Crossing Borders Magazine

Biography:

Syned Mthatiwa was born on 28th August 1976 in one of the remote villages of Malawi. He graduated from the University of Malawi with a Bachelor of Arts degree (with distinction) in 2002, majoring in Literature and Philosophy, and a Master of Arts in Literature in 2005. He has been teaching literature at Chancellor College, a constituent College of the University of Malawi, since December 2002.

His interest in writing stems from his interest in reading and analyzing works of literature. While reading novels and short stories by authors from Africa and beyond, it occurred to him that he could also put his experiences, feelings and ideas on paper. So far Mthatiwa's short stories have appeared in student magazines and newsletters at Chancellor College and in Malawi News, one of Malawi's weekly papers. One of the short stories published in Malawi News won the first prize in MAWU (Malawi Writers' Union)/FMB (First Merchant Bank) Annual Literary Award in 2005. This makes Mthatiwa the first winner of the award as it was established in that same year. Mthatiwa is also a literary critic and he has published several articles in the Malawian Journal of Humanities.

Mthatiwa hopes to embark on writing a novel in the near future, which he sees as being full of promise. The skills he has so far acquired from the Crossing Borders scheme through his interaction with his wonderful mentor, Martin Goodman, give him the confidence that he can handle a longer work of art.  

Reaction to news of publication in CB Magazine:

The day was Tuesday, 3rd January 2006. I had been marking student essays for the better part of the day. At around 15:35 I decided to go to town to buy a few things, but before doing so I had to go to the senior staff Common Room for a drink.  On my way back from the Senior Common Room I branched off into a colleague's office to say hi. On seeing his idle computer I decided to check mail for the last time that day. That is how I discovered Pippa Vlietstra's message in my mailbox at 16:10. The subject, 'Submission for 3rd Edition' rang a bell. I had sent my story to Crossing Borders Magazine with a similar subject. 

When I read Pippa's message I could not suppress my delight. I immediately went wild with excitement, laughing and shouting. I had received a New Year gift from Crossing Borders: my story was going to be published in Crossing Borders Magazine. My bewildered colleague and friend looked at me with anticipation; he wanted to know what had triggered all that excitement. When I finally told him between bouts of merriment, he joined me in the excitement and offered his congratulations for the second time in a space of three weeks. Three weeks before we had laughed and joked when I won the first prize of MAWU/FMB Annual Literary Award (it was a Christmas gift) for my short story, 'The Tour', published in Malawi News in October 2005. Now we were celebrating the acceptance for publication of yet another story by Crossing Borders Magazine.

The journey to town was never to be. I headed home and broke the news to my wife. She gave me the bright magical smile that had stolen my heart a few years before as she said her congratulations.

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Biography:

I am Wame Molefhe. I am a Motswana woman, born in Francistown, Botswana and have lived in Gaborone for most of my life. I make time, often in the early hours of the morning, to write in between raising my children and working full-time for a Water Utility. Although I have always enjoyed writing, I only began writing short stories and sharing my writing with other people last year. I won a couple of competitions and was accepted onto the Crossing Borders programme in June, 2005. Beth Webb, my Crossing Borders mentor has been asking me to send a story in to the magazine and I have been saying soon, maybe... not yet. I am glad I finally did.

I know that my writing will go far beyond being only a joyous pastime.

Reaction to news of publication in CB Magazine:

I was in a busy office getting my computer fixed - a little down at being told that my computer modem needed to be replaced. I asked to check my mail and there was an e-mail telling me that my story had been accepted for the magazine. I sped home to show my son. A slow smile lit up his face. Called my Dad. Sent an sms to a friend who reads all my stuff. It is a wonderful way to begin this year.

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Biography:

Bunmi Julius-Adeoye (née Obasa), 32, holds a Diploma in Mass Communication, a B.A. and M.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where she is currently being supervised for a PhD in the area of using theatre as an interventionist tool in the Safe Motherhood Initiative.

Currently Acting Head of the Department of Performing Arts, Redeemer’s University, RCCG Camp, Nigeria, Bunmi is a Theatre for Development Practitioner, play director, playwright and a short story writer. She participated in both the first and second phase of  the Crossing Borders project and attended the Beyond Borders Festival of Contemporary writing in Uganda.

As an unpublished writer, the crossing Borders project has been of immense help to her writing. Her mentor, Kathleen Mckay wrote in a response to the last assignment in CB phase II: '…I must say I think your writing has become tighter and more focused – you don’t waste words, or beat around the bush, but get straight in there, telling the story. I think this is a reflection of your increased confidence… It’s stronger and clearer, more focused, with an energy behind it.'

Reaction to the news of publication:
'The News came to me as a manifestation of one of my prayer request on New Years eve. I check my e-mail everyday expecting some good news and bang! Right there the mail from Pippa. I was exhilarated. This first glad tiding in the new year is to me a harbinger of good things.'

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Biography:

Studying Arcitecture at the university of Nairobi has taken well over six years out of my life. Writing was at first my way of getting some relief from the rigours of the program. Writing plays, poems, articles and just about everything that can be written helped me stake out my piece of the world. And at each stage was someone urging me on. Crossing Borders was such a 'one'. It taught me skill. And through the program I have met such resourceful and inspiring guys.

Now my voice is heard on stage (I just staged a play at the National Theatre two months ago), in the newspapers (I write for a leading paper, the Standard Newspaper as a social critic on weekends and for the education pullout during the week), and soon, on radio.

Reaction to news of publication in CB Magazine:

This is very exciting and encouraging news for me! I must say that I have a lame foot in fiction, and my mentor can attest to this. It was no mean fit to get me write (well, I hope). I would like to indulge in mature and well-researched creative non-fiction - fiction is admittedly much harder to write - because I think in Africa, it is the road not taken. Scripting though, remains my first love.

I'd like to thank all the organisers of the Crossing Borders program for the truly timely and invaluable intervention in the lives of young African writers.

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Biography:

I started writing when I was 14, had two of my poems published in the first school magazine at Msengezi High School and a couple published in the now defunct magazines The Parade and Mahogany. I work as an HR & Admin Assistant, work that is not at all related to writing.  I am a member and Secretary of Zimbabwe Women Writers, Harare, a member and Secretary of Women of Words and Images as well as Secretary for Crossing Borders Literary Circle.

Over the years I have tried writing for film and am now trying to experiment across genres.  I worked as a Camera Assistant on a local short film, Spell My Name, Maneta, in 2005.  Being on CBWP accelerated my realization that I could not take writing to pass time, that writing demanded discipline and strict regimes for one to be able to come up with a solid piece that people would read and appreciate and it was during this time again that I discovered I could try writing songs as well as sing after my mentor told me that one of my poems would likely sound better as lyrics for a pop song and not a poem.  Crossing Borders Zimbabwe is currently working on a Magazine that will profile the works and achievements of all Zimbabwean participants of which I am proud to be one of the coordinators.

Reaction to news of publication in CB Magazine:

What did I do, I jumped off my seat that's what I did, ran after my colleague Tendai who had just walked out of the office to go home screaming her name.  When I realized she had gone I ran into my boss's office and said to him, 'My story has been accepted, my story in going to be published on the net.'  He stared at me, having never told him that I write, looked confused then I had to explain to him about the Crossing Borders Project and how I had written the short story in one day and submitted it.  To be sure he said he wanted to read the mail that I had just received, then he said CONGRATULATIONS!!  I sat down and e-mailed Sekai Mpisaunga and Ignatius Mabasa at British Council Zimbabwe then started calling all my friends. 

This announcement came as a boost to me as I had suffered a severe writers' block the whole of 2005.  I must hasten to say though that circle of writer friends that came out of the CBWP encouraged me to keep trying.  One important thing I learnt from my non-writer friend Alfred is that he kept saying to me, 'Batsi, handiti you know what they say, being a writer starts with writing.' He said that to me almost every time we met and it just began to eat me up. How could I tell people that I write and had nothing to show for it?

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Biography:

I am a writer and performer born and based in Johannesburg. I started writing poetry when I was a child, my first published poem was when I was 11. I was brought up in a home that loved poetry and literature, especially the English language. But it was only when I was older that I realized that writing is so much more than words playing on a page. Writing contains the writer, their concerns, their social context and their history. My own history became a block to my creativity as I started to explore my identity as a black woman adopted by a white family in apartheid South Africa. I felt like the colonized and the colonizer were fighting each other inside my brain. Writing continued to be important to me but I was convinced that it was simply a therapeutic process, of no value to anyone else.

As a mixed race African and adoptee I feel, paradoxically, oppressed and completely free. I feel oppressed because I don't have access to Africa through African languages or cultures. Historically we were denied this because education implied a familiarity with European languages and cultures. To this day I am trying to address my ignorance with regards to African literature and African culture. My adult life has been largely devoted to healing this rift. The freedom of my paradoxical position, is fact that I don't have the constraints of a traditional role and I have access to the world via English and French.

Reaction to news of publication in CB Magazine:

I am so happy that my poem has been chosen for publication! I would like to make a huge noise but it is early in the morning and the only person awake is my six-year old son! Crossing Borders has meant a lot to me because it has supported me and affirmed me, and the conversations with my mentor have given me a chance to reflect on my creative process and to commit to the words on the page, and the process of polishing them. Finally, publication ensures that the process of story telling and making meaning continues in the minds of the readers, so thank you very much for giving my poem another life.

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