Two great Zimbabwean female writers

(Above) Yvonne Vera

Two great Zimbabwean female writers

By Peter Moroe

The article on African female writers (elsewhere on this blog) I found fascinating. I found myself focusing on the two great Zimbabwean female writers and wishing to write something about them. So let us focus a bit more on Tsitsi Dangarembga and Yvonne Vera (who sadly died at a young age) who are renowned for their literary works.

Dangarembga was born in 1959 then spent part of her childhood in England. She went on to study psychology at the University of Zimbabwe and began to write and get involved in drama. She went on to publish a play called She Does Not Weep. It was however her superb novel, Nervous Conditions that made her world famous; winning her the African section of the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 1989. The book was the first (English novel) ever written by a black Zimbabwean woman.

After many years Tsitsi wrote a sequel to Nervous conditions, titled The book of Not (2006). Her career in movie making meanwhile blossomed internationally. Her other books include The Letter(1985) and She no longer weeps (1987).

Yvonne Vera was born in 1964 (and died in 2005). She was a powerful novelist who depicted women skillfully in her works; her range included topics like rape, and gender relationships. She won a number of important awards for her writing. In Zimbabwe she taught English literature at a high school then travelled to Canada where she educated herself further, and got married.

She published Why Don't You Carve Other Animals (short stories) in 1992. Then came the powerful novels: Nehanda (1993);Without a Name (1994), which won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Africa; Under the Tongue (1997) ; Butterfly Burning (2000), which won the German Literature Prize 2002 – it was also chosen as one of Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century in 2002. In 2002 she also published The Stone Virgins (2002).

It is thus no surprise that Vera’s works continue to be studied and celebrated in literary circles world wide. It is generally agreed that she never shied away from writing about so-called “taboo” subjects. She had a strict writing regimen which she adhered to, and in all senses of the word she could be called a “professional writer”. Zimbabwe has done well to produce two such world class female writers.
Peter Moroe is a literary critic who has published several articles – and books – on black African literature.