It is not a secret that Africa is a beautiful continent, a wonderful global region endowed with multi-cultural humanity, a wealth of raw indigenous accents, tribes, and clans. Africa glows with the gleam of the ever-smiling humanity and womanity, the glory of the ever-shining moon and sun. The face of Africa is written unto great riverbeds of the Nile, Pongola, Zambezi and more. The stunning tropical rainforests offer a greenbelt
that beautifies Africa like a gorgeous bride strutting in a dark green militant wedding gown on its wedding day. Africa is a song. It is a song of Tanganyika, Azania, Ghana, Madzimbabwe. It is a song carved in the heart on Nzinga, Nehanda, Kinjikitile, Nefertiti, Nomvula Madikizela, Mama Kakurukazi Mungunda, Mandela, Lumumba, Nkurumah, Achebo, Neto, Senghor and more. Nevertheless, today Africa is a living irony, a breathing paradox. Former African liberators are now unrepentant Napoleons drinking the rich yellow of freedom eggs. In the Sudan, children are squashed under the grind of bullet thuds. In Kisangani, mothers drink tears of war for breakfast. In Maiduguri, lives crush under the terrorist metal shoes like anopheles. Cameroon is a den of voracious tigers and vivacious lions. Mali consciences are buried in sand dunes. In Azania, South Africa, the stomach of the gun sings more baritone than guitar strings. In Zimbabwe, corruption is the polish to spruce up parliament tarmacs. Africa is a living paradox. It chokes dissenting voices to extinction and thrashes freedom voices to smithereens like millet. This volume fights back against all of that, with the pen that is mightier than the sword. Voices of Africa: A Call for Freedom is an exhibition of brave, candid, and militant voices, voices calling for freedom, freedom from autocracy, independent from manipulation, liberation from pseudo-revolutionary movements, corruption-oiled ideological imbeciles sniffing damning propaganda in political corridors, turning political seats and presidential castles into butchers and looting machines. This collection sends a powerful message to African political, economic, and cultural leadership. The Voices will sanitize the unrepentant legions we call leaders into morality and sanity. This anthology is a mix of multi-cultural African poetry of all regions and all ages super-powered by the solidarity of an international breed.
Mbizo Chirasha Curator/Editor Voices of Africa: A Call for Freedom Anthology Zimbabwe August 2022
CollectionEditor
MBIZO CHIRASHA is the Editor/Curator of Voices of Africa: A Call for Freedom, a Pan-African IHRAM anthology. He is the author of A Letter to the President and Pilgrims of Zame, co-author of Whispering Woes of Ganges and Zambezi, and co-editor of Street Voices: Poetry and Corpses of Unity. Chirasha is the associate editor at Diaspora(n) online, chief editor at Time of the Poet Republic, founding editor at WomaWords Literary Press, publisher at Brave Voices Poetry, and curator at Africa Writers Caravan. He is a UNESCO-RILA Affiliate Artist at the University of Glasgow, 2020 Poet in Residence for Fictional Café, 2019 African Fellow at IHRAM, 2019 Live Literature Hub and Poetry Café at Sotambe Film Insititute (Zambia), 2020 Free-Speech Fellow of PEN Germany’s Writers in Exile Program, 2017 Recipient of the EU-Africa Human Rights Commission Protect Defenders Grant, 2009 UNESCO Photo-Novel Writing Fellow (France/Tanzania), 2009 Poet-in-Residence for ICACD (Ghana), 2003 Africa 100 Best Books Delegate to Goteborg Book Fair (Sweden), project curator and co-editor of the Second Name of Earth is Peace (Poetry Voices Against WAR Anthology), and a contributing essayist for Monk Arts and Soul Magazin
Mbizo Chirasha is the Founder of the Writing Ukraine Prize (2022-23), UNESCO-RILA Affiliate Artist (University of Glasgow, School of Education, Scotland).2020 Poet of Residence at the Fictional Café (International literary culture Writers Space).2019 IHRAF Pan Writivism/African Fellow .2020 free-Speech Fellow at PEN -Germany Writers in Exile Program. Resident Coordinator at All Africa Live Poetry Symposium (100tpc, USA, global).2019 live literature hub Producer at Sotambe Film Arts Festival (Kitwe, Zambia). 2015Jury President at Shungunamutitima Film Festival (Livingstone, Zambia).2009 Poet in Residence at ICACD (Accra, Ghana). 2009 Fellow at UNESCO-Photo Novel Intensive Training (Tanzania).2011 United States Embassy, Harare Guest Poet at World Poetry Day (Harare, Zimbabwe).2007 Producer/Coordinator of This is Artist Artist in Residence Project (Goethe-Zentrum, Harare) 2006 United Nations Tribute to Kofi Annan Poet .2003 ZIBF ,100 Best Books Young literary/writing delegate to Goteborg Book Fair (Sweden).
Chirasha is the Publisher of the Time of the Poet Republic.Curator of WOMAWORDS Literary Press. Editor in Chief at Brave Voices Poetry Journal. Chief Blogger at Porcupine-Quill blog(wixsite). Founder/Curator at AfricanWritersCaravan.Author of MbizoChirasha (AfricanWilliamBlake)blog journal. Mbizo Chirasha was the Creative Director of Girlchild Creativity Project and Urban Colleges Writers Prize.
Author of A Letter to the President,
Pilgrims of Zame. Co-Authored Whispering Woes of Ganges and Zambezi,
Co-Edited Corpses of Unity, Second Name of the Earth is Peace,
Street Voices (all African, German and English Anthology), Edited
Voices of Africa: A Call for freedom Anthology,
African Contributor /African Writing Associate to more than 500 places(online/print) at Demer Press (Holland). World Poetry Almanac (Taiwan), Cultural Daily (USA), Monk Arts and Soul Mag (UK). Bezine.Com(USA). FamAsiaMag (UK), Blackwell Pamphlet of Poetry (Oxford school of poetry), Ditch Poetry (Canada), WordCityliteraryJournal (Canada, global), the Evergreen Review (USA). Ovi Mag( Finland),DiogenPlus( Turkey), Ink Sweat and Tears (UK), The Poet Mag (UK), Spill Words (USA), Litnet (South Africa), Slipnet literary journal (SouthAfrica). Sentinel (UK), Poetry London (UK), Poesis.si (Slovenia), Atunis galatika (Belgium), New Coin (South Africa), Ihraf Publishes (USA), Diasporan online (Spain), Poetry Bulawayo (Zimbabwe), Zimbolicious (Zimbabwe), the Zimbabwean (Zimbabwe) and more
Chirasha works as a Live Literature Producer, Arts for Human Rights and Free-Speech Fellowships Literary Arts Activism Diplomatie, Writivism Projects Curator, Visiting, Editor at Large, African Writing Associate, Visiting Writer and Poet in Residence.
He is widely published in more than Hundred Journals, Magazines, and Anthologies around the world. He Co-edited Silent Voices Tribute to Achebe Poetry Anthology , Nigeria and the Breaking Silence Poetry anthology,Ghana.His Poetry collections include Good Morning President ,Diaspora Publishers , 2011 , United Kingdom and Whispering Woes of Ganges and Zambezi,Cyberwit Press ,India ,2010.
He was the Poet-in-Residence from 2001-2004 for the Iranian embassy/UN Dialogue among Civilizations Project; Focal Poet for the United Nations Information Centre from 2001-2008; Convener/Event Consultant This Africa Poetry Night 2004 - 2006; Official Performance Poet Zimbabwe International Travel Expo in 2007; Poet in Residence of the International Conference of African Culture and Development/ ICACD 2009; and Official Poet Sadc Poetry Festival, Namibia 2009.In 2010 Chirasha was invited as an Official Poet in Residence of ISOLA Conference in Kenya.
In 2003 Mbizo Chirasha was a Special Young Literary Arts Delegate of Zimbabwe International Book Fair to the Goteborg International Book Fair in Sweden. He performed at Sida/African Pavilion, Nordic African Institute and Swedish Writers Union. In 2006 was invited to be the only Poet /Artist in Residence at Atelier Art School in Alexandra Egypt. In 2009 was a Special participating Delegate representing Zebra Publishing House at the UNESCO Photo –Novel Writing Project in Tanzania..
View all posts by Mbizo Chirasha(AfricanWilliam Blake)
Mbizo Chirasha (African WilliamBlake) 