Poet draws inspiration from his troubled past

Standard People
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade out of it, so goes an old adage.

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade out of it, so goes an old adage.

By Wellington Zimbowa

What the adage simply means is that the only winning formula in life is turning challenges into opportunities.

This rings true for award-winning performing poet, Tendai “African Kid” Maduwa.

Turning 25 this year, the versatile actor, poet, writer and columnist who has won numerous awards, locally and internationally, is fast becoming a reputable name in the world of poetry.

Drawing inspiration from growing up as an orphan, Maduwa has perfected his eloquent hard-hitting language to become a voice for the voiceless through social and protest poetry pieces.

“As an orphan I experienced a lot of challenges, from poverty to lack of shelter. I was often moved from one relative to another,” he said. “At one point, I dropped out of school and had a brief stint on the streets,” recalls Maduwa who hails from Mutoko but received part of his secondary education in Chitungwiza.

Maduwa said he had always wanted to be an artist from early childhood and at one point found himself selling his works of art on the streets to make ends meet.

Maduwa, who has been branded by some as a protest artist, says he is an Afro-centric contemporary poet who draws strength from his own life.

“Actually, I am not a protest poet but a contemporary performer who is motivated to inspire and uplift people through poetry since I have realised that some people lose their lives after they face problems, which I only see as challenges that pass,” he added.

He said he never enjoyed parental love after he lost his mother at the age of eight and his father a year later, resulting in him facing a lot of hardships.

“God did not create people to balance the ecosystem but for them to change life and bear fruits, hence my poetry is against child abuse,” he added.

Maduwa said his lowest moment in life was when he dropped out of school and briefly took to the streets trying to eke a living through his drawings.

He recalled how at one moment a stranger teased him for dropping out of school to live on the streets.

On stage he relives the sad experiences which liven his performances, often leaving his audience in tears.

A published poet whose work featured in a respected international journal, The Enchanted World, featuring 20 other poets from around the world and launched last December in Guntur, India, Maduwa says it’s time poetry vigorously claimed its place in the arts industry.

Maduwa, opened a poetry club, Poetic License at Book Cafe last year in a bid to promote local poetry. He urged poets to adopt a serious professional stance that includes vigorously marketing their work through holding live public shows.

He believes it’s time poets go around the country staging festivals, recording videos and selling discs, as well as producing books about their poems. Such activities, he says, have contributed to the success story of poetry in countries like Kenya.

Before venturing into full- time performing arts, Maduwa was part of the production team at ZBC’s Radio Zimbabwe’s poetry programme, Detembai Tinzwe.

He has also featured in local television dramas such as The Visit, Zero Budget and Zviri Mudzimba which were aired on ZTV1. He says he has gone through the hands of veteran artists, Stephen Chifunyise and the late Walter Mparutsa.

Maduwa, who is also the director of an arts community development organisation Awake Trust, has attended many platforms regionally and internationally including the Kistrech Poetry Festival in Kenya last year, graced by African and international poets.

He is currently working on an inspirational book that traces his life, called Nuggets of Success with assistance from motivational speakers like Rabson Shumba and Arthur Marara.