Petal Thoughts: The unpacking of Yvonne Vera.

I must confess that I had three different pictures of who Yvonne Vera was. My first picture was of this great, intelligent, very eloquent and afro-centric writer whose writings set to undo the silent posture of African women which they have endured over many decades.  A great writer whose books I had studied at college. The second picture, gathered from a few casual contacts and bits and pieces of information I got from people that professed to know her, was of this difficult yet very professional woman whose life was characterized by frequent mood swings.  The third picture was of this very kind and very supportive woman whose love for Bulawayo and the arts was unquestionable.

And so as I opened the pages and ploughed through the book it was with the hope of finally getting to know exactly who Yvonne Vera was and who else could explain her better than her own mother with the aid of her daughter's friends gathered through the years. However, I must confess that after going through the book twice Yvonne Vera stills remains an enigma. This is not because the mother did a bad job. Not at all. Ericah is an excellent writer and storyteller whose eye for drama must rank among the best. The simple truth is that, like her many characters, Yvonne was not simple and one dimensional. She was complex. Her books had many layers of meaning. The same can be said about her. 

In Petal Thoughts Gwetai tries to unpack and unwrap her daughter. She begins with drama, discovering in an unusual way that she was pregnant, trying to abort and failing, then the birth and Yvonne's early years in Bulawayo, Harare, Tsholotsho, back to Bulawayo, Canada and then all over the world.  We see Yvonne and her life through the eyes of her mother, the woman who was there when Yvonne came into this world and the woman who was still there when Yvonne exited from this world. Going through the pages of the book one never loses sight of the bond that existed between mother and daughter.  

We belong together. I gave birth to you, my daughter. I heard your first cry.                                                                                 You called me when you were born. I touched you in your moment of birth.

  And so in the end, as Yvonne lay dead in her hospital bed in Toronto the mother was there and she writes.

I closed her eyelids with my hands. -  -  -  -I touched her head, pushed it from side to side and it was indeed lifeless. I never knew that I could be that strong until this experience. 

Unlike Dambudzo Marachera the interest around Yvonne Vera and her work does not come from the mystery surrounding her intellectual prowess versus the doubt about her sanity. Vera's intellect was unquestionable, beyond doubt. Her sanity, too, was also unquestionable and beyond doubt. The huge and unrelenting interest in Yvonne and her work is a result of her bravery and boldness in tackling issues that a lot of women writers are still afraid to tackle and from the way she was so at easy with the language in which she wrote. In one of the eulogies in the book Dr Lawton Hikwa writes that Yvonne had a gift for words, for language, for imagery and rhythm. She had her own distinct voice.

Reading  Petal Thoughts one discovers Yvonne's many loves. Her love for fashion, love for nature, love for films and more importantly love for books. Yes! Books!  Books, the root of much and many words.  The narrative about Vera's early life is fast paced, simple and told in an unpretentious language. It is interesting to see how Gwetai tries to balance the conflicting emotions she is still going through. On one hand you can feel a mother who is proud to have brought up such a talented writer and seen her capture the imagination of the world. On the other hand you can not help but feel the harrowing loss she has suffered and is trying to deal with.

Petal thoughts is not about Vera alone. It is about three women. Yvonne, her mother and grandmother.  And how the three women are connected together.  Gwetai seems to say that in every child there is always something about the mother, something strong and unbreakable. It is interesting to know that the issues Gwetai feels strong about, issues to do with women's emancipation, are the same issues her daughter was passionate about. Vera's fans will find this book pricessless. Students of Vera's works will find the book helpful and a treasure as it will enable them to get into Vera's mind and see some of the events and incidents that inspired some of her outstanding scenes and characters. I particularly found Vera's obsession with find the perfect title for a book or story or finding the right names for her characters very interesting. 

Gwetai's confession about how she had to rise to the challenges of being Vera's mother is very humbling. How as a mother she had to try and rise to her daughter's level of intellectual appreciation so as to be able to understand her and stay closer to her makes some interesting reading. The evidence of Gwetai's self improvement so as to rise to Vera's level can be seen through the references to a variety of authors, the deeper analysis and insight into some of her daughter's writings and Gewtai's attainment of her degree in English and Communication. This influence can also be seen on the title of the biography itself. Petal thoughts. We all know Yvonne loved and breathed poetry.

Though I found the narrative about Yvonne early life gripping, and excellent, there was this uncomfortable feeling that enveloped me after reading the book. A feeling that Vera's whole story hasn't been told. I know the biography of such a great person will never be a complete thing. To support me on this feeling Mandi Maodzwa – Taruvinga , in a piece she wrote about Yvonne that is contained in the book, writes that Yvonne's biography is  a story of thought, a work in progress. To me this means there is still so much to be said and written about the life and work of Dr Yvonne Vera. Also Vera's death seems to over shadow everything. The reader feels saddled with grief through out the novel. This is heightened by the inclusion of eulogies from about 15 different writers all writing about their shared moments with Yvonne. These writers include Terence Ranger, John Rose, Veronique Tadlo, Mary Polito, Flora Veit- Wild, Niyi Osundare and many others.

 About Yvonne Vera's life the Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare screams a star so bright, so brief. About the book I scream a welcome addition to literature and a gripping read!