Tsitsi Dangarembga
Tsitsi Dangarembga | |
---|---|
Windham-Campbell Literature Prize , 2022 | |
Spouse | Olaf Koschke |
Children | Tonderai, Chadamoyo and Masimba |
Tsitsi Dangarembga (born 4 February 1959) is a Zimbabwean novelist, playwright and filmmaker. Her
Early life and education
Tsitsi Dangarembga was born on 4 February 1959 in Mutoko, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), a small town where her parents taught at the nearby mission school.[3][4][5][6] Her mother, Susan Dangarembga, was the first black woman in Southern Rhodesia to obtain a bachelor's degree,[7] and her father, Amon, would later become a school headmaster.[8][9] From the ages of two to six, Dangarembga lived in England, while her parents pursued higher education.[3][4][5][6][10] There, as she has recalled, she and her brother began to speak English "as a matter of course and forgot most of the Shona we had learnt."[10] She returned to Rhodesia with her family in 1965, the year of the colony's Unilateral Declaration of Independence.[3][4][6] In Rhodesia, she reacquired Shona, but considered English, the language of her schooling, her first language.[10]
In 1965, she moved with her family to Old Mutare, a
Dangarembga worked briefly as a teacher, before taking up studies in medicine and psychology at the University of Zimbabwe while working for two years as a copywriter at a marketing agency.[3][4][6][8][10] She joined the university drama club, and wrote and directed several of the plays the group performed.[3][4][6][10] She also became involved with the theatre group Zambuko, during which she participated in the production of two plays, Katshaa! and Mavambo.[4] She later recalled, "There were simply no plays with roles for black women, or at least we didn't have access to them at the time. The writers in Zimbabwe were basically men at the time. And so I really didn't see that the situation would be remedied unless some women sat down and wrote something, so that's what I did!"[3][10] She wrote three plays during this period: Lost of the Soil (1983), She No Longer Weeps, and The Third One.[3][4][6][10] During these years, she also began reading works by African-American women writers and contemporary African literature, a shift from the English classics she had grown up reading.[3]
Career
1980s and 1990s
In 1985, Dangarembga's short story "The Letter" won second place in a writing competition arranged by the
In 1989, Dangarembga went to Germany to study film direction at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin.[3][4][6] She produced a number of films while in Berlin, including a documentary aired on German television.[4] In 1992, she founded Nyerai Films, a production company based in Harare.[3] She wrote the story for the film Neria, made in 1991, which became the highest-grossing film in Zimbabwean history.[17] Her 1996 film Everyone's Child, the first feature film directed by a black Zimbabwean woman, was shown internationally, including at the Dublin International Film Festival.[3][4] The film, shot on location in Harare and Domboshava, follows the tragic stories of four siblings after their parents die of AIDS.[4]
2000 onwards
In 2000, Dangarembga moved back to Zimbabwe with her family, and continued her work with Nyerai Films. In 2002, she founded the International Images Film Festival.
Asked about her lack of writing since Nervous Conditions, Dangarembga explained in 2004: "firstly, the novel was published only after I had turned to film as a medium; secondly,
She was a judge for the 2014
In an interview with
In 2019, Dangarembga was announced as a finalist for the St. Francis College Literary Prize, a biennial award recognizing outstanding fiction by writers in the middle stages of their careers, which was eventually won that year by Samantha Hunt.[28][29]
On 31 July 2020 Dangarembga was arrested in Harare, Zimbabwe, ahead of anti-corruption protests.[30] Later that year she was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.[31]
In September 2020, Dangarembga was announced as the University of East Anglia's inaugural International Chair of Creative Writing, from 2021 to 2022.[32][33]
Dangarembga won the 2021 PEN International Award for Freedom of Expression, given annually since 2005 to honour writers who continue working despite being persecuted for their writing.[34][35][36][37]
In June 2021, it was announced that Dangarembga would be the recipient of the prestigious 2021 Peace Prize awarded by the German book publishers and booksellers association,[38] making her the first black woman to be honoured with the award since it was inaugurated in 1950.[39]
In July 2021, she was elected to honorary Fellowship of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.[11]
Dangarembga was chosen by
In 2022, Dangarembga was selected to receive a
In June 2022, an arrest warrant was issued against Tsitsi Dangarembga.[45] She was prosecuted for incitement to public violence and violation of anti-Covid rules after an anti-government demonstration organized at the end of July 2020.[46][47]
On 28 September 2022, Dangarembga was officially convicted of promoting public violence after her and her friend, Julie Barnes, walked around Harare in a peaceful protest while holding placards that read “We Want Better. Reform Our Institutions”. Dangarembga was given a $110 fine and a suspended six-month jail sentence. She announced that she planned to appeal her verdict amid human rights groups claiming that her prosecution was a direct result of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s attempts to “silence opposition in the long-troubled southern African country”.[48][49][50] On 8 May 2023, it was announced that Dangarembga's conviction had been overturned after she appealed the initial conviction in 2022.[51][52][53]
Selected awards and honours
- 1989: Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Africa region) for Nervous Conditions
- 2005: Kare Kare Zvako wis the Short Film Award and Golden Dhow at the Zanzibar International Film Festival, and the African Short Film Award at the Milan Film Festival
- 2018: Nervous Conditions named by the BBC as one of the top 100 books that have shaped the world[54]
- 2020: This Mournable Body shortlisted for the Booker Prize[55]
- 2021: PEN International Award for Freedom of Expression
- 2021: 2021 Peace Prize from the German book publishers and booksellers association[56]
- 2021: Honorary Fellowship of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
- 2021: PEN Pinter Prize from English PEN
- 2022: Windham-Campbell Literature Prize (fiction)[57]
- 2022: Royal Society of Literature International Writer[58]
List of works
Written works
- The Third One (play)
- Lost of the Soil (play), 1983
- The Letter (short story), 1985, published in Whispering Land
- She No Longer Weeps (play), 1987
- ISBN 9781919772288
- ISBN 9780954702373
- ISBN 9781555978129
- Black and Female (essays), 2022, ISBN 9780571373192 [59]
Filmography
- Neria (1993) (story writing)
- The Great Beauty Conspiracy (1994)
- Passport to Kill (1994)
- Schwarzmarkt (1995)
- Everyone's Child (1996)
- The Puppeteer (1996)
- Zimbabwe Birds, with Olaf Koschke (1988)
- On the Border (2000)
- Hard Earth – Land Rights in Zimbabwe (2001)
- Ivory (2001)
- Elephant People (2002)
- Mother’s Day (2004)
- High Hopes (2004)
- At the Water (2005)
- Growing Stronger (2005)
- Kare Kare Zvako (2005)
- Peretera Maneta (2006)
- The Sharing Day (2008)
- I Want a Wedding Dress (2010)
- Ungochani (2010)
- Nyami Nyami Amaji Abulozi (2011)
References
- ^ "The 100 stories that shaped the world". BBC. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ Flood, Alison; Cain, Sian (15 September 2020). "Most diverse Booker prize shortlist ever as Hilary Mantel misses out". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Know Your Author: Dangarembga". The Herald. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Grady, Rebecca (10 June 2014) [1997]. "Dangarembga, Tsitsi". Postcolonial Studies. Emory University. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Khulumani. Women's Action Group. 1988. p. 92.
- ^ JSTOR 1345839.
- ^ Mutambara, Arthur G. O. (15 October 2017). "An ode to Susan Dangarembga". The Sunday Mail. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Madhomu, Betha (21 June 2010). "Dangarembga's new venture". News24. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ "President Sends Condolences to Bakasa, Dangarembga Families". The Herald. 7 September 2002. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Agatucci, Cora (2 January 2010). "African Authors: Tsitsi Dangarembga & Nervous Conditions". Central Oregon Community College. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Tsitsi Dangarembga elected to Honorary Fellowship". Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Book Reviews: She No Longer Weeps by Tsitsi Dangaremgba" Archived 18 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Eduzim.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ Odhiambo, Tom (17 January 2020). "'New Daughters of Africa' is a must read for aspiring young women writers". Daily Nation.
- ^ "Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century: An initiative of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair". Columbia University Libraries – African Studies Resources. Archived from the original on 29 December 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ Mananavire, Bridget (28 May 2018). "Tsitsi Dangarembga thrilled as 'Nervous Conditions' makes it to the top 100 books". Daily News Zimbabwe. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ LEZ (7 September 2013), "From Neria to Zollywood: The State of Zimbabwean Film", eZimbabwe.
- ^ "IIFF 2018 – Aug 24th to 31st in Harare!". www.icapatrust.org. Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa (ICAPA). Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ "About the Director Tsitsi Dangarembga". African Film Festival. 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Our Board", ICAPA.
- ^ "Interview with the Author" (p. 212, Nervous Conditions, Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd, 2004).
- ^ "2014 Etisalat Prize for Literature Judging Panel out". James Murua's Literary Blog. 12 July 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ Koinange, Wanjiru (11 May 2016), "Announcing the Bellagio Center Residency Award Winners", Africa Centre.
- ^ Tshuma, Novuyo Rosa (24 January 2020). "This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga review – a sublime sequel", The Guardian.
- ^ "The 2002 Shortlist". The Booker Prize. September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ Flyn, Cal. "The Best Fiction of 2020: The Booker Prize Shortlist recommended by Margaret Busby". Five Books. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ Shringarpure, Bhakti (27 September 2019). "A Crisis of Personhood: Tsitsi Dangarembga". BOMB. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ Schmerl, Leah (15 August 2019), "St. Francis College Announces Finalists for the Biennial $50,000 SFC Literary Prize", St. Francis College.
- ^ "Samantha Hunt Wins 2019 SFC Literary Prize for The Dark Dark". St. Francis College. 21 September 2019.
- ^ Flood, Alison (31 July 2020). "Booker prize-longlisted author Tsitsi Dangarembga arrested in Zimbabwe". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ Chandler, Mark (29 September 2020). "Dangarembga made UEA international chair of creative writing". The Bookseller. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Creative Writing | The International Chair of Creative Writing and Global Voices Scholarship Programme". UEA. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ "Tsitsi Dangarembga wins the PEN Award for Freedom of Expression 2021". PEN International. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- LitHub. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "Tsitsi Dangarembga wins PEN Award for Freedom of Expression 2021". James Murua's Literary Blog. 18 January 2021. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ Cooper, Katherine (18 February 2021). "Tsitsi Dangarembga: UEA International Chair for Creative Writing Receives PEN Award for Freedom of Expression". UEA Live. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Friedenspreis 2021 Tsitsi Dangarembga" (in German). Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ Grove, Rashad (26 October 2021). "Tsitsi Dangarembga Becomes the First Black Woman to Win Peace Prize of the German Book Trade". Ebony. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ "Zimbabwean novelist Dangarembga wins PEN Pinter Prize 2021". The Bookseller. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ {"PEN Pinter Prize 2021: Tsitsi Dangarembga", British Library.
- ^ Flood, Alison (11 October 2021). "Kakwenza Rukirabashaija named this year's International Writer of Courage". The Guardian.
- ^ Bayley, Sian (11 October 2021). "Ugandan novelist Rukirabashaija named 2021 International Writer of Courage". The Bookseller. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ Brown, Lauren (29 March 2022). "Jefferson, Dangarembga and Pinnock among winners of Windham-Campbell Prizes". The Bookseller. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- Radio France International. 29 June 2022. Archivedfrom the original on 30 June 2022.
- ^ Chingarande, Desmond (2 June 2022). "Trial of novelist Tsitsi Dangarembgwa resumes". NewsDay. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- ^ "Tsitsi Dangarembga, charged with inciting public violence, 28 hearings in two years". NewsDay HStv Live. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Mutsaka, Farai (29 September 2022). "Author Dangarembga found guilty in Zimbabwe rights protest". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022.
- ^ Nyoka, Shingai; Chothia, Farouk (29 September 2022). "Tsitsi Dangarembga: Zimbabwe author convicted over placard protest". BBC News. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "Zimbabwe: Conviction of author Tsitsi Dangarembga and Barnes for protesting economic hardship a travesty of justice". Amnesty International. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ "Popular Zimbabwean writer acquitted over anti-government protest". Al Jazeera. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "Tsitsi Dangarembga: Top Zimbabwe author has conviction overturned". BBC. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Obi-Young, Otosirieze (20 August 2018). "Read an Excerpt from Tsitsi Dangarembga's New Novel, This Mournable Body". brittlepaper.com. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "'Writing is an act of bravery'". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Africanews | Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga wins German peace prize". Africanews. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Tsitsi Dangarembga". Windham Campbell Prizes. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "RSL International Writers". Royal Society of Literature. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
External links
- A recording of Dangarembga's reading of her "Electing Zimbabwe"
- Petri Liukkonen. "Tsitsi Dangarembga". Books and Writers.
- Tsitsi Dangarembga at IMDb
- "Statement of support for Tsitsi Dangarembga", New Writing, University of East Anglis, October 2020.
- Leo Robson, "Why Tsitsi Dangarembga is one of the most remarkable authors the Booker Prize has ever celebrated", New Statesman, 13 November 2020.
- Mia Swart, "Tsitsi Dangarembga: Life in an 'ever-narrowing Zimbabwe'", AlJazeera, 16 November 2020.
- Catherine Taylor, "Tsitsi Dangarembga on her arrest, the Booker Prize and why she won't leave Zimbabwe: 'It's an ongoing trauma'", i, 16 November 2020.
- Troy Fielder, "UEA Live: An Emptiness That Hurts, In Conversation With Tsitsi Dangarembga" Archived 28 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Concrete, 27 February 2021.