Harare Review of Books

Huge congratulations to our First Prize winner, Chioniso Tsikisayi! She wins USD100, a copy of The Process of Poetry, signed by and edited by Roseanna McGlone, and a signed copy of Soon Come by Kuba Shand Baptiste.

Chioniso is a weaver of words, a storyteller – embellished with bold truths. She crafts worlds for film, poetry, theatre, music and the page. Her work in Spoken Word earned her the 2023 Roil Bulawayo Arts Award for Outstanding Poet and a National Arts Merit Award nomination in 2024. She has graced numerous platforms including the  65th Grand Slam Africa, (Kenya), All African Women Poetry Festival (Ghana), Poetry Africa (South Africa), TEDx Borrowdale (Zimbabwe), Intwasa Arts Festival KoBulawayo, and Sofar Sounds (Harare). Her cinematic portfolio includes Queue For A Dream (2024) & Bureau De Change (2025). She is a Creative Writing Alumni of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study.

Of Chioniso’s poem, the judges said:

Tinashe Tafirenyika: “Alternative Transport” is one of the best poems l’ve ever read. It captured the essence of Zimbabwe in a way that someone who has never walked these streets or a tourist could never even dream. I saw myself in all these places as I read it, truly transported. The technical skill was astounding. Making words bend to one’s will like that! The grammar, the punctuation, the choice of verse form, all of it was beautiful and a pleasure to read. The poem felt like a song and every read had fun little Easter eggs in it, new discoveries each time.

Sista Zai Zanda: “Alternative Transport” by Tsikisayi Zvapera took first prize for several reasons. They are clearly a seasoned writer, dexterous in their use of metaphor, simile and imagery. Their storytelling is compelling, drawing together the sacred and the everyday in a relatable narrative. I particularly enjoyed a poem that took us on a journey across the broad expanse of Zimbabwe and across borders. Their compression of time into an intertwining of past, present and future registers an appreciation of Zim Spec Poetry as a genre rooted in Bantu philosophies of being.

Here is Chioniso’s winning poem.

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