‘We should develop a culture of reading and writing’

AFTER discovering her passion to write ten years ago, Shuvai Mpundu (SM) decided never to look back. For her, perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. Her book  – The Bible Women of Tenacity – which will be published soon encourages every people that – All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them and that good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them, Below are excerpts of the interview

Shuvai Mpundu, “Lets not be afraid to confront challenges”

SM) Can you give us a brief background of who you are?

A) I am a sixty-seven year old wife, mother of six and grandmother of five.  I retired from active employment two years ago, having worked mostly as a legal secretary.  I am a Christian of Anglican denomination of the St Mary the Virgin parish in Cranborne, Harare.

SM) When did you discover the passion to write?

A) I discovered my passion in writing almost ten years ago but was not sure I could produce anything worth reading by the public as a result I have many uncompleted works in my home.

SM) We know your book is in the publishing process but do you mind sharing with us what it is about?

A) My book, ‘The Bible Women of Tenacity,’ is about women who were tenacious in the bible who were not scared to confront challenges that life presented them.

SM) What inspired you to write that book?

A) As you can see, there are lessons to be learnt from the stories and I thought I should do a book about them.

SM) What is your view on the culture of reading in Zimbabwe?

A) Its unfortunate that most of the people of my age don’t have a culture of reading novels, but bibles, and wish they could venture into reading novels especially those written by our Zimbabwean artists.

SM) What would you like to share with other artists that haven’t yet published their manuscripts?

A) I know most of the artists have their works stored in their drawers for fear of having them published because they are not sure they are competitive.  I was there myself but decided to pick up courage and threw myself at the deep end.  I encourage them to do the same.  We learn from failing and trying again.

SM) Who is your all-time favorite Zimbabwean artist and why?

A) My favourite Zimbabwean artist has been the late Charles Mungoshi because once I started reading his books, I would find it difficult to suspend reading before finishing the book. May his soul rest in peace.

SM) Are you going to be realizing any more books after this one and when should we expect this current book on the market?

Yes I am going to be releasing more books after this current one and hopefully in the next few weeks the book will be on the market.