Voices That Stir the Soil: Zimbabwean Poets & Spoken Word Artists Making Waves

Voices That Stir the Soil: Zimbabwean Poets & Spoken Word Artists Making Waves

If you’ve ever sat in a dim-lit room and felt a poem crawl under your skin, rearrange your emotions, then walk out like it owns the place… congratulations, you’ve met a Zimbabwean poet.

Zimbabwe’s poetry scene is not just alive, it is loud, courageous, and fearlessly creative. It carries the weight of history, the rhythm of the streets, and the fire of a generation determined to be heard. These artists are traveling continents, winning prestigious awards, shifting narratives, and reminding the world that Zimbabwean storytelling is not only surviving, it is thriving.

Today on Wander and Weave, we’re celebrating four powerful voices shaping the future of Zimbabwean poetry and spoken word.

1. Batsirai Chigama — The Trailblazer With a Thousand Candles

Batsirai Chigama is one of those poets whose words feel like they found you before you found the book.

An award-winning spoken word poet, short story writer, and activist, Batsirai co-founded the Ipikai Poetry Journal and helped pioneer Zimbabwe’s modern spoken word movement. Her debut collection, Gather The Children, didn’t just get published, it entered a room and won a NAMA for Outstanding First Creative Published Book in 2019.

That same year, she became an honorary fellow at the International Writing Programme at Iowa University (yes, the Iowa that hosts some of the world’s best literary talent).

In 2021 she released her second collection, and boom, another NAMA for Outstanding Poetry Book (2022). Excellence is basically her brand.

Beyond the accolades, her passion is unmatched. She uses poetry as a counter-narrative, challenging mainstream stories, amplifying the silenced, giving young people the courage to write themselves into the world. Her workshops have taken her all the way to Denmark and the USA, where she performs, teaches, and leaves audiences wondering why they haven’t been reading more Zimbabwean poets.

2. Kuda Rice — The Multidisciplinary Maverick

Some artists stay in one lane.

Kuda Rice built the damn road, laid the bricks, and shot a cinematic poem about it.

A multidisciplinary powerhouse, Kuda uses spoken word, poetry, film, and music to tell stories soaked in African truth and global vision. A 2025 NAMA Award winner, his work is proof that creativity doesn’t need a big budget, just a big purpose.

In a country where resources can feel scarce, Kuda wears all the hats: creative director, producer, performer, strategist, and apparently Chief Evangelist of Believing in Yourself.

And he lives by a mantra I think should be tattooed on every creative’s forehead:

“No one will carry your vision like you.”

Right now, he’s working on poetic films exploring mental health and internal conflict, blending spiritual introspection with cinematic storytelling. He’s collaborating with musicians, creating acoustic poetry films, even crafting exhibitions that merge sound and light.

He’s not just pushing boundaries, he’s politely moving them aside and installing new ones.

3. Tariro Ndoro — The Scholar With a Sharp Pen

Tariro Ndoro writes the kind of poetry that makes you sit down, blink twice, and reconsider your life choices.

With an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University, she burst onto the scene with her debut collection Agringada: Like a Gringa, Like a Foreigner (Modjaji Books, 2019), which went on to win the first-ever NAMA Award for Outstanding Poetry Book.

Her writing has travelled far, appearing in Afreada, The Kalahari Review, New Contrast, Oxford Poetry, and Puerto del Sol, to name a few.

Tariro has also been longlisted and shortlisted for multiple international prizes, showing that Zimbabwean poetry is not just local, it’s global currency.

She has performed and appeared at major festivals such as Pa Gya! Literary Festival, Page Poetry Alive, Paza Sauti, and Wordfest, making her one of the most internationally visible Zimbabwean poets of her generation.

A thinker, a storyteller, a cultural observer, Tariro doesn’t just write poems; she writes mirrors.

4. Samantha Vazhure — The Voice Bridging Worlds

Samantha Vazhure is the poet whose work feels like home, whether she’s writing in ChiKaranga, English, or the emotional language only poetry understands.

An award-winning poet and novelist, Samantha gave us Zvadzugwa Musango, a ChiKaranga poetry collection she later translated into English as Uprooted. Her novel Painting a Mirage showed her range as a storyteller, while Starfish Blossoms won the 2023 NAMA for Outstanding Poetry Book.

Her writing explores identity, displacement, memory, and the quiet storms women carry. Samantha’s voice is soft but unshakeable, the kind that blooms in silence and lingers long after the last line.

Why These Voices Matter?

Zimbabwe’s poets are not just writing poems.

They’re archiving culture.

They’re healing wounds.

They’re challenging narratives.

They’re proving that even in difficult environments, creativity finds a way to breathe.

These artists show us that you don’t need perfect conditions to bloom, you just need the courage to start.

And maybe that’s the real message today:

If you have a story tugging at your spirit, write it. Whisper it. Perform it. Share it.

Because someone out there is waiting for words only you can give.

Zimbabwe’s literary stars are shining, and the constellation keeps growing. Whether you’re a poet, reader, dreamer, or someone who scribbles ideas in a notebook you pretend isn’t a diary, remember:

Your voice is a thread.

The world is waiting for the tapestry.