"Spotlight" Poet Interview:
Ndaba Sibanda
Ndaba Sibanda
Hello Ndaba. Thank you for being the “Spotlight” poet for this month. How have you been doing?
Thank you for inviting me. It’s an honor to be featured as the “Spotlight” poet for this month. I’m doing well.
My pleasure, and I am glad to hear that you are doing well!
How long have we known each other now?
I cannot exactly tell when, but it’s long. I think since when we both used to contribute to Karen’s online journal? I’m not sure.
Yes, I think that is true, a connection through Karen O’Leary’s online journal.
It is the summer season here in Midwest America, so normally, it is the hot season. What is it like there in your country this time of year?
I currently live in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, the month of June falls within the Kiremt or Meher season, which is the main rainy season. In other words, it’s summer. It tends to range from cool to hot these days.
Tell us a little bit about Ndaba.
Of course. I am an educator and author who enjoys teaching, writing and reading. I am married, with two daughters. I also like cracking jokes and jogging. I am not a big fan of mosquitoes and their ‘harming’ hums. Globally, I am for the love of a calmer, safer, happier, healthier and fairer world. I am not an ally of polluters, warmongers, fidgety, and fooling fishers of woes.
I am definitely in agreement with you on our world being safer, happier, and fairer world!
Tell us a few things you love about your country, and what are a few of your favorite cuisines?
Zimbabwe bustles with a variety of wildlife, parks, reserves and safari areas. It’s not only home to hippos, elephants and rhinos, it’s also home to the mighty Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya, (The Smoke That Thunders’), a must-see UNESCO World site. The staple food in Zimbabwe and other parts of Southern Africa is maize meal, which has different local names in different African countries and communities. For instance, in my community, we call it isitshwala, and I relish it when consumed along with meat and vegetables. My other favorite cuisine is the Ethiopian injera and Beyaynetu, a dish that is made up of injera topped with several stews and vegetables. One day I almost swallowed up my tongue as well! That’s how appealing some African foods can be!!
Sounds really delicious!
You do a vast array of writing, so please first tell us about your love for poetry. What kinds of poetry do you love to write? And then please share with us your love for any other type of writing you do.
“Poetry is a particular, precious, pleasant prism. It’s three-dimensional shape has triplets of emotions, imaginations and imagery. If we cut through it, we would probably see ourselves and the same twins of therapy and esthetics on either side.” This is how I once described poetry. I believe that the bard’s pen should build a bond, a beauty that rises into a daylight of bliss based on senses of touch, taste, sound, smell, and sight. I love poetry that is alive with imagery.
I also find pleasure in writing academic work like articles and short stories and submitting them to university presses and journals like the North Dakota Quarterly, University of North Carolina Press and Stand Magazine (University of Leeds, Leeds).
Do you have any favorite authors / poets?
Without a shred of doubt, Okot p’Bitek is one of my favorite poets. Some of my favorite authors include Ndabezinhle Sibanda Sigogo, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Phathisa Nyathi, Chenjerai Hove, Bernard Ndlovu, Jack Mapanje, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Wole Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo, Ben Okri, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker and Amiri Baraka.
A very nice, compact, and impressive list!
What is a recent book of poetry that you have published?
It’s an audiobook, a piece of satire titled Of Poor Billionaires and Rich Paupers.
“Poor Billionaires, Rich Paupers”…that sounds very interesting. (Contact Ndaba at the email below if you are interested in purchasing this book of poetry).
What are a few of your favorite poems from this book, and why?
Few of my favorite poems from this collection include Pollution Haze, No to an Oil Spill, Poor Millionaires and Standing Sentinel. I coauthored this book with author Maina Wahome. He wrote Pollution Haze, while I penned No to an Oil Spill, both of which explore environmental issues. Other poems lambaste the scourge of corruption and greed. The book appears to be growing on some readers. Get it and find out why!
Any big plans for 2025, in addition to any works you are doing now?
I urge readers and book buyers to look forward to some of my upcoming titles like: Dear Dawn and Daylight, A Growth Mindset, A Kind Of Unkind Love Potion, and Crocodile Tears.
Nice. Those last two titles are intriguing to me.
Thank you, Ndaba for spending some time with us and doing this interview. Please have closing remarks.
It was my pleasure. To my fellow writers and poets, continue writing, for it’s right to write. God bless.
Ndaba Sibanda - [email protected]
Thank you for inviting me. It’s an honor to be featured as the “Spotlight” poet for this month. I’m doing well.
My pleasure, and I am glad to hear that you are doing well!
How long have we known each other now?
I cannot exactly tell when, but it’s long. I think since when we both used to contribute to Karen’s online journal? I’m not sure.
Yes, I think that is true, a connection through Karen O’Leary’s online journal.
It is the summer season here in Midwest America, so normally, it is the hot season. What is it like there in your country this time of year?
I currently live in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, the month of June falls within the Kiremt or Meher season, which is the main rainy season. In other words, it’s summer. It tends to range from cool to hot these days.
Tell us a little bit about Ndaba.
Of course. I am an educator and author who enjoys teaching, writing and reading. I am married, with two daughters. I also like cracking jokes and jogging. I am not a big fan of mosquitoes and their ‘harming’ hums. Globally, I am for the love of a calmer, safer, happier, healthier and fairer world. I am not an ally of polluters, warmongers, fidgety, and fooling fishers of woes.
I am definitely in agreement with you on our world being safer, happier, and fairer world!
Tell us a few things you love about your country, and what are a few of your favorite cuisines?
Zimbabwe bustles with a variety of wildlife, parks, reserves and safari areas. It’s not only home to hippos, elephants and rhinos, it’s also home to the mighty Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya, (The Smoke That Thunders’), a must-see UNESCO World site. The staple food in Zimbabwe and other parts of Southern Africa is maize meal, which has different local names in different African countries and communities. For instance, in my community, we call it isitshwala, and I relish it when consumed along with meat and vegetables. My other favorite cuisine is the Ethiopian injera and Beyaynetu, a dish that is made up of injera topped with several stews and vegetables. One day I almost swallowed up my tongue as well! That’s how appealing some African foods can be!!
Sounds really delicious!
You do a vast array of writing, so please first tell us about your love for poetry. What kinds of poetry do you love to write? And then please share with us your love for any other type of writing you do.
“Poetry is a particular, precious, pleasant prism. It’s three-dimensional shape has triplets of emotions, imaginations and imagery. If we cut through it, we would probably see ourselves and the same twins of therapy and esthetics on either side.” This is how I once described poetry. I believe that the bard’s pen should build a bond, a beauty that rises into a daylight of bliss based on senses of touch, taste, sound, smell, and sight. I love poetry that is alive with imagery.
I also find pleasure in writing academic work like articles and short stories and submitting them to university presses and journals like the North Dakota Quarterly, University of North Carolina Press and Stand Magazine (University of Leeds, Leeds).
Do you have any favorite authors / poets?
Without a shred of doubt, Okot p’Bitek is one of my favorite poets. Some of my favorite authors include Ndabezinhle Sibanda Sigogo, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Phathisa Nyathi, Chenjerai Hove, Bernard Ndlovu, Jack Mapanje, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Wole Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo, Ben Okri, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker and Amiri Baraka.
A very nice, compact, and impressive list!
What is a recent book of poetry that you have published?
It’s an audiobook, a piece of satire titled Of Poor Billionaires and Rich Paupers.
“Poor Billionaires, Rich Paupers”…that sounds very interesting. (Contact Ndaba at the email below if you are interested in purchasing this book of poetry).
What are a few of your favorite poems from this book, and why?
Few of my favorite poems from this collection include Pollution Haze, No to an Oil Spill, Poor Millionaires and Standing Sentinel. I coauthored this book with author Maina Wahome. He wrote Pollution Haze, while I penned No to an Oil Spill, both of which explore environmental issues. Other poems lambaste the scourge of corruption and greed. The book appears to be growing on some readers. Get it and find out why!
Any big plans for 2025, in addition to any works you are doing now?
I urge readers and book buyers to look forward to some of my upcoming titles like: Dear Dawn and Daylight, A Growth Mindset, A Kind Of Unkind Love Potion, and Crocodile Tears.
Nice. Those last two titles are intriguing to me.
Thank you, Ndaba for spending some time with us and doing this interview. Please have closing remarks.
It was my pleasure. To my fellow writers and poets, continue writing, for it’s right to write. God bless.
Ndaba Sibanda - [email protected]
For past "Spotlight" interviews, please contact MJ at the email below.
January - Joan Leotta
February - Glenda B. Fraizer
March - Rishan Singh
April - Nila J. Webster
May - Celine R. Mariotti
June - Andrew Brindle
January - Joan Leotta
February - Glenda B. Fraizer
March - Rishan Singh
April - Nila J. Webster
May - Celine R. Mariotti
June - Andrew Brindle
Creative Inspirations - P.O. Box 19051 Kalamazoo, MI 49019
[email protected] - www.cipoetrypublication.com
[email protected] - www.cipoetrypublication.com