Music, poetry and testimonials marked a weekend event to remember the life of the late renowned poet and novelist, Chenjerai Hove as artists, friends and family members converged at his favorite Queensdale Sports Club Saturday night.
The event to remember one of Zimbabwe’s finest writers was marked by music, poetry and testimonials from family members, friends and fellow artists of late award-winning novelist who died in exile in Norway in July.
Hove's widow, Tekla, urged Zimbabweans to take on the literary world which she said her husband had conquered by playing his part and raising his family well.
Hove's children said the huge turnout at the event that was organized by his friends was an indication that their father was indeed a man of the people.
The event was organized to celebrate the late prolific writer’s local and international contributions to the arts world and his achievements.
His son, Jabulani Hove, said he will always cherish the good times he shared with his father, especially at Queensdale Sports Club, venue of the memorial.
Among those in attendance was Zimbabwe Human Rights Association director, Okay Machisa.
Machisa said it was befitting for him and many others to pay tribute to Hove, whom he said was the founder of Zimrights.
He described Hove as a fearless human rights defender who inspired many in the country through his literary works.
Author and colleague of the late novelist, Dave Mungoshi, said it was befitting to have such an event in honor of a writer of Hove's stature.
Artists Conte Mhlanga, Memory Chirere and Hope Masike were among the many people who thronged the sports club for Hove's memorial.
The award-winning Hove went into exile in 2001 and succumbed to kidney failure in July in Norway where he was an international Writers’ Project Fellow at Brown University Watson International Institute for International Studies.
Organizations he worked for include Moto Magazine, the Inter Press Service and Zimbabwe Publishing House. He also spent some time at the University of Zimbabwe as a writer in residence.
