Our Fiction Section features a ‘Faces’, a short story Philani Amadéus Nyoni, a Zimbabwean writer and actor. The story was originally published by Ztorie Bhuku, a new e-zine featuring some of the most exciting new Zimbabwean writing.
Nyoni’s writings have been published on several platforms and media worldwide. In 2006 he received a ‘First Class’ award for poetry in the Girls’ College Literary Competition, the following year he was awarded ‘Honours’ and earned the Best Poem Award in the Seniors’ category.
In 2010 his poetry was read at a cultural night in Wales organised by Kushinda Publishing, in the same year he co-wrote and acted in Cletus Moyo’s stage-play titled And Now We Speak. He also took part in the Drama For Life Festival in South Africa where he was part of the ‘A Lover And Another Poetry Challenge’. After the regional slams he went on to represent Gauteng in the national championships.
In 2011 he co-wrote an opening act with Simo Mpapa-Majola for the festival. In that year he also featured in ‘Lindela’, a short film written and directed by Lilly Million about Lindela camp in South Africa where illegal immigrants are held before being deported to their respective countries.
In 2012 he was part of the team that resurrected “Mlom’ Wakho Poetry Slams” in Bulawayo which was the second poetry slam in Zimbabwe after ‘House Of Hunger’ in Harare. In that year he also represented Zimbabwe in the ‘Breaking Barriers International Poetry Slam’ held in Harare during the Shoko Festival as well as performing at the acclaimed Intwasa Festival. He also published his first book, a collection of poetry titled, Once A Lover Always A Fool. The book was honoured at the 2013 edition of the National Arts Merit Awards (Zimbabwe) in the Outstanding First Creative Published Work category.
He has published several short-stories in newspapers and shared his works at universities like the University of Witwatersrand, the University of Johannesburg (both in South Africa) and the Midlands State University (Zimbabwe).
He has been working with the Regional Centre for Social Responsibility since February 2013. His writings on Corporate Social Responsibility have been published in The Financial Gazette and the Marketers’ Association of Zimbabwe Magazine. He is concluding his first stage play, Blood Of A Slave and his next book titled Hewn From Rock for release later on this year, a collaborative effort with multi-award winning writer and Head of English Department at Christian Brothers’ College, John Eppel.
Some Links to Philani’s work:
http://badilishapoetry.com/radio/philani-amadeus-nyoni
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBAizvHtvlE
http://poetrybulawayo.blogspot.com/2012/12/to-youth-by-philani-amadeus-nyoni.html
http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/philani-amadeus-nyoni/on-her-birthday-he-wrote/
