Last month, in early September, we wrote a feature on author and poet Gloria D. Gonsalves, founder of World Children’s Poetry Day (WoChiPoDa) and the initiative “Africa Is Not What You Know”.
Gloria wrote to Chicamod with her own personal narrative on who she is, where she’s from and where she’s going. This is Gloria D. Gonsalves in her own words.
If you have to categorise me as a writer, stop placing me according to a continent I was born.
I was born and raised in Tanzania. Further studies took me to Ireland, where it has felt like a second home regardless of my only one visit after I left it. That reunion was like going back to an old friend whom you rarely communicate with, however once you do it’s like you have been in touch every day. Private reasons made me decide to move to Germany. Here I have learned to avoid beating around the bush and squarely question my beliefs.
I have travelled to numerous countries, which belong to the continents of Africa, Europe, North America, Central America and Asia. My creative imagination has no geography. I have written stuff of different genres: fiction, non-fiction, children’s, adult, poetry and nature. Some stuff I have penned are beyond the religious and cultural morals I was taught. The collective experiences I have had dare me to ask the whys and why nots beyond what I was raised to believe.
As a reader, I have had the pleasure to indulge myself with an array of literature, some of which boldly fused genres: Shaaban bin Robert who challenges me to write in my native language Swahili, Paulo Coelho who makes me feel religiously forgiven for any maddening act, Maya Angelou who dares me to scold in a graceful art, Doreen Virtue who helped me reconnect with celestial beings, Fanny Blake who makes me feel grateful for any feminine burden, Kopano Matlwa who rebelliously urged me to fuse poetry and poesy in my writings, Chimamanda Adichie for asking a question I did not dare ask aloud “Why can’t he just be like everyone else?” etc.
Given the rich cocktail background and experiences I have had, it would be an abuse of creativity to place me, expect me, critique me and sideline me to exclusively write what some refer to as African. For some, Africa is a holiday destination, which is limited to Kilimanjaro and wildlife animals. For others, it is a starving continent, which without those charity posters and donation events it cannot survive. On the other hand, when my muse is turned on, she will go wild from aesthetic beauty of a wild mushroom to the churning truth of global crises and eventually land on the nectar of titillating love. There is no stopping her from venturing beyond the African borders, and why should she?
My Africa is and not all those partial realities. It also contains intellectual and international realities, which some choose not to see. My Africa has essentials that every race can identify with. My Africa has storytelling, poetry, nature writing, children adventures, adult romance, a mix of Swahili, English and German languages, all of which can be creative skills from any continent. My Africa is international. So if you have to, call me an international writer.
About the Author
Gloria D. Gonsalves is passionate about writing poetry and tales for both children and adults. She is the founder of World Children’s Poetry Day (WoChiPoDa), an initiative aimed at instilling the love of poetry to young people. Gloria also writes photographic snippets for her non-boring nature blog titled “Petals in a Lawyer”. She is a contributing author/poet to AuthorHouse Author’s Digest, When Women Waken journal and Naturewriting.com
Her literary works aim at supporting humanitarian related projects and creativity in others, especially children, by having them participate through drawings or stories. Her aspiration is to see more writers give back as profiled at Read A Book, Make A Difference (RABMAD).
Gloria is also behind the global call “Africa Is Not What You Know”. Her call is a global campaign by intellectual humans, for Africa. The norm to highlight the positive aspects of Africa should be an inspiring dedication for every human who respects and loves Africa. She wants us all to rise and uplift what Africa already has, and the media has not a clue about.
She attained her Bachelor of Science Degree in Tourism Marketing from Dublin Institute of Technology and her Master of Science Degree in Environmental Sciences from Cologne University. Gloria is from Tanzania, has lived in Ireland and currently resides in Germany.
