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Imagining Life after the Ravaging, Virulent COVID-19 Pandemic , A Special Journal.

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.

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Iconic Activist Chifamba has mastered the Art of Girl Child Empowerment .

The name  EKENIA T.CHIFAMBA  is a name that somewhat rattles the bone and marrow  of unrepentant , evil and dare-daring barbarians perpetuating sexual violence and emotional  abuse onto the lives of innocent and vulnerable  young women  and girls in both rural and urban settings.  In realizing the plight of the GIRLCHILD  in all sectors of life , political , social , moral and economical. The resilient Ekenia Chifamba established  SHAMWARI YEMWANASIKANA organization .True to it ,the  girlchild rights Maestro Chifamba is  blessing  and heartily friend of the GIRLCHILD in Zimbabwe , Africa and Abroad . For the past tiring  six years , she has relentlessly exposed  rape cases across the country, weeded out evil off our vulnerable communities .Chifamba embraced vulnerable/abused  young girls and rehabilitated their emotions and consciences into lives worth living .  A lot of  community interventions are being done in Zimbabwes various  settings of the country  to heal girls  from  emotional hate and  moral decadence perpetuated by crude cruel  killers of innocence .  Since the resumption of her organization ,  Chifamba has been received  with mixed feelings and contempt  by a society use  political and pseudo cultural vintage in covering up sin and vile for so many years . That did deter her to stop  effecting  her CALLING positively in touching the souls of weak  and the traumatized . Young women and girls’ deplorable plight was savagely neglected .Ekenia Chifamba became  the answer to  a lot of unanswered questions and has ridden on the impossible,  defying  all odds and  human obstacles to relieve  the girlchild from the bondage of retrogression and unchain them  from the yoke of sexual oppression , stigma, discrimination and emotional shattering .  SHAMWARI YEMWANASIKANA  promotes dialogue  among victims  , they promote education on girlchild rights  in rural villages  and down trodden settings, entrepreurship projects , arts and  other sustainable projects. Despite a myriad of  negative challenges , SHAMWARI YEMWANASIKANA has its own great success stories  .Currently ,they are  constructing a Girl Child Rehabilitation and Empowerment One Stop Centre . Alas ,the negating winds of the virulent , savaging , cantankerous COVID – 19 affected the completion of this great  habitat , sooner or later the Centre will be launched. To honor   her resilience , the immense contribution to vulnerable girls , victims of abuse and their communities , I have decided to  feature the profiles and activities  of SHAMWARI YEMWANASIKANA Organization and  its Founder /Executive Director Madame  Ekenia T.Chifamba. Chifamba is an Award winning girlchild rights activist ,Philanthropist,  Outstanding  global girlchild Projects leader  with a long , practical , active and reputable resume in  field of girlchild rights and other areas of human development. This  Feature Profile and Interview will be featured in AFRICA WRITERS CARAVAN , WOMAWORDS LITERARY PRESS , TIME OF THE POET REPUBLIC ,WORLDPULSE as a Special Journal .In my  closing of  this long but deserving blurb, I want to  heartily  say to  Madame Ekenia T.Chifamba thank you profoundly  for lighting the lanterns of peace ,for raising the flag of freedom and for speaking on behalf of the VULNERABLE and the VOICELESS-( Blurb by Mbizo CHIRASHA)

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Tsopotsa s Poetry talks Identity, Belonging and African Spirituality

TSITSI TSOPOTSA is a Zimbabwean born storyteller, Poet, Writer, Advocate of the Girl child and a Cultural Arts Activist. She ushers in a rare but captivating poetry writing style. Her new poetry beverage soothes the mind of the reader as it carefully flows with blood and warms the African readers soul. It is soul food to the audience. Tsopotsa  poetry speaks belonging, identity and African spirituality. Her new form of poetry is extraordinary in form and content. Reason and rhythm are special ingredients to this rare but sweet poetic refreshment. WOMAWORDS celebrates dexterity, reason and diversity with Poet Tsitsi Tsopotsa. Aluta Continua- WOMAWORDS eDitor.  

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INSIDE # Candid Talk Studio with African Poetic Tigress Nancy Ndeke.

It is befitting to name tag NANCY NDEKE as the African Poetic Tigress. The wealth in her poetic narratives and hybrid writing resemble a honeycomb clad with the earthly jacket of pure honey. The mind scorching metaphors are glued together social fabric matters and then stitched with humor concocted political vibe. Ndeke is a princess of rain and the daughter of the road. Her poetic footprints traverse from African foothills, through crevices and caves of great mountains of Kirinyaga into the mist clad mighty Kilimanjaro and the valleys yonder our human rich. The Poetic Tigress in Nancy Ndeke roars with the zeal to see the world dancing in spiritual glory, celebrating   abundance and jiving to the gift of the sun and its kindred the moon. Exclusive. The lioness carved into the soul cave of this great literary combatant hunts for her twin sister PEACE in nooks, crevices and thickets of the world.  Pen her torch and her poetry is her unfading light. Her literary eyes are oxblood because of the day and night search for her cousin Freedom. Ndeke is a prolific Kenyan Wordsmith, Editor, Literary arts projects consultant and a distinguished writer.  She involved in the WOMAWORDS and Brave Voices Poetry JOURNAL as an African Associate and Contributing Editor. WOMAWORDS present to you our beloved readers to the Iconic, prolific and globally decorated Poet, Nancy Ndeke, Aluta Continua- WOMAWORDS eDitor.

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Alari is our #African poetic Damsel.

Sometimes, I ponder why Africa remain chained by shackles of poverty, clobbered by disease and ravaged by war. I then shed a hot scalding tear from within the inner caves of my heart. Africa my motherland your name is IRONY and your birth mark is paradox. Sure, Africa my land   is blessed with natural beautification. Where at every dawn, we dance to the festival of natural beat, Father baboons on baritone, Mother monkeys on sweet tenor, sister doves on soprano and on the trumpet is the great elephant. Africa, My Africa. Today, the wind was calm and the earth danced to the beat of little glory.  COVID 19 is still digging its feet deep unto the gates of our beloved countries. I didn’t stop, I trudged along into the digital thickets of Africa, I met a poetic damsel scribbling poetry graffiti on Facebook wall draping’s and inserting her husky poetic voice on the googles internet walls. The voice in Alari Alare Celine is   the soft beat of drizzle wetting the smile creased foreheads of hills, the rhythm is the gush rush of a waterfall and depth is the cackling of wild hens bathing in silver colored ravine of Zame. Mesmerizing. The poet  in Alari sings  to Africa and yearns for the  return of virgin Africa, the original Africa.  The poet sings  to her  belonging and her  identity . WOMAWORDS Profiles blog present  Poet Writer  Alari Alare Celine , a Kenyan born writer  and is involved with Nairobi Literary Café  Aluta Continua- WOMAWORDS  eDitor.

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Awadifo bravely weaves a BOLD Verse .

#AWADIFO OLGA KILI is our #WOMAWORDS representative for young women and girls and she is part of our #WOMAWORDS LITERARY PRESS Hall of Fame. A  Youthful Literary,genius.A dedicated and widely published writer poet attending her Law studies at a University in Uganda, African land of great political history, cultural anthropology and a haven of literary arts doyens.   This installment features Poet #Awadifo Olga Kilis Profile and her unique set of poems touching on the hot bun subject matter, MENSTRUATION. While this set of candid and bold verses require brave readership, Kili celebrates womanhood and uses her sharpened weapon, her pen to smash stigma and discrimination against menstruating women. She then spiritedly flexes her poetic muscle and dare every Goliath set to discriminate menstruating girls and women.  Her poetry is candid and her verses are thought provoking, she pushes her spear yonder by saying that menstruation is purity and it is a blessing from Almighty God our Lord. Mind boggling poesy.  Awadifo Kilis poems are trendsetting and are clearing our path towards the # DaughtersoftheEarthProject themed #Menstrual Health and Equity. Her set of poems including these titles, HELLO PERIODS*, FEMININE STORY* and *DAUGHTERS OF EVE. #WOMAWORDS is greatly excited to see heads rolling on this our digital thicket. Yes , we yearn to promote dialogue , exchange of ideas , scholarship , freedom of expression  and peace.  Aluta Continua,  #WOMAWORDS eDitor-Mbizo CHIRASHA.

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INSIDE #DIgitalPoetryLounge with Zimbabwes Literary Combatant ,Chrispah Munyoro

#CHRISPAH  MUNYORO# is one of Zimbabwe’s refined  wordsmith. Her  pen is brave and and the bold pen spit  verses that reflect her mastery of poesy.  A literary mason wielding  a multi-pronged chisel to carve together beautiful language, reason and meaning to bring forth a poetic wonder. Mesmerizing. We are reminded through Munyoro’s  poetic dexterity that every  poet is artist. A word weaver and verse-carver.  A poet  is a  gifted word sculptor shaping  our lives into  generational stories. Over and above edutaining  , Munyoro carries  doses of resistance, rebelliousness and protest in her DNA.  She speaks resistance to rot and corrupt to the core dictatorial powers home and abroad . The imagery abound is depiction of sorry  tales and naked truth that usually go untold. CHRISPAH MUNYORO# is the Second Prize Winner of the inaugural #Freedom Poetry Prize curated by the #Brave Voices Press. # Finals  were excellently  adjudicated by one Poetry Chef / Freedom Voices Poetry Prize Head Judge, #Dr. Michael Dickel from Jerusalem, Israel. #MUNYORO is a regular of the #Zimbabwe We Want Poetry Campaign Projects. Aluta Continua -#WOMAWORDS eDitor.    

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Conversations Inside #CandidTalkStudio with Iconic Embu County Minister Joan Mwende Kiema Ngunnzi.

 #WOMAWORDS LITERARY PRESS is a digital cultural arts space for creative resilience and artistic excellence. It is a platform to exhibit the women of literary arts prowess and revolutionary sister comrades, they defied ugly odds of barbarism, chauvinism and savagery to positively change their communities, right the wrong perceptions and carry the torchlight to stardom.  Today in the #WOMAWORDS CANDID Talk Studio, we host a very important human being, An acclaimed Educationist. A global development strategist. A leader par excellence.  An Accomplished of Author of almost all literary, study and educational genres. A Publisher at Large. Thank you, Embu County Minister of Youth and Cultural Affairs #Dr. JOAN MWENDE KIEMA NGUNZI. We are overjoyed to profile dexterity and greatly excited to converse with excellence. Aluta Continua ( Blurb by WOMAWORDS EDitor).  

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#Melissa Begley brews yet another Poetic refreshment laced with Hard Truth

MELISSA BEGLEY# brews yet another hair-harrowing and nerve shredding poetically packaged hybrid memoirs. The rhythm abound is astounding and head busting. Her verbal bravado is mesmerizing. And this heart- scalding memoir is classic   as the paradox and humor become preservatives to enrich  this literary brew. Storyteller par excellence. Begley’s memoirs carry harsh realities and shattering experiences from her tender years into her tussling. The heart stabbing   sexual abuse to her soft -innocent plum in her tender life by a ravenous and uncouthed biological brother evokes salty tears in the eyes of the reader. Harsh realities. And the writers voice is pregnant with boldness and bravery that defines the iron lioness within her spirit as it carries scars of her   tumultuous life ordeal. We have a myriad of torrid, untold stories hidden in the heart caves of many, vulnerable in from dust villages of Nyamapanda to the heart of favelas in South Americas and streets of Chicago. The writer poet chronicler in Melissa Begley traverses with us without much farce. We gasp and choke as we tread along the twists and turns of her mind boggling and traumatic live trends. Melissa Begley   is a trailblazing film story. She is her story. Her story unravels the realities and complexities of the ordeals of young girls and women as they groan under the yoke of chauvinism and sexual barbarism.  WOMAWORDS is overjoyed to feature such boldness, bravery, wit and dexterity.  MELISSA BEGLEYS Writings compliments her role as our #DAUGHTERSOFTHEEARTHPROJECT Fundraising Coordinator. The Project was delayed by the menacing COVID 19 lock downs. We are resuming the # Daughters of the Earth Project in the next two weeks.  ALUTA CONTINUA (WOMAWORDS EDITOR-Mbizo Chirasha) *