By Chisomo Phiri
A renowned poet, Martin Chrispine Juwa, has expressed satisfaction with how his 2020 anthology of poetry, titled ‘Drifting Smoke’, is bringing change among many Malawians in the country.
In an interview with 247 Malawi News, Juwa said the main message in the book is to expose the fragility of feelings, thoughts, and individual convictions of humans.
Asked on what motivated him to write the poetry book, the poet, who stays in Lumbadzi,said :”I noticed that I was not stable emotionally for the most part of my growing. As such, I lost good friendships, got into trouble with my teachers, and lost my identity as a person. This was due to emotional delicacy I was in.”
He added:”This prompted me to think of expressing different emotions such as sadness, fear, guilt, envy, doubt and pride through poetry.”
He said the book can be directly accessed from him through his WhatsApp number +(265) 991218040 or his Facebook Page (Martin Chrispine Juwa).
“The book is selling at K7, 500 hard copy and K1,500 soft copy. The hard copy is sent to all parts of the country through courier services,” he said.
Asked to comment on how he sees writing industry in Malawi in terms of its progress or growth, Juwa said:”We are making progress. We have brilliant literature in the industry in both stories and poetry. We are publishing books (locally and internationally), we are winning African and European contests.
“We are also sending writers to overseas countries for school and to represent us in variety writing projects there. We are seeing all levels of academic and entrepreneurial writing excelling. We are becoming better with time.”
Juwa said Malawi is now embracing writing as a way of making money.
He also suggested that if people who are making money through writing come in the open, others will join in and publish their literary works.
“I also hope to see organisations supporting writing as a business,” he said.
On top of being a poet, Martin Chrispine Juwa is also a teacher, Historian, ghost writer,and reggae musician.
He is also a mentor and a coach for creative writers in both secondary school and university levels.
