Zimbabwe writer with CP focuses his work on his disability experience

From The Herald in Zimbabwe:

Edmore Masendeke (27), a budding writer of repute, had problems publishing his poetry.

When he approached publishers, they often turned away his work saying they were not taking poetry, while others said they were fully booked.

Faced with all this disappointment, Masendeke turned to self-publishing.

Today he has self-published two poetry anthologies, Poems for Life (2005) and The Song of My Heart (2009); both books are available at Innov8 Bookshops.

Masendeke showcased his books during the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, which ended on August 1.

Though born with cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement, and motor skills (the ability to move in a co-ordinated and purposeful way), this does not deter him from claiming his voice in society through poetry.

He describes Poems for Life as "a collection of my responses to how the world views and treats me and my disability".

The anthology not only has his responses per se but also has the poet’s celebration of victory over disability and tackles other issues today bedevilling the world at large.

The Song of My Heart, which he self-published this year with the help from well-wishers like Gary Thompson and Associates, is structured differently. It is a collection of untitled poems which take their cue from a number of Bible verses.

The poems interpret the gospel with very discreet words and images.

Masendeke’s passion for poetry was first demonstrated sometime back when the King George VI Centre and School in Bulawayo — where he was a student — introduced the concept of "Independence".

The concept was aimed at helping the disabled children look after themselves and be independent to express themselves and it resulted in the production of an anthology called Stars in a Plate (1999) offered up by the children "as testimony to their ability, independence, spirit and their pain".

In the anthology, Masendeke had five poems (Fight, Like a Drunkard, Disability in Society and Kid in Need) and a short story called Walk a Mile in My Shoes.

In several of his poems the disabled personae strongly confront underestimation, declare and celebrate their totality as human beings despite physical limitations.Masendeke portrays society’s indifference towards disability through his touching story "Walk a Mile in My Shoes". In the story the disabled narrator, because he has no balance, is misconstrued as a drunkard.

When he falls, people mill around him and while some people laugh, others sympathise. Two police officers arrive and quickly arrest him, charging him with public drunkenness.

Despite his pleas, the officers drive all the way to the police station with him.

After pleading that he is not drunk, one of the police officers replies: "He is so drunk he thinks that he has a disability . . ."

Left without a choice, the narrator admits to being drunk and he is locked up in a filthy cell until his father comes to the station to rescue him.

A very gentle man, his father explains to the officers his son’s condition, a situation that clearly demonstrates how sometimes issues of disability are misunderstood. A member of the Budding Writers’ Association of Zimbabwe, Masendeke did his primary school at St Giles Rehabilitation Centre in Harare before proceeding to King George V1 Centre in Bulawayo and Victoria High School in Masvingo for his secondary education.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Studies Honours Degree from the University of Zimbabwe and is employed as an economist at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

He is currently reading for his Masters of Arts in Leadership and Management with the Africa Leadership and Management Academy in Harare.