Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter

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The last Black History Month selection presented here for this year is Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter by J. Nozipo Maraire. It is a wonderful narrative told in the form of letters from a mother to her daughter. Zenzele is also a portrait of the struggle for independence and hope for both the individual and an entire culture.

From Library Journal:

Maraire, a Harvard-educated native of Zimbabwe now living in the United States, has written a beautifully poignant first novel about what it means to be a woman in Africa. The novel is written in the form of a letter from a mother to her daughter, Zenzele, who is just beginning her studies at Harvard. The mother writes of her girlhood in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe’s colonial name), the struggle for Zimbabwe’s independence, and her hopes and fears for the next generation. She has watched villagers send the best of her generation to Europe or America for an education, with the hope that they would return with their newly learned skills to better the lives of their compatriots. Instead, she is saddened when they do not return home to live but come back only for visits, seeming to have lost all remnants of African culture. The mother offers her own stories in hopes that her daughter, while creating herself, will never forget whence she came.

Biography: (from http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Maraire.html)

J. Nozipo Maraire was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1966 during the transition of the country from colonial Rhodesia under Britain to the independent country now called Zimbabwe. Maraire’s grandparents, parents, and other close family members were directly involved in the war for independence from both the British and the white elite. Maraire left Zimbabwe during the war. She lived and went to school in Canada, the United States, and Jamaica. Maraire stayed in Zimbabwe until she was 18 when she moved to Boston to study at Harvard University. While growing up, she had dreamed about studying medicine in America. However, her plan had been and still is to return to Zimbabwe as a doctor who could help improve Africa’s health care and economy. Maraire’s dream came true when she went to Columbia Medical School after receiving an undergraduate degree from Harvard.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – one fan’s opinion

Yes, I’m looking forward to the new Harry Potter book.

I became a fan of the HP books and of J. K. Rowling as an author pretty much by accident, as I see it. I avoided the books for a while; there are so many best sellers that I’ve spent my money on just to find out that the particular novel is garbage, so I’ve become a bit skeptical of the validity of the bs list sometimes, as it pertains to quality anyway.

But a few years ago I was looking for something light to read after finishing a wonderfully profound but somewhat grim novel. I just needed something to relax with and pass the day while I was at work (no, not slacking. It was a job w/ enormous amounts of approved downtime). So I thought, what the hell. One Harry Potter book can’t hurt. So I bought the first one. And I enjoyed it. And a couple of years later I bought the second one–at that time I believe the first four in the series were on the shelves.

So now I’m awaiting the next one along with most of the world. And while I’ve yet to participate in any message boards, etc., I too wondered if the author would kill Harry Potter.

But I don’t think so. Why? It’s just something simple that I’ve noticed. It’s not a deep philosophical examination of fantasy lore or symbolism present in the books. Again, I have yet to participate in the fan boards, so it may very well be that just about everyone has made this observation already, but I think that the last HP book will end on a good note for one simple reason – the order of the series:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone (Philosopher’s stone in England/Canada) (the Philosopher’s stone was a force of good)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chamber was a force of evil)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Prisoner [Sirius Black] good)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Goblet bad)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Order good)
Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince (Halfblood Prince bad [so it seems])

So based on that, I’d say that the Deathly Hallows will be a force of good, or at least results in good things eventually happening for Harry Potter. I also think that Sirius Black will be resurrected.

If the Deathly Hallows turns out to be a a good thing in some way, it really brings everything full circle for Harry as well. Plus, there’s something, it seems, in the importance of his age at the different stages/years at Hogwarts and it just appears that this book and the character’s age present the perfect time to make him a full-fledged wizard. To do that and then kill him, well, seems kind of pointless. But that’s just my opinion and speculation.

As far as the rest is concerned (who else might or might not die, come back, etc.) anybody’s guess is as good as mine. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Nancy O. Greene
http://www.portraits.bravehost.com

Are most writing contests even worth it anymore?

On the Poets & Writers website, there is an article (click here to read it in full) about a contest that has some writers that submitted to it up in arms. Supposedly the sponsor promised that each manuscript would receive an individual, personal critique from him. The entry fees for the contest were $35 for poetry and $45 for fiction. He would publish the winning manuscripts.

But instead of giving the authors personal reviews, he decided to create several different form letters that he felt would address issues in any work submitted. This plan backfired when writers received letters with different titles listed and when some that had entered decided to compare notes and realized that their “personal critiques” were identical except for the name of the work.

On top of that, he sent some of the entrants a request for $300 in exchange for more critiquing. Some were told that their submissions would be entered into the running for another prize and would automatically move ahead in the first round of judging, even though that particular contest is supposed to be judged blind.

This article interested me because the subject of contest worth came up today during a free critiquing session I attended. Before we started giving feedback on one another’s work, one of the other writer’s asked about a contest that he’s never heard of (prior to a few days ago) but offers several thousand dollars as the prize. He’s going to look into it, figure out whether or not the contest is worth his money before he enters–which is probably the best anyone can do.

I think that there are some contests out there that are valid and well worth the money to enter, within reason (or budget…), but the problem sometimes isn’t just the cost. Some competitions, not unlike the one mentioned in the Poets & Writers article, seem to be a gateway for the sponsors to ask the writers for even more money or even all of the rights to the submitted work.

Years ago I overheard a one-sided conversation on a bus. The man was talking on a cell phone and said: “Yeah, I know I should feel bad that I’m probably taking the girl’s life savings, but if she’s stupid enough to pay for it, I’m going to take her money.”

That seems to be the way some of these sponsors operate. Maybe they start out with good intentions, maybe they don’t and feel a little guilty about that fact, but is the guilt going to stop them?

Payment aside (because there are some legitimate reasons for fees, such as administrative costs), what about simply not giving guarantees that can’t be kept, or at least letting the entrants know immediately when things turn out differently than expected? Such simple notice can help, and it doesn’t take anything away from the legitimacy of the contest. But something as complicated as making up form letters and sending them out as personal reviews does.

I try to always look into any contest I’m paying to enter. How many years it’s been around, how many people have won, and whether or not there have been issues like the ones mentioned above. It may not be a flawless system, but if there have been a lot of substantial and negative issues surrounding the contest, I’m going to do my best to not be “stupid enough to pay for it.”