BULAWAYO-BASED poet Norman Sikapila, popularly known as Skaps The Advocate in the arts circles, will on May 19 launch Reaching Out, his third devotional poetry book.
Skaps told NewsDay Life & Style that the anthology was about prayer, praise, worship and thanksgiving.
“Launching the anthology on May 19 has significance to say there is a rebirth in my life as in intending to refocus and strive to serve the Lord through writing in worship and praise to the Almighty,” he said.
“The anthology also shows how as a human, Christian one, is sometimes weak in the spirit. Hence when you are facing difficulties you start questioning the love of God.”
Skaps said his latest anthology was motivated by his health condition.
“I self-motivated to write Reaching Out. I am a diabetic and asthmatic patient, of which I have been on insulin for some years. In December 2021, I fell ill and I was diagnosed with kidney failure and needed dialysis.
“The day I was diagnosed with kidney failure, I sat down and looked to the sky and said dear Lord am I really your son, do you really love me and if you do love me why all these life-threatening diseases on me?”
He continued: “I questioned the love of God and if he is really my protector, but upon meditation and thought I looked outside my life and said if not me who else should suffer from these diseases? I then came to the conclusion that everything happens for a reason and on that day, I decided to write a devotional poetry book.”
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He said his previous publications had received positive reception he never expected.
“It was after I published my first book that I was then christened The Advocate as my poetry advocates for an upright and clean society. Socially, some chose to call it political, spiritually and religiously,” he explained.
“For my previous poetry books, I sold a reasonable amount especially with my second publication And Now My Heart Speaks which happens to be an emotional book. It carries almost 65% of my life in imagery and sometimes putting my story in the image of a woman.”
The poet said he dedicated all his success to his mother who happens to be the pillar of his success story, adding that his loving wife Adelaide Nyoni has been the light and his happiness as she stood by him during difficult times.
Apart from the book, Skaps has a poetic album titled Iphupho that was produced by Dj Nyder in Victoria Falls.
