The Undiscovered Writings of the Wisdom That Was Chitedze
Gone far too soon.
It seems that when we blink, another great talent disappears forever... Michael Jackson, and more recently Whitney Houston... It's a clear sign that our artists need to be wholly appreciated while they still share this Earth with us.
Wisdom Chitedze was a Malawian musician whose talents were truly only just beginning to show their potential before he passed away in late 2011. Thought-provoking songs such as 'Tipewe' brought him popularity, but what was less publicised was that he was also an extremely gifted writer.
He made many friends in the field of writing; colleagues who recognised the talent he had, and considered him "the most prodigious poet and writer of this generation.", as well as "a genuine person, of integrity and without artifice".
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I myself had been looking forward to meeting him, as I am always eager to share experiences with fellow writers, mentors and comrades. At a point in time, it came to light that our social circles began to have more and more in common and we became Facebook friends. One day I was invited to a writers meeting, which ended up being postponed. Wisdom was one of the writers in this group...
I discovered that by some strange coincidence, his wife worked at the desk next to mine. It was when she mentioned the next day that she heard the meeting was cancelled, which baffled me because I had no idea how she could know about the meeting. It was then that she told me she was Wisdom's wife. It's a small world, and Malawi is the smallest world of all.
With all this common ground, I figured it was only a matter of time before I finally met Wisdom in person - outside of Facebook, and perhaps experience greatness first hand. Destiny, it seemed, had other plans. When Wisdom Chitedze was lost to the world, sadness weighed down on me - sadness for a great artist that I had missed the chance to meet.
The benefit of a life that was so enriched with talent, is that the soul is immortalised forever through their work. I say with absolutely no exaggeration, that his work was nothing less than breath-taking. His style takes the most raw experiences of life and morphs them into imagery so striking, that the reader suddenly finds themselves standing there with him, sharing his emotions in the surreal landscapes he sculpted out of
His honesty in these pieces reflected the very core of humanity. Using his unique flair he openly portrayed it all - the good the bad and the ugly, of his faith, his pain, the essence of himself, and ultimately of ourselves too.
His honesty in these pieces reflected the very core of humanity. Using his unique flair he openly portrayed it all - the good the bad and the ugly, of his faith, his pain, the essence of himself, and ultimately of ourselves too.
"Why the sicknesses, why the struggles with sin?
Why hell? Why wars?
Can I believe a book written by a spectra of learned and ignorant men?
So I took a dagger and slew him (God) again."
Wisdom wore his own humanity on his sleeve.
If the measure of a man is the sum of the impact that he has on others, then this world has undoubtedly lost a mighty one. A man who used his life to earnestly live up to his name.
(Tip: To find all of the work Wisdom's Chitedze posted, search 'Qodebreaker' in the top left hand corner of the blog.)
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Learn a simple way to overcome Writer's Block in the previous post
It's horrible when someone so talented is lost. I'm not sure how I feel about losing someone famous because loss to me is something that is personal, like a family friend, it's sad to see what has happened and how it happened, but I can't mourn for people I don't know, like Whitney Housten, I listened to a couple of her songs and then that was it, I went on with the rest of my day.
ReplyDeletePeople are being taken away far too young, I've had 3 cousins that have died before their 1st birthday...and to see other celebrities just turn to drugs...that upsets me.
I thought it was a great post! Wisdom sounds like a great man, and I hope that he is remembered through blog posts like this.
-Joseph
www.josepheastwood.com
Thanks for your comment Joseph!
ReplyDeleteOf course there is the question of mourning the loss of someone you have never met - is it possible? I believe that with artists, their music, words, and visual work can speak to our emotions in unexplainable ways. Their life's work is to take us to places within ourselves that we have never been before. I believe that the loss of such talent can indeed cause sadness. We may never have known our favourite artists in person, but we know their work well. The realisation that they can no longer create any more is a saddening one indeed.
It means that as long as we are still here, we need to show the best of ourselves, as those who have gone before us did. I see you are already taking that advice though Joseph :-) Keep up the good work!
Wow, that is an unbelievable experience. Shame.
ReplyDeleteI knew little about him but I once attended a performance of his- it was mind-blowing, to understate the coursing emotions at that time. He held his own amongst Wambali and co. It was the first and last time I watched him perform. I regret that.
Wonderfully written article EE
That's amazing that you got that opportunity, T. I hope you got to read his work on Lilongwe Writer's Circle!
ReplyDeletewow! Am speechles. Ekari thats amazn sumation, briliantly potrayed, with diginity edified and bringing out the secrets of the wisdom of a talented young man
ReplyDeleteThank you RJ! :-)
ReplyDelete