WEALTH OF IDEAS

This is a good time to be a reader of Zimbabwean literature. Of course, any time is good, but none as good as now. My line-up of Zimbabwean books that I should read is growing, rapidly. I called it my line-up, but really it is my debt: some of these books (most of them rather) came directly from the authors or their publishers, usually hot off the press, sometimes before they are launched. Gratefully,  I have received them, I have browsed them, but have always waited for the best time to read them, and as they continue to pile up, I can't even get the words to describe my excitement, my sense of anticipation as the semester comes to the end, and the summer break beckons. I will be reading a lot of Zimbabwean books this summer, concluding the whole experience with a visit to Zimbabwe. I want to try to make the ZIBF Indaba this year. What you see below is a partial (but growing) list of received or acquired books by Zimbabwe authors: Chivi Sunsets by Monica Cheru. I was int...

Zimbabwe Achievers Awards have announced the five writers shortlisted for the Literature Award ahead of the highly anticipated second edition of the event scheduled for Saturday, 28 April at the prestigious Grange Tower Bridge Hotel in London... SHORTLISTED WRITERS 1. Novuyo Rosa Tshuma – Doctor S The story of a Zimbabwean student at Wits University having a nervous breakdown is superbly written. It deals with the psychological trauma of life in Zimbabwe that haunts one even when they have left and the loneliness and alienation of life in the diaspora. 2. Lloyd Matowe – Gweja This is a powerful account of illegal mining at Chiadzwa, the heavy-handedness of the army and police, corruption and the competing personal and political stakes. This is a story that must be told and told very well. 3. Mzana Mthimukulu – What’s in a Dog’s Name? This was the only entry full of humour and wit. The naming of the family dog becomes more than what it is but a subtext of the ...

A Tripartite Dialogue on Zimbabwean Literary Culture: Emmanuel Sigauke, Tinashe Mushakavanhu & Christopher Mlalazi Sentinel Literary Quarterly (SLQ) has published a roundtable discussion featuring Christopher Mlalazi, Tinashe Mushakavanhu, and me. The editor writes, "Three Zimbabwean writers ... discuss the state of Zimbabwean literature, writing from the Diaspora, what is African literature among other literary issues. In this candid roundtable discussion, they question the direct nature of literature and its suitability in chronicling moments of unique political and social significance. In a country like Zimbabwe, which exists to the West as a flurry of news reports and political upheavals, literature attains an importance that it rarely enjoys in Britain or America: it becomes a necessary thing, essential to the survival of the self. A sobering set of first-hand accounts accompanied by revealing anecdotes about writing and reading experiences influenced by the three writer...