By Chisomo Phiri
Two first year students studying bachelor of arts ( Humanities) at the University of Malawi ( UNIMA) Alfred Kamwendo and Success Masauli have published a book titled Bulb in the house.
The book is expected to be launched on February 3, 2022 at a venue to be announced later.
Speaking in an interview, a book co-author, Alfred Kamwendo said the book is a collection of poems and short stories that tackle different issues of our modern life.
Kamwendo said the main messages in the book focus on social-political problems Malawi as a nation face such as corruption, Mental health and patriotism.
He said the book has brought the solutions to these social-political challenges for social-economic growth of Malawi.
” This is a nice book where we have good and real life short stories and poems. As young people we have to provide solutions to some of the things negatively affect our nation and make it not to grow.The title ” Bulb in the house simply symbolizes the solutions, a light that enables us to see corruption and other social-politica problems and how best to solve them. We hope this book is a solution as it contains these solutions in its chapters”, said Kamwendo.
Kamwendo encouraged his fellow young writers to have a spirit of writing what the society must read and listen.
” Age is just a number. Dream but do not sleep. Work smarter to achieve your dreams and write what the society must read and listen,” he said.
He thanked his fellow classmates at the University for helping them to write and publish the book saying without them the dream could have dead and buried in the graveyard of forgetfulness.
Responding on how Malawi is performing in the writing industry, Kamwendo said currently, it seems that the writing culture is growing and glowing only that the reading culture is what not performing well hence a need to promote it among the youths through establishment of libraries in both urban and rural area.
In his comment, a Lecturer in the English department at the University Dr. Innocent Akili Ngulube said this unbelievable powerful book from the first year students. He said he never expected the two young writers to come up with a collection that could tackle social-political problems in the way they have done. He urged them to continue writing stories that will change Malawi.
The two are inspired by the veteran writers David Rubadiri, Zondiwe Mbano, Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka and they want to be like one these writers in future.
They are urging well-wishers to give them support so as they continue amaze the world adding that age is just a number that does not define one’s creative ability.
The Bulb in the house is currently pre-ordered at MK1,500 ( soft copy ) and MK3,000 ( hard copy).