MAN is always seeking some form of satisfaction that is often underpinned by financial liberation. But the Zimbabwean landscape leaves rather too little room for individuals to secure funds enough to sustain their livelihoods well after their active years.
Traditionally, urbanites had a better chance of being employed hence a leeway to pensions and other social security nets.
The rural society, too, had access to a vibrant communal life, enough to cushion them in the twilight years of their life.
But all this is gone. Unemployment is rife and so is the destruction of the once well-woven social fabric. In cases where employment is available, salaries and social security remittances often stand below sustainable or rather reasonable levels.
Men from non-conventional means, too, are not spared from the wrath of an unpredictable future. In this category comes all forms of artists, including musicians, writers and poets. And, these are my main concern.
To the writing majority, writers cannot afford to have writings as their sole source of livelihood. In that respect, they often find themselves occupied in other jobs that offer them better opportunities of putting food on the table.
However, because of their talent, their way of life is expected to be above normal. Though not the reality, they are expected to be well-off citizens. Because of their fame, too, their funerals often attract much media and public attention.
Someone once argued, too, that it is unexpected of a university professor to be found living in the ghetto among the ordinary people, or so-called loafers in most communities. He is not expected to be found sharing a glass or tumbler of liquor by the street corner.
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With that in mind, the modern artist must always anticipate for the worst and stand guard against the wind of shame that might follow his or her name. In between, he or she must invest his or her funds towards securing forms of social security.
He or she must not hope for alleviation from his or her fellows, for it is highly unlikely. There is a question that probes: “If you were to be sent packing from your job, for how long would you survive on your savings?” As much as this question applies to all and sundry, it is meant for writers too. In fact, they are not forgiven for having a sorry life because their persona exists in the public space. They stand like superhuman figures to the world.
This expectation comes in spite of the fact that, the reader’s buying power has dwindled, thanks to the economy. The writer too, is also without a functional backup of a truthful publisher, with many putting their personal interest ahead of those of the one whose eyes saw many sleepless nights putting wisdom to paper.
Piracy, on the other hand, cripples the writer’s capacity to move towards reasonable financial ends. Like all other facets of Zimbabwean life, the government has not been alarmed by the sight of wilting prospects.
Freud wrote: “One day, in retrospect, the days of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.” It is no lie, too, that to many writers, inspiration is birthed from their struggle; moments which bring to life many storylines that grace the eyes of the reading community.
But this solitary gain should not be allowed to stand as a bulwark wall in the face of a writer who should seek to shine among fellow human beings without the exceptional ability to write.
One way of creating baby-steps towards this route is for the writer to be entrepreneurial. He or she has to employ his or her exceptional ability to read through society and even the future in order to capitalise on any of the prospects that the world can hold for anyone.
The time for crying over the same lullaby, one that all the literati are fluent in pronouncing, should be close to over. If possible, the writer should act like the modern musician who, when given a chance, takes on the commercial path, opting to shift away from what is purely artistic to that which can be bought, and easily give the pocket a rise.
The modern writer must be fast in thinking, too; in ways deeper than my mind can reach.
But let the spirit of patriotism help some of us beautifully outmanoeuvre the trap of sponsored writing, for no amount of financial gain can equate and cover up for deceptive perspectives.
Years or days later, I anticipate that, together, we will reach somewhere delightful.
Beniah Munengwa writes in his personal capacity. He can be contacted through email on [email protected].
