The Story Club launched in Mzuzu
The Story Club Malawi, a forum for artists to discuss and analyse art, has been launched in Mzuzu with readings from Professor Felix Mnthali’s yet-to-be released memoir, A Time to Remember.
Speaking at the launch on Saturday, founder and coordinator of the club, Shadreck Chikoti, said The Story Club was formed with the aim of offering artists a platform to celebrate various forms of art such as literature, music, drama and poetry.
“As artists, we are criticised for lacking originality and the quality of our works. But the truth is that an artist cannot grow without criticism from others.
“As such, we formed The Story Club to act as a meeting place for constructive criticism and for the artists to share experiences,” said Chikoti, winner of the 2013 Peer Gynt Literary Award for his manuscript Azotus.
During the launch, Mnthali, who was guest of honour, read a chapter from A Time to Rememberwhich was critiqued by Albert MtungamberaHarawa, a lecturer of literature at Mzuzu University.
A Time to Remember traces Mnthali’s life from his secondary school days at Dedza in 1958, his earlier job as a lecturer then pro vice-chancellor of the University of Malawi, his detention in 1976, his job as a visiting fellow at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and finally as professor of English at the University of Botswana where he taught for 28 years.
In his critique, Harawa described Mnthali’s memoir as a literary text that “rewrites Malawian history.”
He noted: “The manuscript paints a picture of disillusionment with colonialism. The characters, including the narrator himself, are discontent with colonialism. By reading this manuscript, one reads Malawian history from a literary point of view just as is the case with TiyambeZeleza’sSmouldering Charcoal.”
