ADIEU, CHARLES MATORERA!

Encomiums keep on pouring in across the board for talented Zimbabwean writer, Charles Matorera, who died this week.

Matorera, a promising writer with many strings to his bow was essentially a writer of short stories (fiction) and an essayist and journalist to boot.

Many pundits believe that if Matorera had not given up the ghost prematurely he would have gone on to become a key novelist of repute. But during his lifetime he was also a publisher; the international publication, The Diaspora, was his brainchild. The paper was distributed far and wide within many countries in Africa.

Indeed, Mr Matorera "displayed a deft and adroit hand whilst churning out his fiction of the shorter variety". 

His short stories included, Singwizi, and Tribalism curse of Africa".

Tributes to Matorera keep on pouring in. South African poet and essayist, T Matthew Thiba said this week: “Regarding the unsettled situation in his home country Charles decided to leave his country Zimbabwe come to South Africa and he stayed in Johannesburg then later stayed in Bloemfontein. In the city of roses he got introduced to many writers by his writing and his own creative work got known to the public. He wrote plenty of short stories that promote arts and culture in spectrum of literature. His grandfather the WW2 hero was the one who instilled the culture of writing and reading into his heart. Charles recalls clearly that he went as far as to read anything and even trashed paper! Matorera was a creative writer, essayist and critic.

“As a writer Charles had his favourite writers; namely NguyiwaThiongo, MtutuzeliMatshoba, Chinua Achebe to name a few. Charles’ dream regarding literature was to see or transform African stories into motion pictures. As it has always been true, the good die young. Plenty of fine artists and writers across the world have died young and though expectations were rocking the sky-high from their blazing talent. Charles will be remembered for his good work and it will go down with history to the future generations. Adieu!” a disconsolate Thiba rounded off.

Also the Deputy Director at the Sesotho Literary Museum (SLM), Tseliso Masolane said: “I have heard of Mr Matorera’s death with a great shock as he was still young and talented. Not long time again Sesotho Literary Fraternity and the world of academia lost one of the literary Giants, Professor Benito Khotseng. We are still trying to heal those wounds and all of a sudden we are losing a talented writer again!”  

“Charles, will surely be remembered for his scintillating short stories, many published on the internet and in a litany of books around the world; e.g Free State Brewed Short stories. We will miss him,” said a sombre Masolane.