For Women Trying to Breathe and Failing
(Its not your fault)

Batsirai Chigama’s second collection of poetry is deeply rooted in the past, the present and the future.

It is a poetic survival manual guide for a 21st Century citizen trapped in the deep end. The poet draws on her experience and passion as a spoken word artist to speak on behalf of the citizen.

She reminds us to be conscious of the voices on the street where we live, the voices of family and friends…and the silent voices yearning to breathe again and exhale.

Chigama’s rich, timeless poetry is a remarkable achievement and an important contribution to our education.

Gather the Children

Batsirai E. Chigama is a mesmeric performer whose generous and powerful poetry has been inspired by a range of influences.

In this debut collection, she is at once deeply personal and passionately engaged in the political turmoil of her country. 

This selection of poems is about the slipperiness of truth, the weight of forgetting, but despite the pain of displacement Chigama finds heart in coming together, in gathering, in celebration.

She does not force conclusions, or cover up contradictions. She trusts language and lets words play. And language rewards this trust.

“Gather The Children,” won Outstanding First Creative Published Book at the National Arts Merit Awards in 2019.