Fungisayi Sasa is a Zimbabwean writer living in England. Her first children’s book The Search Head (Eloquent Books, 2008) is available on Amazon. She has had a short story published in the anthology Writing Lives (Weaver Press, 2011). Her poetry has appeared on Poetry International and in Spilt Milk, a magazine. She is currently working on a short story collection and a novel. Her poem 300 Roundabouts is a tribute to the town of Milton Keynes.
Sasa grew up and completed both her primary and secondary school education in Zimbabwe. She went to England to study creative writing at Bedforshire university. Fungisayi has published a children’s book, The Search for the Perfect Head (available on Amazon) and is currently working on a book of short stories and a poetry collection. She has also had a flash fiction story published in Blue Eyed Boybait, and has contributed to Wordsetc, a South African literary journal.
The poet in her own words:
“I was born in September 1983 in Harare and for as long as I can remember; I enjoyed writing stories and poems. As a child, I had a diary in which I wrote stories about my immediate family especially when they annoyed me. I once wrote a short story about my older sister called ‘My Margaret Murdered’, complete with a cover of blood dripping from her neck. Naturally, most of my family didn’t encourage my writing pursuits.
I went to Lewisam Primary School and Arundel School. During my time in secondary school, I enjoyed English Language and English Literature so much that I knew I wanted a future career that involved the two but I wasn’t sure what field that would be. When I came to England in 2002, I studied Business Administration but I continued writing poetry and in 2005, I enrolled for a BA in Creative Writing at the University of Bedfordshire. I learnt to develop my skills as a writer and I became more confident in my love for the art of writing. During my time at university, I matured both as an individual and a writer. Keith and Lesley were great lecturers because they allowed me to express myself without being judgemental about the content and they pushed me to go beyond what I thought I was capable of. My third year project entitled I Am a Different Country concentrated on some of the books I read as a child and my roots as a Zimbabwean. My first book, The Search for the Perfect Head was published last year.
I have always had a deep passion for children and allowing their imagination to blossom because when I was growing up, I was given that opportunity and freedom. I know that I will continue with children’s writing but I hope to start work on a short story collection for adults. I have also written many poetry collections. Most of the poetry I submitted for International Poetry Web is from the collections Scattered Thoughts, House of Broken Stones and I Am Cannibal. I am currently working on a piece called Decolonising The African Mind: A Quest to be Zimbabwean Again (available on Afroterminal) and I am finishing off I Am Cannibal.”
Bibliography
The Search for the Perfect Head, Eloquent Books, New York, 2009
Scattered Thoughts, unpublished
House of Broken Stones, unpublished
I Am Cannibal, in progress
Links
Wordsetc: a very good South African literary journal
