The Mozambican writer, Carlos Nhangumele, launches his first literary work entitled "Twenty (and) Twenty (one)", this Friday, at 5pm, at the Nília Institute, in the city of Maputo.

This is a collection of chronicles and short stories ("cronicontos" in the author's words, inspired by the preface) written during the most critical moments of the Covid-19 pandemic, in Mozambique and in the world. And it is also in this context that the stories of the book unfold.

"What I address ranges from the issue of prevention against Covid-19, the fears that society lives and has lived through, to the ephemeral dating originated by the pandemic," said Carlos Nhangumele.

The author told MZNews that for this debut in the field of letters, he tried to generalize the themes, despite the specificity of the topic in some texts.

"Most of the texts that make up the collection come from situations that I experienced in the midst of Covid-19," said Nhangumele, assuming that, confinement was the major reason that drove him to write. That is, although the restrictive measures have been a burden, "there were those who knew how to take advantage of the time and create, and I believe that there was a lot of literary production in that time.

Nhangumele, however, said that the literary vein came to him about five years ago. In this sense, what would be his first collection of texts is still in the "polishing" phase until it reaches the public.

Thus, the author found 2021 the temporal opportunity to launch "Twenty (and) Twenty (one)" seeking a more "tangible" impact given the apparent control of the pandemic.

"I ended up switching. The first collection, written in 2016-2017, was passed over and I picked up this one which was the second one, because if I had to release it two years later it wouldn't have the same impact that it might have now," he revealed.

Maybe it was too soon to think about a second work, but his hands are really in the works. The author revealed to us that, still this year, a book of children's stories may reach the bookshops "around December". Everything depends on the work in progress.

"Vinte (e) Vinte (um)" is published by "Bantus Publicações", with a print-run of 200 copies for this first phase and has a preface by the Mozambican writer Hélder Muteia.

Carlos da Graça Nhanguleme graduated in Mozambican Literature at Eduardo Mondlane University, where he is currently attending a Master's course in Teaching Portuguese as a Second Language. In addition, he is a multidisciplinary teacher specializing in teaching Portuguese and Writing Techniques at Nília Institute in Maputo. His portfolio also includes mentoring in Language Revision and preparation for higher education entrance exams.