Beating odds, creating poetry
Living with a disability can be challenging. It can actually kill one’s confidence, forcing them to isolate themselves and not explore their gifts and talents.
But this is not the case with Chisomo Chikuni, 20. Despite living with a hearing impairment, she is determined to continue advancing her talent as a writer and poet. She has just published an anthology of her poems titled Africa and Other Poems.
In an interview, the poet said even though losing her sense of hearing disturbed her life, it did not kill the talent in her.
Said Chikuni: “I am I always moved by the saying that disability it is not inability. I published this anthology beating all odds including sickness that took away my hearing. So, I do not value my disability. I interact with my fellow poets and friends by lip reading and reading other people’s anthologies.”
Sampling the anthology reveals that it aims to assert confidence to Africans living with disability. The dominant theme in the collection is nature, with some poems talking about the environment and encouraging largescale environmental conservation. The poems, are all written in English, are presented in simple and short sentences making them an easy read.
“The poems are about nature and Africa; hence, titled Africa and Other Poems. I imagined different things that happen in people’s lives in Africa, especially in Malawi, I wrote in a way that will give the reader a sense of imagination and inspiration, thereby, learning more from the poems,” she said.
In the poem Mulanje Mountain, the poet simply celebrates the beauty of the mountain and its natural resources.
“What a beautiful physical feature
Saturated with treasure
Bauxite and cedar are your riches
How I love the breeze you ooze
The breeze of hope,” it reads.
The 20 poems in the anthology flow seamlessly as if they are one chapter, linked with their relatable themes.
In Africa, Chikuni looks at the vast continent and its natural resources. She also talks about the blessings of talent and love bestowed upon the continent.
“How big a continent you are
The habitant of nature
Pregnant with natural resources
Believing in the abundance
Blessings upon your land,” she writes.
Chikuni, who lost her hearing at the age of 11, says she started practising writing poems when she was in primary school.
“Since I developed the spirit of writing poems, I was encouraged by other existing writers such as Benedicto Wokomaatani Malunga. I have been writing ever since until now that I decided to publish an anthology,” she said.
Chikuni, a second year student at the University of Malawi doing Bachelor of Social Science in Gender Studies, uses lip reading to communicate with others and freely mingles with other poets.
“My biggest inspiration is Wokomaatani Malunga who has also helped me a lot along the way,” she said.
Chikuni said local poetry has come a long way despite the challenges.
Her book is selling at K5 000 per copy and was published by Chanco Publish.
