Preferring the term “storyteller”, Chisala is considered to belong to Malawi’s third generation of writers, the generation said to be taking an experimental approach to style. As a teenager, Chisala moved to the United States to pursue her education. While studying sociology at New Mexico State University, she turned to poetry to express herself and process her experiences with racism.
After graduating in 2015 and struggling to find permanent employment, Chisala self-published her first anthology, ‘soft magic’, which reads like a healing journey. This debut collection explores various themes like identity, the self, joy, blackness, gender, matters of the heart, the diaspora experience and spirituality. While ‘soft magic’ is not my favourite collection by the poet, the writing is smooth and nurturing enough that it kept me interested.
It is easy for me to read this poem, second in the collection, and feel like Chisala writes for me alone, a trend that continues throughout her writing. In 2017, she published her second collection, ‘nectar’, which explores self-love, depression and her relationship with her parents. Chisala’s growth as a writer and as a poet was evident in ‘nectar’.
Her hope with this collection was to encourage the reader to sow their seeds and make changes in the lives of others. This collection also featured poems on healing, as well as those that fill one with hope for the future. Following the book’s success, Chisala signed a book .