Cleverly named Ipikai (shona for be open to receiving), the journal is part of a bigger initiative set to be unveiled by the Zimbabwe Poetry Society.
Zimbabwe Poets Society is the brainchild of two poets, Batsirai Chigama and Fungai Tichawangana.
They have both positively contributed towards the growth of poetry in Zimbabwe over the past few years. But this is one of their biggest projects to date.
Everything about the journal was done professionally.
The first editor of the journal will be poet Tariro Ndoro who holds an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University in South Africa. Her debut poetry collection, Agringada: Like a Gringa, Like a Foreigner was the recipient of a NAMA Award for Outstanding Poetry Book.
Her poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction have appeared in a wide range of national and international literary magazines.
The first issue of the Ipikai Poetry Journal, themed, ‘The Duality of Life,’ will be published at the beginning of April 2022.
The first call for applications has just been announced with the deadline set for March 21, 2022. More information about submissions can be found at www.ipikai.org.
This initiative might as well mark the reawakening of poetry in Zimbabwe. It is a season all poets need to be proud of.
By Farai Diza - Afro Poetry Times
