The day has finally arrived – today I press the “publish” button on the first EVER issue of Zed Essays and I’m so grateful! Thank you for your interest and for reading this; and an extra-special THANK YOU to my newsletter subscribers.
If you haven’t subscribed yet, do it today! :)
A little bit about me…
I’m a Christian, a husband, a father, a Zambian, and a globalist. I was born and raised in Kitwe and I moved to the UK seventeen years ago. I work as an editor in my day job and I do some freelance magazine writing on the side. I also blog (very occasionally!) at MasukuOnMyMind. I’m on Twitter and Instagram so follow me and let’s get to know each other! :)
So, why Zed Essays?
If you know anything about me, you’ll know that there are two things I really love: deep, meaningful conversations and my homeland Zambia. Through Zed Essays, these two loves come together beautifully.
Sadly, a lot of the dominant online conversations about Zambia are hurried, shallow and unsatisfying. My hope is that Zed Essays will provide Zambians with a rich fare of sumptuous, intelligent, relevant and thought-provoking stories that help us reflect on what it means to be Zambian today.
Why “the essay” format?
A few years ago, British historian Simon Schama said that “essays are our best hope of liberating text from texting,” and I tend to agree. There’s a lot of competition for our time and attention when we’re online and a lot of what the web (particularly social media) offers is trivial. Essays (or long reads), however, force us to slow down and pay attention. They provide for the exploration of deep, meaningful themes that affect us all but which we may not necessarily talk about during the course of our day. That said, I’m a big fan of multimedia (video, podcasts, etc) so one of my long-term goals is to make Zed Essays a successful multimedia platform.
Who are the contributors?
The vast majority of Zed Essays contributors are Zambians. I believe that the best way to get valuable and accurate insights into a particular place or topic is to get people who live it daily to tell their stories on their own terms. Most of the contributors to Zed Essays aren’t formally-trained writers (i.e. they don’t write for a living), but they have stories to tell and that’s what I’m inspired by. My job is to hear their stories, understand them, and help bring them together in a coherent, heartfelt, and truthful manner.
So – without further ado, let me introduce you to the six Zed Essays pieces of Q4 2020:
Drink and Be Merry, For Tomorrow We Die /// By Mr Round Gogos (alias).
“Why Does Eye Contact Make You Uncomfortable?” /// By Twaambo Kapilikisha
My Journey into Greater Personal Authenticity /// By The Modern Day Nomad (alias).
“The Peaceful Nation” – Zambia’s Most Common Story About Itself (a reflection) /// By Chipo Muwowo
History, Patriarchy & Elevating the Zambian Woman /// By Tawonga Muwowo
IN CONVERSATION: “We Need to Become Social Entrepreneurs" – Chembo Litana /// By Chipo Muwowo
Enjoy!
Chipo
'Pleased to read this write up!
Thankful to Pastor Andrew Muwowo,for sharing this link!'
'Intersted in reading particularly,articles written by those who're in diaspora,yet writing article,which are encouraging!
'Put it short,thank you,Chipo!