Becoming The Muse

Zimbabwe 360° is a short story anthology by Zimbabwean storytellers at various stages in their writing journeys, from published authors with years of experience to first timers. The body of work is a labour of love by the Writing Buddies community, compiled and supported by Upenyu Creativity.

The short story anthology features 12 writers with 2 stories a writer and one bonus story, making it a collection of 25 stories. No one story is alike but they have a unifying theme of being written by Zimbabweans residing locally and abroad carving out a niche in the Zimbabwean literary space.

The Good

Having been a part of several writers circles some which disappeared into oblivion with nary a sign of their existence and others which have gone to make bold moves, not to mention the countless drafts that are forever doomed to stay as a work-in-progress… seeing a group managing to get to publication is a win before one even reads a single word of the anthology.

The Epilogue by Hannah H. Tarindwa helps put into perspective the journey that led to the publication of Zimbabwe 360 and even endears the collection to the reader, placing it their hands to be the judge.

The stories explore various themes from socio-economic to growing pains, family structures and immigration.

Navigating the short story collection is a rollercoaster ride where you never know what each story will bring a poignant melancholy or an optimistic outlook, love, death, birth and everything in-between with a deeply relatable feel.

Zimbabwe 360 stories feel like a mosaic of stories that embody what means it means to be Zimbabwean, the struggles and the challenges, the nostalgia for days past and the hope that keeps us pushing, that brighter days are coming….

The stories come with the biographies of the writers which not only helped one identify with an author but even contextualised some of the stories to see why a particular writer made their characters behave a certain way or why their stories carried a certain theme… the writers were drawing from their lived experience for inspiration.

Another nice touch was the editors getting recognition in the book and not just a faceless footnote that this was edited by so and so.

The Bad

The thing with short stories, the are some gems which end on that dramatic note that will have you like Noooo don’t end it here I need to know what happened after this…. I hope some of those story ideas get to be fleshed out and soar like the butterfly they were meant to be.

To the person who said that a short story must end on dramatic cliff hanger: I say to you 0/____

The Ugly

The book cover which we must not judge a book by… 👀

Reading multi-author anthologies can be quite a jarring experience as you switch between the various writing styles and themes; some are light hearted others tragic, some are easier to get into, others need a bit more time to be fully immerse but by the time you have a feel for it the tale has ended and on to the next.

If writers are the watchdogs of society, then we need to introspect as the stories have characters who go through the most to try and make it in life, from being surrogate mothers to drug trafficking, immigration and even sacrificing relatives for that better life….

Final Thoughts

Zimbabwe 360 is most certainly a 360 degree perspective of Zimbabwe from writers of various walks of life and experiences claiming their stake in the Zimbabwean literary space… We need more of this demystifying the writing process and dissolving the gatekeeping of the stories we can write about our selves.

I read a reviewer’s copy of the anthology courtesy of The Writing Buddies Project. The book is now available on Amazon.

•Read another review of Zimbabwe 360 on: The Baobab

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Update:

After this review… the anthology is getting a new cover.