Book Café celebrates 10 years as Harare’s cultural centre

By Tererai Karimakwenda
06 August, 2007

As a journalist I once debated Jonathan Moyo there, just after he shocked Zimbabweans by joining ZANU-PF as information minister, and I felt safe doing so. On another occasion I rhymed to some funky beats, flanked by several beautiful dancers. And I also remember watching a poetry “open mic night” after arriving too late to add my name to the list. The place I speak of is the Book Café, located at the Fife Avenue Shopping Centre in Harare’s “Avenues” area. Its importance to the cultural scene in the Capital is unparalleled.

The Book Café just recently turned 10 years old. In that time it has developed into a major showcase for Zimbabwe’s talent. Everyone from the singer Chiwoniso to the comedian Edgar Langeveldt has performed there. It is an intimate and very sparsely furnished venue that serves up live music, stand-up comedy, book signings and the popular “poetry slams” that produced polished acts like Comrade Fatso, who is well-known for his shoot-from-the-hip protest poetry.

So how did this all come about? A guy named Paul Brickhill needed a spot for his band Luck Street Blues to play. So he turned what was the Grassroots Book Store into what is now Harare’s famous Book Café.

We wish Paul and the Café many more years of continued success. Zimbabwe needs many more places such as this if we are to develop and nurture the great wealth of talent that is in the townships and so-called high-density areas.