Lazarus Sauti

By Shingirai Mutonho Nei? By Lazarus Sauti Published by Royalty Books (2017) ISBN: 978-0-7974-8141-1 It is refreshing to note that locals have decided to commit pen to paper to celebrate being Zimbabwean. One such writer who has embarked on this celebration is Lazarus Sauti, who published his first book, Nei?, last year. The book which has been nominated for the National Arts Merit Awards 2018 in the Outstanding First Creative Published Work category, is a collection of poems. With many books written in English, it is refreshing that Sauti chose to write the book in his first language, Shona. The poems touch on various issues affecting daily lives of ordinary Zimbabweans. The poem ‘Simuka’ carries a message for Africans to work towards the development of the continent. With a developed continent, Sauti writes, Africans would be proud to live on their continent. “Africa, ‘Zvino vanogumepiko vachizvitiza vako vana? ‘Havo makots

Tanaka Chidora Literature Today “Nhai mbuya, sei mvura inopisa ichidzima moto?” (Grandma, why does hot water put out a fire?). This is the first line in Gonzo H. Musengezi’s ‘Zvairwadza Vasara’. If I were the grandmother of this little kid, I would have fumbled for an answer. Answers to such questions, when asked by kids, do not come easily. Life is like that. Life is a question and many of the answers we find are not final . Many times the answers we find breed more questions. Yet, such questions usually help us find out who we are, what defines us and what makes the world around us move forward. Enter Lazarus Sauti with “Nei? The translated version would obviously be “Why?” (sometimes it can be translated to “With what?” but such a translation is out of question here). “Nei?” is a collection of short stories and poems that seem to be probing for answers. This can only be achieved through more inquisitiveness, sometimes with the result that question and answe