5 December 2004
CZECH publisher Zdenek Susa last week released an anthology of Ndebele literature translated into English and Czech.
We Hold on to the Word of Lizard (Drzime se slova Jesterky), compiled and translated by university lecturer Alena Rettova, was borne out of an informal meeting at the Prague Bookworld between Rettova and Jaroslav Olsa jr, the Czech ambassador to Zimbabwe.
Rettova teaches in the African Studies of the Institute of Middle East and Africa at Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic.
During the discussion, Olsa jr moaned about the absence of an anthology of Ndebele literature in Zimbabwe.
"I realised from research that there were so many anthologies of Zimbabwean literature in English, a few Shona anthologies and almost nothing on Ndebele literature," Olsa jr told StandardPlus.
The 200-page book divided into fiction and theoretical writing brings together the works of authors ranging from veterans such as Ndabezinhle Sigogo, S.O. Mlilo, Luke Bizeni Khumalo, Barbra Makhalisa, Cain Mathema, Virginia Phiri, Pathisa Nyathi, Sodindwa Ncube, Robert Mele, the late Doris Ndlovu and N.P. Ndlukula to members of the Budding Writers' Association.
The creative writing section covers poetry, drama and short stories. It starts with an introduction tracing Ndebele literary writing from its origin in the 1950s when the earliest Ndebele novels such as Ndabaningi Sithole's Amandebele KaMzilikazi and Umthwakazi by Peter Mahlangu were published, to the present day.
The section on theoretical writing includes subsections on Ndebele customs and tradition, history and Ndebele literature and language.
Olsa jr described the book as "a gateway into Ndebele literature".
"There is so little written about Ndebele literature and a book like this should give readers an idea of what Ndebele writers have to offer," Olsa jr said.
Elsa jar, a former publisher and journalist, has previously facilitated the publication of: Navajo Bayed, a collection of Czech fairy tales translated to Shona by Elves Mari; Ziyajuluka, a collection of short stories translated from Czech to Ndebele; Rainmaker-Modern Zimbabwean short stories and a collection of essays on modern Zimbabwean sculpture.
Ziyajuluka and Nevanji Bayaya were winners in the Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association Literary Awards.
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