Songstress and Mbira musician Hope Masike marked the beginning of the month of September with the announcement of a nationwide book tour. The tour begins today with a book tour launch event at Pikicha Gallery located at Helensvale Shopping Centre in Borrowdale.
In this first-of-its-kind book tour, the Harare-based musician come author will bring her poetry readings, book signings, and of course, her signature mbira music to several provinces of the country including Bulawayo, Manicaland, Harare, Midlands. Her tour shall celebrate the three poetry books she has published so far: ' Ask Me Again’, ‘Dzevabvazera’ and her latest offering ‘Die with me’.
The tour is launched as Masike celebrates her birthday in style. It will collaborate with a platform called Dedication, the art and culture venue Emagumeni that houses Pikicha Gallery, and Masike’s official Harare and Victoria Falls distributor, House of Books Zim. Much as the launch event shall include her music and her poetry, as well as a pleasant birthday surprise for her fans that will be in the form of her first-ever art exhibition comprising paintings from her body of works themed ‘Mbira Yangu’.
“I am celebrating my birthday this year uniquely by thanking God for the wonderful gift of art which he entrusted me with,” This year I am going the whole nine yards with the usual mbira music, poetry, and for the first time, my visual artwork too. I have been working on these paintings for years now. They are themed ‘Mbira Yangu’, which is my visual interpretation of my heritage,” Masike told HStv.
“We are inviting art lovers to come and experience Hope in her element as she mashes up poetry, music, and painting in her unique inimitable style. Hope’s Book Tour launch will start at 4 pm this Sunday at Pikicha Gallery. As the tour proceeds to other cities, her art exhibition will be running at Pikicha Gallery up to October 10,” said Pikicha Gallery curator, Tamuka Devane.
On Friday, September 15 Masike will be in Manicaland and is billed to visit some of Mutare’s renowned tertiary academic institutions. The next leg of the tour will be at Heaven Lodge in Chimanimani, where she will perform her poems and music in collaboration with Mbiravolution and Chimanimani-based mbira virtuoso Hector Mungani on September 16. She finishes off that weekend performing for revellers in Vumba at popular joint Tony’s Cakes on September 17.
Masike will also be performing at a Sofar Sounds Harare concert scheduled for a secret location in Harare on September 23. Guests can apply to attend through the following link, https://www.sofarsounds.com/events/51830.
The tour will then proceed to Midlands where Hope Masike is expected to visit Midlands State University on Wednesday the 27th of September to give a talk to students in the humanities department. The following day on Thursday, she will give a public performance at Gweru Memorial Library in collaboration with Own Your Words, Gweru’s top book club.
The last leg of the tour shall be in Bulawayo province, where she will perform for book and music lovers at Alliance Francaise de Bulawayo in the afternoon of September 30. This book tour closing event shall be in partnership with the vibrant Bulawayo Book Club and Masike’s official book distributor in Bulawayo, The Orange Elephant.
“I am very excited to be able to celebrate the reading and writing culture with different audiences from different parts of Zimbabwe. Because of this, I am looking forward to traveling to new places, meeting new faces, seeing more of beautiful Zimbabwe, and celebrating my books and African literature at large with both book lovers, poetry lovers, and mbira music lovers,” Masike concluded.
All book tour events are free of charge for all.