My name is Afrika-A special Poetry Journal-

AFRICAN WRITERS CARAVAN and MODERN AFRICAN POETRY present their debut special Afrikan JOURNAL of selected poets from across the African continent in this year 2020. The nine poets are prolific, fast rising and youthful voices. They have continually posted quality verses and are committed to positive change in their countries, continent and the entire world. The selection and editing have been coordinated by Veteran Kenyan Poet and MAP Founder Michael Mwangi Macharia. Poet Macharia was born and bred in Nakuru, Rift Valley of Kenya. He has contributed to many online journals and was recently featured in TIME OF THE POET REPUBLIC. Modern African Poetry and its membership enjoys collaborating with AFRICAN WRITERS CARAVAN and Zimbabwean Poet in Exile, Mbizo CHIRASHA. This special Afrikan journal seeks to recognize the voices of young African Voices as well introduce their bold writings to mainstream platforms for   awareness, development and exposure-ALUTA CONTINUA (Blurb by Michael Mwangi Macharia).

Tribute to Legendary Dedes AND Prolific Poet Dickel.

July winds up to the end with a lot of mixed feelings and our renewed faith against the COVID 19 menace. The world continues to speak out against racial intolerance, warlords, dictatorship and the demise of global peace. Thus, not my real story today. My story is a dedication to great people standing with me in my literary arts activism tribulations. And today, I want to pay my profound tribute to the high ranking, hardworking, selfless literary arts combatants Dr. Michael Dickel from Jerusalem, Israel and the legendary American literary arts curator G Jamie Dedes.  Michael Dickel is a distinguished Poet, internationally renowned author, Accomplished content development consultant and an Acclaimed Scholar with excellent merits in coaching literatures, teaching creative writing and tutoring poetry at highest academic levels. Dickel has since published a mind raving poetry collection, Nothing Remembers. G Jamie Dedes is a seasoned literary arts journal curator, The Poet a day Founding Editor, resilient Campaigner of human rights, Acclaimed trench combatant for social justice. Jamie Dedes honestly campaigned for my safety, protection and upkeep in my times of quandary. She penned passionate and bold letters to international bodies for my safety, recognition and care. She is our 2020 WOMAWORDS POET Laureate, Literary Arts Campaign Partner for the Brave Voices Poetry Journal.  In these difficult times, I send my blessings to both   Poet and Scholar Michael Dickel and Legendary Arts Activist, Curator and Writer G Jamie Dedes. Iam touched by the duo’s passion to collectivity, loyalty to literary arts family, resilience, immense support and artistic maturity in both hard and good times. Dickel and Dedes curates and publishes, The BeZine – an Arts and Humanities online journal. The BeZine Journal enjoys a lot of global readership and genuine following .  I blessed  with  innumerable  she-heroes and heroes standing with me all times. Today, let me   pay a special dedication to these two great international writing and literary arts personalities.  Comrades, your love for peace, for Africa and other cultural communities is immeasurable. AFRICA WRITERS CARAVAN brings a special profile feature dedicated to two of my international literary art’s revolutionary arts comrades, Michael Dickel and G Jamie Dedes. SALUTATIONS- (Blurb by Mbizo CHIRASHA).  

Jerusha wields her Poetic Scythe to expose Societal Decadence.

Her skull digging reflections turn mental tables upside down. She has discovered her on literary style like a gold mine- prosaic poetry. Stories tucked in her golden verses are told with the rhythmic precision of a sculptor and they are carved wittingly not for just for the pleasure of the reader but to usher positive change, meaning and dialogue among the living. Jerusha is a bold word-slinger wielding up her poetic scythe to bravely weed out human vagaries, savagery, earthly sorrows and societal decadence. Her narrative poems are didactic and they carry a glow of moral lessons on humanity and society. When you reading Jerushas poetry, you are like watching your life and other lives in a mirror of irony, satire and vivid imagery. Her poetic storytelling is intriguing and vivid. Another rich ingredient in her poetry is simplicity as it is thus concocted with reason, awareness and meaning. Superb. AFRICA WRITERS CARAVAN values truth, reason, creativity and inclusivity. We are proud to present an accomplished educationist, acclaimed poet, a resilient literary arts projects curator. Author of a great poetry collection, Echoes of Military Souls, KANANUH JERUSHA- (Blurb by Mbizo CHIRASHA).

Jambiya Kai Writes a soul -touching Hybrid Mix against Violence.

Powerful writer and essayist pen a rhythmic spirited    hybrid mix of mind boggling verse and a soul touching story of unwarranted butchery, demise, pain, loneliness and   a sudden -death caused grief in a world that is vastly wretched by bloody crimes, goriness, hate, carelessness, banditry, terrorism, greed and widespread disrespect of lives. I stand with this powerful message, this strong message must rattle the hate hardened marrow and bone of die-hard dictators, lords of war and terrorist groupings disguising to be architects of democracy and repentant peaceniks.  We stand right now amidst xenophobia perpetuated cemeteries, racism marked graves and a whole lot of savagery and barbarism. This strong literary message by a Poet, Lyricist, Peace maker and story teller in Jambiya Kai requires leadership from America to Africa to do a cross check on how they have plundered lives, the hope and promise of a great united world. Let’s repent. Thank you great story teller Jambiya KAI for penning this bold and vigorous hybrid mix.  We  are proud  this  powerful and well writ message . We pay tribute to talent , truth  and  a diversity  of ideas. ALUTA CONTINUA-( Blurb by Mbizo CHIRASHA).

Amanda Ranganawa is Our Zimbabwean Pen Princess.

AMANDA RANGANAWA is a highly spirited wordsmith and a rising poet in Zimbabwe. AMANDA carries with her the power of the voice and her talent- laced blood stream flow the wealth of artistry and her DNA is WORDS carved and glued into her bone and marrow during her sacred nine-month revolution in those holy terrains before her earth day. The higher power blessed the resilient bookaholic, mesmerizing workaholic and prolific wordsmith with the golden gift of resilience, goal getting and boldness. Her poetic vibe is not short of African pride, tragedies of life and confessional versifications. Her poetry renditions are mind blowing dramatic monologues, the reader is wowed as he or she imbibes the diligently concocted poetry beverage. The poet speaks to her inner self, speaks to crude and serene human within self. Her poem MY PAST IS OVER is somewhat confessional though thoroughly didactic, as she slings her pen with to teach, to counsel and to rebuke self and her contemporaries. A stream of consciousness. And again, the poem, MY PAST IS OVER is an intriguing historical reference in both presentation and meaning. It is a symbol of transfiguration, if not a ray of repentance. It is a biblical allusion. Remember the biblical story of Saul later Paul on his way to Damascus. CAPTIVATING. The Pen Princess winds up her page poetry performance by celebrating Joys of womanhood, life and African beauty. AFRICA WRITERS CARAVAN found her poesy fit to be profiled, featured and archived on their digital thicket for the benefit of Zimbabwean, African and global audience. Welcome African Pen Princess, AMANDA RANGANAWA to the CARAVAN of Versifiers, Wordsmith and Pens lingers- (Blurb by Mbizo CHIRASHA).

INTRODUCING August Editions Guest Editors,

The WOMAWORDS   and BRAVE VOICES June Edition are marked with success, diversity and the exclusivity.  The Guest Editors that included G Jamie Dedes, the WOMAWORDS Poet Laureate and Francis Otole, the Brave Voices Associate in Nigeria did a sterling job, the June submissions turnover was superb and the selections were excellent. Salutations to the pen-slingers, wordsmith and great poets who took their time to submit to these great editions in June 2020. Your contributions are marked in the book of poetic life. We thank you profoundly. We take   opportunity to introduce new in coming GUEST EDITORS of both BRAVE VOICES AND WOMAWORDS Journals. 

Resilience is the Twin Sister of FAITH,Brave Voices@70

BRAVE VOICES POETRY JOURNAL@70 is the scripture of FREEDOM religion, with her twin’s doctrine of justice and resilience. It comprises two Testaments. (1) the old testament of precolonial Africa; from Genesis of civilization through Exodus to slavery. From kings; Mansa,Tshaka , Selassie…through Psalms; Senghor, Diops,Okara,Brutus. (2)the new Testament of post colonial Africa;with the birth of revolution and the Trinity of Uhuru, Ubuntu and Unhu.the Gospel of Africanism according to Sankara, the Gospel of resilience according to Mandela. It spreads the Gospel of peace,love and hope across Africa and the world. It preaches against tyranny and oppression of fellow humans as well as kick against corruption in high places and embezzlement of public funds. The year 2020 is a turbulent year of panic caused by the devil’s bad breath of Covid-19 pandemic. Humans and economies are being lockdown and knockdown. It is a stormy period which requires the anchor of FAITH to calm the turbulence. FAITH is the vaccine for immunity against the dreaded pandemic.This 70th edition of the BRAVE VOICES POETRY JOURNAL features scientists and doctors of letters with their tested and trusted vaccines of FAITH.With Nigeria in focus, Brave Voices deployed her scientists to take samples and experiment. Nigeria with her twin’s pandemic of Covid-19 and corruption needs more attention( Blurb by Guest Editor of BRAVE VOICES 70, Acclaimed Poet and Seasoned Educationist)

Imagining Life after COVID- 19, A WOMAWORDS June eDition.

The signature angst of our time was profoundly expressed in the poems submitted for WOMAWORDS  Literary Press June 2020 edition, Imaging Life After COVID-19, offering women poets an opportunity to write about their experience of the pandemic and their vision of or for the future. The universal trauma wrought by this virus, invisible and silent and pouncing with madness and mendacity, brings us to a place we’d like to forget but never will. Our world is charged. Our lives are changed. We embrace with yearning the better memories from our past. We are trapped in the present, making the best of it. We find it hard to envision a future undominated by this moment.  It was difficult to select just ten poems from among the many submitted. There was not one unworthy poem. I’m honored to read them, to read the bios and get introduced to some fine new-to-me poets (whether or not selected for publication here), and to be chosen by Mbizo Chirasha to edit this edition of his heart-child, WOMAWORDS Literary Press. The edition goes up late. I offer my apologies to poets, to readers, and to Mbizo. The honor of this work came at a complex time for me. I had another zine to publish and also found myself dealing with a hospital stay and debilitating complications from chronic and catastrophic lung-and-heart health issues. Having said that there is nothing like poetry to help us heal the trauma of the catastrophic illnesses we may suffer individually or from the shared trauma of the current pandemic. Thanks to Mbizo and all submitting poets for this gift in which . . . Samuella Conteh echoes our great hopes in her poem Rebirth:To find life again after a life of living death to not love our loved ones from a distance to let go of reservations of another's breath to not shrink into isolation albeit in company is a dream worth dreaming fast into reality   Smeetha Bhoumik shares rare wisdom in her poem Going Forward, which might also be well-named GROWING Forward.   At MindValley recently, I learnt that a 'beautiful destruction'  is at times necessary, to ring in the new. Nancy Ndeke points to lessons she hopes we’ve learned. Victoria Bennet has us listening to the whispering dead advising “the clock will start again.” Mighty Ntshwabi hopes to tell stories to her grandchildren when the “abysmal storm is over.” Yi-Wen Huang faces the grave possibility of a second wave. Jameela Nishat shares with us the agony of our pandemic journey, where there is no proven path of escape and no answers to our hard questions. Tough times, Constance Edu Baffoe seems say, call for reinvention. Thanks to Hannah Slind we appreciate the special challenge of a lock down that bars us not only from work, family, and friends but from many of our avocational activities. We exhale at the end of Michelle Navajas poem when, once again, we can finally sit together in love and affection-( Review and Commentary  by G Jamie Dedes, Guest Editor and Womawords Poet Laureate 2020, JAMIE DEDES , Founder and Curator of  JAMIE  DEDES ' The Poet by Day Webzine, Founder of The Bardo Group Beguines, a virtual arts community, Founding Editor and Co-managing Editor of "The BeZine.")