By Tendai Chisiri
Songstress and Mbira musician, Hope Masike has marked the beginning of the month of September with the announcement of a nationwide book tour.
The tour begins this Sunday the 10th of
September with a book tour launch event at Pikicha Gallery, Helensvale Shopping Centre.
In this first of it’s kind book tour, the Harare-based musician come author will bring her poetry readings, book signings and of course, her signature mbira
music to several provinces of the country including Bulawayo, Manicaland, Harare, Midlands.
Her tour shall be a celebration of the
three poetry books she has published so far which are ‘Ask Me Again’, ‘Dzevabvazera’ and her latest offering ‘Die with me’ .
The tour is being launched this Sunday the 10th of September as Masike celebrates her birthday in style. This launch event will be
in collaboration with a platform called Dedication, the art and culture venue called Emagumeni that houses Pikicha Gallery, and Hope Masike’s official Harare and Vic Falls distributor called House of Books Zim.
Much as the launch event shall include her music and her poetry, it shall also include a
pleasant birthday surprise for her fans in the form of her first ever art exhibition comprising paintings from her body works themed ‘Mbira Yangu’ . ‘I am celebrating my birthday this year uniquely by thanking God for the wonderful gift of Art He entrusted with me. This year I am going the whole nine yards: the usual mbira music, my poetry and for the first time, my visual art work too. I have been working on these paintings for years now. They are themed ‘Mbira Yangu’, my visual interpretation of my heritage.’ Masike said.
“We are inviting art lovers to
come experience Hope in her
element as she mashes up poetry, music and painting in her unique inimitable style. Hope’s Book Tour launch will start at 4pm this Sunday at Pikicha Gallery. As the tour proceeds to other cities, her art exhibition will be running at Pikicha Gallery up to October 10,’ said Pikicha Gallery curator, Tamuka Devane.
In Manicaland, Hope Masike is billed to visit some of Mutare’s renowned tertiary academic institutions on Friday the 15th of
September. The next leg of the tour will be at HeavenLodge in Chimanimani, where Masike will perform her poems and music in collaborationwith Mbiravolution
and Chimanimani based mbira virtuoso Hector Mungani on the
16th.
She finishes off that weekend performing for revellers in Vumba at popular joint, Tony’s Cakes on Sunday the 17th. The tour will them proceed to Midlands where Hope Masike is expected to visit Midlands State
University on Wednesday the 27th of September to give a talk to students in the humanities department.
The following day, Thursday the 28th, she will then give a public performance at Gweru Memorial Library in collaboration
with Own your words, Gweru’s top book club.
The last leg of the tour shall be Bulawayo province, where Masike will perform for book lovers and music lovers alike at Alliance Francaise de Bulawayo in the
afternoon Saturday the 30th.
This book tour closing event shall be in
partnership with the vibrant Bulawayo Book Club and Masike’s official book distributor in Bulawayo, the The Orange
Elephant.
‘I am very excited to be able to celebrate the reading and writing culture with different audiences in different parts of Zimbabwe. Because of this, I am looking
forward to traveling to new places, meeting new faces, seeing more of beautiful Zimbabwe and celebrating my
books and African literature at large with both book lovers, poetry lovers and mbira music lovers”, she said.
Hope Masike’s book tour launches at Pikicha Galley at Helensvale Shopping Centre Harare this Sunday the 10th of September from 4pm to 5 pm. All her book tour events shall be free for all.
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