4 Track: Thomas Mapfumo

Posted by Saxon Baird, August 27, 2012

 

In this new series, we are trying to break down part of the barrier between listener and artist by asking some of our favorite musicians to pick 4 tracks from their catalogue and explain the thinking behind them.

Legendary Zimbabwe musician Thomas Mapfumo sat down with Banning Eyre in NYC last week to discuss four poignant tracks from his extensive catalogue. As the creator of chimurenga music (revolutionary struggle music), Mapfumo has been a sharp critic of Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwe government. His music is socially and politically charged while simultaneously being intensely personal. Naturally, Mapfumo’s selections characterize his heavily socio-political subject matter that document and touch upon the struggles of Zimbabwe.

 

Thomas Mapfumo – “Marima Nzara”

 

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(“You Have Harvested Hunger”) [From Chimurenga Rebel, 2002]

TM: It’s all about what happened in Zimbabwe when the farmers had their farms taken away by the government. And in turn, the government actually brought hunger to its people. And today,you can see where we are. We are the third poorest country in the world. And yet, we used to be the great basket of Africa. That’s not what we need. We need to think like grown-ups!

It’s important to look after a nation and it’s people. If there is a government there then they are there to help the country evolve. To make sure the people have jobs and have good housing, good roads and cars…healthcare, things like that. Right now, people are just dying.

When we back to Zimbabwe, they don’t know us, they’ve only been told about us but they’ve never seen us. This is not good for the people.

 

Thomas Mapfumo – “Havasevenzi Vapfana”

 

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(from Chimuerenga Rebel, 2002)

TM: “No Jobs for the Youth.” This alone created a lot of problem for our people because when the youth don’t have jobs; what do they do? They turn into thieves. They break into cars, break into houses, steal money or rob people. Why? Because there are no jobs. You cannot blame though. They are fighting for survival. What are they going to do in a country like that? A country with no industry, where nothing is happening and everythign is standing still. That’s not good enough!

Now today they got diamonds and yet they (the government) is still stealing the money from the diamonds.That money is suppose to help the country evolve and create more jobs for our people.

 

Thomas Mapfumo – “Chiruzevha Chapera”

 

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(“Rural Life is Ruined,” 1977) [a single, never released internationally]

“Tozvireva Kupiko” (“To Whom Are We Going to Tell Our Story?”, 1977)

TM: These songs were very popular during the struggle. They are part of the history, and talk about the reserves.

(Ed. Note: These two songs are about how the 1970s liberation war has destroyed life in the rural areas–”reserves” as in “ruzevha.” The song “Tozvireva Kupiko.” Mapfumo contemplates who he can tell about these struggles. It’s important to understand that this war was fought for years in the countryside, largely out of sight in the early years, and these songs were part of letting urbanites know how bad things were getting. These early songs were part of the “Chimurenga singles” songs Thomas composed during the war that both encouraged the fighters in the bush, and rallied support for them in the population at large. He does not explain all this, but it’s part of his legend. – Banning Eyre)

 

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Bloody Parchment

Short Story Competition

(South Africa / Africa-wide)

Deadline: 31 October 2012

Bloody Parchment writing competition is the literary component of the annual South African HorrorFest. The competition is the ideal hothouse to nurture and cross-pollinate South African and international talent.

Submissions for this year's competition are once again open. Details below. Feel free to email nerinedorman@gmail.com if you have any queries. Other than that, please follow the below submission guidelines. Closing date for this year's entries is October 31, 2012.

The first prize includes one round of professional editing of a novella or novel-length work. Bloody Parchment will publish an anthology of the top 13 finalists, to be released in anticipation of the 2013 SA HORRORFEST.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Email your entries to nerinedorman@gmail.com as attached .rtf or .doc files and place : “Submission: Bloody Parchment 2012 – [insert author name]” in the subject line. Standard manuscript format applies (Times New Roman, 12pt font; indented paragraphs; double spacing). Please include your contact details (full name, pen name, email address and telephone number if South African resident). This competition is open to South African and international entrants.

Please be a darling and read our rules and regulations for the finer details. The competition is open until October 31, 2012. Winners will be notified by e-mail, and announced on the HORRORFEST websites:

• http://www.horrorfest.info/
• http://www.shadowrealminc.com/

Impress us. We do not claim to know what makes the perfect story, but as we are the judges and we get to choose the winner, it's only fair that we give some idea what we are looking for. In short, we are going to give the prize to the story that impresses us most and irritates us least. We don't think we're particularly irritable but with a stack of submissions to narrow down to a few winners, any small thing is likely to condemn a story to the larger pile. It's much easier to describe what will irritate us than what will impress us, so we've done that below.

More importantly, what will impress us is a narrative-based story with strong characters and an interesting plot. We know that's what everyone says and that desspite the huge amount that has been written on the subject, it still defies definition. We're not going to try to define it here because we're looking forward to reading entries that show us what it means. If you're looking for a concise description no more than a click away, we recommend http://www.internet-resources.com/stash/weirdtales-1.html

Genre. As this is part of the SA HORRORFEST, we are looking for stories of horror or dark fantasy. We are not going to be prescriptive about what that means as our definitions are fairly broad. A horror story need not contain a supernatural element, nor must a dark fantasy story give us nightmares. All we really ask for is the sense that the story belongs on the dark side.

Having said that, simply inserting an element associated with the darker genres will not be enough. A romance story about a tall, dark handsome vampire is still a romance story. A crime story about a demonic detective is still a crime story. Which leads on to the list of things that will irritate us.

THINGS GUARANTEED TO COUNT AGAINST YOU:

Bad usage. We are not going to throw your story out for one spelling mistake but we are all in love with the English language and we don't like to see her abused. Besides, repeated mis-spellings and grammatical errors are guaranteed to irritate.

Fanfiction. Any characters or settings still under copyright are likely to get us sued if we publish them. The idea of being sued irritates us so much that if we're in any doubt, we're not going to touch it even if the story is brilliant. As a general guide, anything published by Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/) is in the public domain.

Bigotry. Your characters may be as bigoted as you like but we're all pale-livered liberals and will be irritated by the sense that a story is derogatory toward any particular group of human beings. We don't mind stories derogatory toward imaginary beings.

Derivative stories. Between us, we've read quite a few books and seen quite a few films, and if any of us think a story is a rehash of one of them with slightly different characters, we are likely to be irritated. That's not to say that a story can't share ideas with other stories or films, and in fact it's practically impossible not to, but retellings nearly always have the sense of being second rate.

Twilight knock-offs. Need we say more?

THINGS THAT MAY IRRITATE US IF NOT HANDLED CAREFULLY:

Gratuitous sex. There's nothing wrong with a bit of s3x in a story, but the competition is part of the Horrorfest, not the Sexpo, and we are not looking for er0tica.

Gratuitous violence. As with s3x, violence may be an essential part of the story and we enjoy a good punch-up as much as the next reader, but p0rn0graphic descriptions of violence get boring very quickly.

Excessive gore. We are not particularly squeamish and we are asking for horror stories, but gore is another element that gets boring when overdone.

Exposition. There are probably things that we need to know in order to care about the characters and understand the setting, but conveying information is a way that makes us feel we are being given an orientation briefing by the author is not conducive to a good narrative.

Tropes such as vampires, werewolves, serial killers, etc. These are staples of horror and dark fiction and we believe they have a lot of life in them yet. However, the fact of their being tropes also means that a lot has been done with them so a story that uses them will need to do something new.

Trying to shock us. We believe we are immune to being shocked. It may be interesting to be proved wrong, but depending on shock value to the exclusion of narrative and characters will not give us the impression that we are reading a good story.

RULES AND REGULATIONS:

1. The entrant confirms that s/he is the original author of the work and has full copyright of the submitted work and that it is not subject any publication restrictions as a result of prior obligations (including, but not limited to previous publication) or disputes.

2. The entrant confirms that the work s/he submitted does not violate the trademarks, copyright, and/or rights of others and that any liability that may arise from their work will be solely theirs.

3. The entrant accepts that by entering this contest no obligation (direct or implied) exists for the submitted work to be published and/or any compensation accruing to the entrant.

4. The entrant will retain copyright of the submitted work. In the event that the work should be selected as a finalist in the contest, the entrant agrees upon submission that the contest organisers may publish in hardcover and electronic format an anthology containing their work (properly attributed to the author).

5. The entrant accepts without reservation that the decision of the contest judges are final and that no further correspondence will be entered into.

6. The contest is open for submissions from midnight on (July 7, 2011) until midnight on (October 31, 2011).

7. The contest is for short original fictional work written in UK or SA English within the theme of Halloween, horror, urban fantasy or dark fantasy. No fan fiction will be accepted. Work that is not narrative-driven and/or containing explicit and gratuitous violence, sex or any form of bigotry will be rejected.

8. The submitted work must not exceed (3 500) words in length and must be a complete work, not an extract from a longer piece.

9. A submission must be in the following format (or it will be rejected without correspondence to the entrant): an email attachment, saved as a rich text file (.rtf), only the title (without the author’s name, which will be recorded according to rule 10 below) and the text, no images or graphics, Times New Roman, 12pt font, double line-spacing, with page numbers in the right bottom corner of each page. The author's name should not appear in the attachment since the judging process relies on the majority of the judges not being aware of the author’s identity—those works that are selected as finalists will be reunited with the correct author name before the finalists are announced.

10. Submissions must be sent to the following address only: nerinedorman@gmail.com with the subject line: “Submission: Bloody Parchment 2012 – [insert author name]”.

11. The entrant accepts that once a work has been submitted it cannot be updated/edited in any way whatsoever by the entrant, other than changes that may be recommended by the judges of the contest. Resubmissions of works already submitted will be ignored.

12. The entrant undertakes not to withdraw a work once it has been selected as a finalist (barring cases where the contest organisers become aware of a violation of these rules or any other serious transgression involving the submitted work).

13. The contest organisers do not have the administrative capacity to enter into correspondence with entrants and will not confirm receipt of entries; entrants are advised to utilise the “request delivery receipt” function available with many email applications.

14. The entrant acknowledges that any violation of the letter or spirit of the above contest rules will lead to the immediate disqualification of his/her submission.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries/ submissions: nerinedorman@gmail.com

Website: http://bloodyparchment.blogspot

 

Poetry and Fiction Prizes

Deadline:

November 1, 2012

Entry Fee: 

$25

Website: 

http://www.washingtonwriters.org

E-mail address: 

wwphpress@gmail.com

Two prizes of $1,000 each, publication by Washington Writers, and 50 author copies will be given for a poetry collection and a short story collection or a novel. Writers who live in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia within a 75-mile radius of the U.S. Capitol are eligible. Submit two copies of a poetry manuscript of 50 to 70 pages or up to 350 pages of fiction with a $25 entry fee by November 1. Visit the website for the addresses to which entries must be sent and complete guidelines.

Washington Writers’ Publishing House, Poetry and Fiction Prizes, c/o Patric Pepper, 221 Channing Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002.

Open to the Five Continents:

World Prize for Poetry

Haiku Capoliveri 2012

Deadline: 30 October 2012

The Award "Haiku Capoliveri", promoted by Capoliveri Town Council (on the island of Elba) and by Giorgio Weiss's Il Parnaso is open to poets of the Five Continents to appreciate the charm of old-style japanese poetic form called haiku.

ENTRIES MUST:

- respect the poetic structure of being made up of one stanza, with or without a title, of three lines, the first and third of five syllables, the second of seven syllables;

- be written in the language of the author and be translated (without obligation to respect the poetic form) in Italian and English.

COMPETITION GUIDELINES

Participants may freely choose between four themes: which are all representing the distinctive features and attractions of the area of Capoliveri Town Council:

1) The sea 2) The woods 3) The mine 4) Vineyards 5) The fireflies.

Participants can enter a maximum of five haiku, which should be sent via email to giorgioweiss@libero.it (in the body of the email, not as attached file).

Participants must clearly insert the name, surname, nationality, country of residence, address and telephone number *, otherwise disqualified.

Eight or more one-week stays with bed and breakfast paid at a Capoliveri hotel or residence in May 2013 can be won.

As in previous years, a book containing the haiku of the winners and other selected poets will be published.

By entering the competition participants accept its regulations and give their consent for the works submitted to be published by Il Parnaso.

The results of the competition will be announced on 15 December 2012 on the www.giorgioweiss.it website and the works entered may be used in readings during the Capoliveri “Festival Internazionale Le Voci della Poesia”(The Voices of Poetry International Festival).

* All data collected will be used solely for the purpose of communications relating to the competition in question and shipping of 2012's Anthology without charge.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries/ submissions: giorgioweiss@libero.it

Website: http://www.giorgioweiss.it/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

via zollywoodzim.co.uk

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Contemporary

Dance Movement in Africa

As a child growing up in Nigeria, I loved to dance. There was never really any technique to my moves. Yes, I was vaguely aware of dance fads, yet after watching my elder brother spend endless hours mastering break dance routines; I realized I lacked the stamina to keep up with fads. Dance, in my mind was supposed to be effortless and spontaneous, inspired by something within that needed, no, begged to be communicated through the body. If communication meant my body jerked and wound itself into a frenzy until release was granted, well, so be it. Sometimes my hips simply led the way, while other times my feet demanded obedience. Either way I just let the dance over take me. Living and dancing in the US demanded something else of me. In college, amongst my multicultural group of friends, dance became an art of seduction. No longer was moving a freeing activity for me, rather it devolved into performance, coy attempts at catching another’s eye or an effort to validate my racial and ethnic identity. After all, as the only African in my crew I had a reputation to uphold. I started dancing to show I was Black or African enough. Well, supposedly, all Black folks, Africans in particular, dance the same way. We are booty-bumping, rump-shaking, pelvic thrusting, and hip gyrating people, right? On good days, when I had the routine down pat, White people would look at me sweating it out on the dance floor and marvel. “Teach me that African move,” they often pleaded and then proceeded to mimic something they saw on National Geographic. On bad days, when I dared to move differently, people (even Black folks) would sneer, and surreptitiously move away, as if fleeing the scene of a crime. I started to feel like the best and safest places to dance were my living room floor (no cover and the DJ always plays what I like),.

Recently, while on a trip to Chicago I was fortunate enough to see Movement (R)Evolution Africa: a story of an art form in four acts, a documentary featuring nine African choreographers analyzing the deeply imaginative and diverse contemporary dance movement on the continent. As listed on the film’s website, featured artists include “Company Kongo Ba Téria (Burkina Faso), Faustin Linyekula and Studios Kabako (Democratic Republic of Congo), Company Rary (Madagascar), Sello Pesa (South Africa), Company TchéTché (Côte d'Ivoire), Company Raiz di Polon (Cape Verde), Company Jant Bi (Senegal) and Kota Yamazaki (Japan), Nora Chipaumire (Zimbabwe), Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and members of Urban Bush Women (USA).”

What struck me was the level of ingenuity evident in all the pieces featured. The choreography was like nothing I had ever seen. Clearly, here were Africans also bursting free of stifling stereotypes about dance and expression, and on a quest to tell our stories through dance, while critiquing racist expectations and perceptions of how African bodies move. As much as these artists honor dance traditions and legacies, they are also intent on essentially making something new out of the old. “As African dancers I think we have the common things in terms of showing people that we’re not only doing the old tribal dances but we’re also doing things that are affecting us in this present moment,” explains Sello Pesa. Pesa is the creator of “Break Shadow”, a type of choreography that incorporates lighting, and adds an eerie and surreal effect to the movements. “Try to understand what [contemporary African dance] is,” Beatrice Kombe, a choreographer from Cote D’Ivoire, and cofounder of Company TchéTché, urges. “Don’t say ‘ah this is African dance.’ No. It’s not ‘African dance.’ It’s a new expression.” Her piece, Geeme, depicts the dual roles African women are supposed to occupy, as both mother and warrior. In a particularly poignant moment during Geeme, two muscular women stand side by side on a bare stage. Light shines on them from above, casting a glow on their caramel (one), and dark chocolate tones (the other). They are clad in black and the clothing clings, emphasizing their toned stature. One’s hair is woven into multi-colored braids, blond and several hues of brown. She clasps her palms and holds them out in front of her. Her palms become a mirror that she brings close to her face. She stares and suddenly becomes aware of herself. Her partner forms her own mirror and leans into her palms, surprise registers on her face. The pantomime goes on for a bit, until one breaks it by flaying her arms in the air. The other follows suit and together they glide into a synchronized swaying movement, taking with them the knowledge gleaned from the previous pas-de-deux.

It comes as no surprise that, like Geeme, most of the other choreography weave in narratives highlighting the beauty and ugliness of African life. Young Africans today are essentially “product of disillusionment”, one of the choreographers argues. Unlike our parents who were either active, or swept up, in the revolutionary struggles of the 1960s and ‘70s, this current generation of Africans has witnessed the emergence of the African “big man”, i.e. the former freedom fighter now turned greedy and power drunk politician. Zimbabwean born Nora Chipaumire, a self-exiled NYC-based dancer/performer, proclaims, “I’m a child of struggle!” She explains that for too long Africans have been defined by outsiders, therefore the contemporary dance movement is an opportunity for Africans to (re)discover ourselves and create art that speaks to who we truly are, adding, “I’m African, regardless of whether my pieces are abstract or not abstract, whether they use percussion or not.”

Societal problems, such as genocide, were recurrent themes. “The [Rwandan] genocide was happening during the World Cup and so no one knew what was happening,” laments Germaine Acogny, the famed Senegalese choreographer and powerhouse behind Fagaala. Her dance piece examines the fickleness of human emotions, and shows how quickly emotions change, transforming people into monsters capable of immense brutality. During Fagaala, in a flash, one of the performers turns into a lecherous fiend, violently raping an unseen woman. He bares his teeth, flicks his tongue in and out of his mouth, and wears a vile expression on his face. In the blink of an eye he has lost any semblance of humanity.

Similarly, Faustin Linyekula’s Triptych Untied, explores the aftermath of civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where over three million people died. Linyekula still struggles to feel connected to DRC, a site of enormous pain. He wonders how Africans can foster connections that go beyond shared nationality or ethnicity, but are instead founded on a shared desire to heal. “Perhaps my body is my only country,” he says resignedly.

Movement (R)Evolution Africa, produced by filmmakers Joan Frosch and Alla Kovgan, complicates western notions of African dance. It is full of creative and politically astute performers, who urge us to abandon stereotypes of how Black bodies move. Besides the percussion-fueled and highly energetic movements, African dance is also serene and statuesque, full of poses that transcend description and time. Our movements are fast and slow. We ‘bend down low’ to touch the earth, yet we also glide up to kiss the sky.

Film’s website - http://www.movementrevolutionafrica.com/

 

Posted by Doyin Ola

<p>Nora from NBPC on Vimeo.</p>

NORA CHIPAUMIRE
(Zimbabwe/USA)

<p>Cinedans 2009 : Meeting with Nora Chipaumire from Josselin Carré on Vimeo.</p>

Zimbabwean artist, Chipaumire began her work as both choreographer and solo artist in 2000. Since then, her work has been shown in numerous San Francisco Bay area venues such as ODC, Venue 9, 848 Community Space, Temescal Art Center and the Berkeley Art Center. Chipaumire has also been presented in important bay area festivals such as Summerfest (2003), Afrosolo African Diaspora Series (2003) and Women on the Way Dance Festival (2002). In addition, Chipaumire has received artistic residences at the Berkeley Art Center (2002) and Berkeley High School (2000). In New York City, Chipaumire's work has been presented by Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church, BRICstudio, Embora Wellness Center and as part of the Lincoln Center summer series, “color outside the lines”, 2004. She has participated as a dancer and choreographer in CORD’s Movement (R)evolution Dialogues: Contemporary Performance In and Of Africa, (2004). Internationally, Chipaumire has performed her work in Montréal, Canada (2004 / 2005).

As a dancer, Chipaumire has worked with various companies locally, nationally and internationally, including Molissa Fenley and Dancers (NYC), Dimensions Dance Theater (Oakland, CA), and Compania De La Danza Narciso Medina (Havana, Cuba). She also has had the privilege of working with esteemed Bay Area choreographers such as Thaïs Mazur, Anne Bluthenthal, Laura Elaine Ellis, Robert Moses, Mary Amentrout and Leyya Tawil, as well as New York-based Crystal Brown.

Chipaumire is a graduate of the University of Zimbabwe’s School of Law and holds graduate degrees in dance (M.A.) and choreography and performance (M.F.A.) from Mills College (Oakland, CA). She has studied dance formally and informally in her native Zimbabwe, USA, Cuba and Jamaica. Among other interests that influence her work, Chipaumire includes fashion design, fashion modeling, photography, film acting and radio, and club DJ-ing. (Chipaumire worked as a radio DJ for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Co-operation (ZBC) before moving to the USA.

Chipaumire has taught students of all ages in recreational studios, public schools as well as community college in the San Francisco bay area, New York City, Montréal, Canada and Harare, Zimbabwe. She is currently a full time member of the renowned New York City based American dance company, Urban Bush Women.

“Nora Chipaumire is a remarkable solo artist who investigates the collaborative process within cultural, political, economic, and technological identities of African contemporary life. Her work is transnational, unafraid, and eager to burn cultural, creative, and geographic boundaries whilst illuminating what it means to be Zimbabwean/woman/black /human in an increasingly borderless world. She views the theatrical stage as a "harrowing place of purging and paradoxically a place for reclaiming strength" (The Village Voice).

choreography / performance Nora Chipaumire original music Alex Potts costume / lighting design Nora Chipaumire

© 2007, Movement (R)evolution
for more information contact
info@movementrevolutionafrica.com

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MIRIAM

<p>Interview de Nora Chipaumire et son équipe from Les Subsistances on Vimeo.</p>

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