni Morrison more recently.
IS: What is it that you like about Mao Zedong and T.S. Eliot, two very different writers?
Tari Mtetwa: I am attracted to the serenity of Eliot’s writing and the ease that his world carries and his parallels of life and nature. I admire the militancy of Mao and the way he refuses to die in his work. He has an ability to address issues of historic significance: something which I think makes his work relevant today.
IS: Why is it that one in ten people in Zimbabwe seem to want to write poetry or to be a poet but perhaps one in a million buys a book of poetry? Do most aspiring poets not feel that they can learn from other poets?
Tari Mtetwa: I think the number of people who seem to be or who want to be poets is probably way higher than the number of people who take their writing seriously. The quantity, quality and frequency of writing should be used to distinguish the real poets from the occasional poets.
Purchasing books has a lot to do with the economic conditions in which books are definitely a luxury that most people cannot afford.
IS: I agree with you that most people cannot afford books. We do, after all, have very high formal unemployment in Zimbabwe, but many people can afford to buy smart clothes, beer, DVDs, etc, so I would dispute the economic argument. Those who can afford to buy books, rather, choose not to do so, and I am interested in why this is, especially as so many people want to write.
Tari Mtetwa: Generally, I think books are competing with other media, which today is mostly electronic, which is why even those who can afford books opt instead for, say, DVDs. Publishers and other stakeholders may not be doing as much as their competitors to publicise books and they may not have accommodated the dynamics of the technological developments in the market. An occasional scholarly book review will hardly boost sales.
IS: What is your view of the performance poetry now so popular in a variety of forms in Zimbabwe?
Tari Mtetwa: I think it is a viable alternative to literary poetry that is able to reach the non-reading market. Its consumption generally takes place within relaxed environments and has much entertainment value attached to it. It also allows for an easy fusion with other art forms such as music, drama and visual art. However, the other artistic or dramatic elements that are integral to performance poetry sometimes overwhelm the real aspects of poetry; and there are also instances when the poetry is at risk of being secondary to the performer’s humour and other gimmicks that may engage the crowd. Performance poetry also lacks memory compared to written poetry, where the reader can always refer to the text. It is also not capable of reaching any audience in the absence of the poet, which is not the case with written poetry.
Tari Mtetwa: I write poetry because it offers me a platform to express thoughts and feelings inspired by my social, political and emotional surroundings in the most sincere and honest way possible. In addition, poetry does not require that I recreate situations or give my thoughts to a fictional character as in prose; it does not require a budget as in film or theatre. I consider poetry to be the fastest means of expression of all the arts. It does not go through many processes before completion.
IS: So you choose to write poetry because you see it is an economically practical and efficient medium in which to express yourself. Would you say that you write to express yourself, or to influence others?
Tari Mtetwa: I write primarily to express myself – that is what I think, feel, foresee, or perceive from life in general, but once I externalise what is in my mind, I think my work assumes the function of influencing others.
IS: Like much other poetry in Zimbabwe, your poetry is haunted by death. Some critics suggest that because there has been so much personal and political tragedy in the country this preoccupation is inevitable. Others temper this comment with the idea that for many young poets who do not read widely, there is a certain essentialist belief that poetry must necessarily deal with the painful things of life. Where would you place yourself within this spectrum?
Tari Mtetwa: I think my writing about death is influenced by it being one of the most frequent occurrences in the world and an easily recognisable symbol. However, I try not to paint the gloom and darkness associated with it but just use a metaphor capable of representing other lighter and hopeful aspects of life. I don’t agree with the notion that poetry should be dark, but I believe it should reflect life in the closest way possible.
IS: Which poets do you read and who would you say has been the most influential poetic figure in your life?
Tari Mtetwa: The very first poet to have had an influence on me was Jacinto Antonio from Angola with his poem ‘Letter from a Contract Worker’. The other poets I read and still read are Charles Mungoshi, Chenjerai Hove, Musa Zimunya, Dambudzo Marechera, Langston Hughes, Dennis Brutus, Mao Zedong, and T.S. Eliot. It’s hard to point out one poet as having had the greatest influence on me, but Dennis Brutus and Langston Hughes are the first names that to come to mind. Other than poetry, prose has also had a great influence on my writing: Richard Wright, Maya Angelou, Mbulelo Mzamane in my early years, and Arundhati Roy, Kopano Matlwa, Chimamanda Adichie and Toni Morrison more recently.
IS: What is it that you like about Mao Zedong and T.S. Eliot, two very different writers?
Tari Mtetwa: I am attracted to the serenity of Eliot’s writing and the ease that his world carries and his parallels of life and nature. I admire the militancy of Mao and the way he refuses to die in his work. He has an ability to address issues of historic significance: something which I think makes his work relevant today.
IS: Why is it that one in ten people in Zimbabwe seem to want to write poetry or to be a poet but perhaps one in a million buys a book of poetry? Do most aspiring poets not feel that they can learn from other poets?
Tari Mtetwa: I think the number of people who seem to be or who want to be poets is probably way higher than the number of people who take their writing seriously. The quantity, quality and frequency of writing should be used to distinguish the real poets from the occasional poets.
Purchasing books has a lot to do with the economic conditions in which books are definitely a luxury that most people cannot afford.
IS: I agree with you that most people cannot afford books. We do, after all, have very high formal unemployment in Zimbabwe, but many people can afford to buy smart clothes, beer, DVDs, etc, so I would dispute the economic argument. Those who can afford to buy books, rather, choose not to do so, and I am interested in why this is, especially as so many people want to write.
Tari Mtetwa: Generally, I think books are competing with other media, which today is mostly electronic, which is why even those who can afford books opt instead for, say, DVDs. Publishers and other stakeholders may not be doing as much as their competitors to publicise books and they may not have accommodated the dynamics of the technological developments in the market. An occasional scholarly book review will hardly boost sales.
IS: What is your view of the performance poetry now so popular in a variety of forms in Zimbabwe?
Tari Mtetwa: I think it is a viable alternative to literary poetry that is able to reach the non-reading market. Its consumption generally takes place within relaxed environments and has much entertainment value attached to it. It also allows for an easy fusion with other art forms such as music, drama and visual art. However, the other artistic or dramatic elements that are integral to performance poetry sometimes overwhelm the real aspects of poetry; and there are also instances when the poetry is at risk of being secondary to the performer’s humour and other gimmicks that may engage the crowd. Performance poetry also lacks memory compared to written poetry, where the reader can always refer to the text. It is also not capable of reaching any audience in the absence of the poet, which is not the case with written poetry.
© Irene Staunton
Sponsors
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère