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Eppel has been well known as a poet across southern Africa for many years; Muzanenhamo is a new voice who is becoming well known across the world.

Reviews

Textures can be viewed up close, close enough to see Eppel’s aloes and to feel Muzanenhamo’s galloping hoofs. Their differences are obvious: one poet, grounded in Bulawayo, generally writes short, evocative, personal and structured poems to probe the subconscious and unearth, in heart-breaking beauty, penetrating truths; while the other, a citizen of the world, crafts longer narratives gathered from everywhere, and delivers them in spell-binding voice and imagery. Stepping back however, we see a pattern emerging, a collaboration that spurns the pettiness of competing poetry schools and prescribed content; we see a portrait of love which takes our breath away. Robert Graves stated that his poetic intention was ‘to mesmerise time with stored magic’. Textures achieves this. Fred Simpson

Each poet speaks in his own distinctive voice: John Eppel’s first poem is the nostalgic ‘Suburban Night in August’, which begins ‘The distant all-night drums, a dripping tap…’ and ends expectedly with that pain of love lost so painfully shared ‘……unclasp your hair, give it a tousle, set it free, smiling at him the way you smiled at me.’

Togara Muzanenhamo dramatically introduces himself with the shocking ‘Gondershe’ ‘Having never fired a gun before, he held the rifle as though the weapon were a dying child about to say something only they could share...’ ending with the revelation of the 12 year old soldier cradling his gun and awaiting a certain death.

Textures is a celebration of life and love in all forms: its beauty and its cruelty. The exquisite fabric woven by Togara Muzanenhamo and John Eppel in this collection will remain to be enjoyed over and over by all those fortunate enough to buy this book. Pat Brickhill

Author Biography

John Eppel, born in 1947, is an English teacher in Bulawayo. He published his first poems in the 1960s, in Two Tone, and his first collection, Spoils of War, in 1989. John won the Ingrid Jonker Prize for Poetry for Spoils of War, and the M-Net prize for his first novel, D G G Berry’s The Great North Road. His second novel, Hatchings, was chosen for the series in the Times Literary Supplement of the most significant books to have come out of Africa.

His other novels are The Giraffe Man, The Curse of the Ripe Tomato, The Holy Innocents, Absent: The English Teacher, Traffickings and The Boy Who Loved Camping.

John’s other poetry collections are Sonata for Matabeleland, SelectedPoems: 1965-1995 and Songs My Country Taught Me.

Two collections of his poetry and short stories have been published: The Caruso of Colleen Bawn and White Man Crawling.

Poems and short stories of Eppel’s have appeared online and in many anthologies and journals, and his recent collaborations with other writers include Together, with Julius Chingono, and Hewn from the Rock, with Philani A Nyoni.

Born in 1975, Togara Muzanenhamo studied in the Netherlands and in France. He has worked as a journalist and a film script editor.

His poems have appeared widely in international magazines, journals and anthologies. In 2006 his debut collection of poems, Spirit Brides, was published by Carcanet Press and shortlistedfor the Jerwood Aldeburgh First Collection Prize.

The Times Literary Supplement welcomed the poet as a young writer of solid distinction: ‘he can be “cool” but seldom “light”. His best writing makes no reference to itself, does not allow itself to be damaged by over exuberant metaphor.’

In 2012 Muzanenhamo was chosen to represent Zimbabwe at Poetry Parnassus in London, ‘the biggest gathering of poets in world history’, where he read at the gala event with Seamus Heaney, Kim Hyesoon, Bill Manhire, Kay Ryan and Wole Soyinka at the Royal Festival Hall. Poetry Parnassus was part of the Cultural Olympiad that preceded the 2012 Olympic Games.

His second collection, Gumiguru, is published by Carcanet Press.

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