Wokomaatani working on poetry book, albums
Legendary poet Benedicto Wokomaatani Malunga, who recently dropped some poems sensitising people about Covid-19 pandemic, has said he is working on a poetry book.
Wokomaatani however did not say when the book will be ready saying he has already made headway.
“This is something I have wanted to do and there are lots of poems in my tray now. So, there is a poetry book I will publish and before that I will turn some of these poems into albums,” he said.
The poet famed for poems such as ‘Ndizakutengela Kunyanja Ligineti’ and ‘Siananso Awa’, said on Sunday that it was high time he gave people a package of his works.
“I am taking my time but my plans are to have a meager launch once everything is ready where I will launch the albums and book together. At this meager launch, I have time to perform so many poems,” he said.
Wokomatani described poetry as food for him.
“I chose poetry a long time ago and my ministry is in poetry. This is why I take time to work on my poetry and I normally ask myself questions always as to what poetry is all about,” he said.
Wokomaatani said poets have a chance now to stand out since they have different platforms to showcase their works but was quick to say that there they need to do better.
“We have a chance now, which was not there in the past years, there are so many poetry programmes today and so, when you write well you have the platform for your works but let’s strive for the best and put extra effort in our work,” he said.
The veteran poet has always critiqued some of the works on the market saying some poets do not follow the rules of poetry let alone being creative in their use of words.
“Chichewa or Chinyanja is our language, let’s do our homework in spellings and make sure that we read and do our research well. People expect a lot from us and if we do better, we will win the hearts of many and at the same time doing well on the international stage,” he said.
Wokomaatani said he has improved his works with time and that he now writes mature poems.
“But I am still not satisfied, so I will keep improving. I write my poetry for different reasons and I tackle various issues. Poetry is what preserves the beauty of language. We need to take time by not only reading our works but also learning from other poets outside the country,” he said.
Other poems Wokomaatani has done include Akanapezeka Mahotela’ and ‘November Akazafika’ a tribute to Allan Namoko.
