Lazarus Sauti

By Phillip Chidavaenzi YOUNG journalist-cum-author, Lazarus Sauti, is onto something huge. His debut offering, Nei? — a collection of short stories and poetry — speaks of an innovative author out to break several rules in the writing industry. Sauti told NewsDay Life & Style that the book’s title was centred on questions about issues that vexed humanity. “The questions include: why people are corrupt? Why do people cheat? Why do people lie? Why do people fake miracles? Why are people poor when the country is endowed with natural resources? These questions therefore influenced the title Nei?,” he said. Sauti said he opted for Shona short stories because very few authors pursued that trajectory and as a way of promoting local languages. “Innovation inspired me. I think mixing 27 poems and five short stories in one collection offers variety to the reader,” he said. Sauti said corruption was a predominant theme in the collection because his role as a write

Chidavaenzi: On The Big Interview tonight we debut with our first guest, Lazarus Sauti, who published his debut short story and poetry collection last year. Lazarus Sauti (LS) speaks to the Writers Clinic (WC) about his work and creative process as a writer and poet. Enjoy... WC: Nei? How did you come up with that title? LS: The book is simply a collection of questions around issues that vex humanity, as appropriately said by reviewers like Phillip Chidavaenzi, Tanaka Chidora and Beaven Tapureta. The questions include: Why people are corrupt? Why do people cheat? Why do people lie? Why do people fake miracles? Why people are poor when the country is endowed with natural resources? These questions therefore influenced the title Nei? WC: We have few people writing short stories in Shona. Why did you choose this genre?  LS: Most writers prefer novels. By so doing, they are neglecting short stories. I chose to write short stories in Shona to promote the genre that is being re