Shimmer Chinodya
| Shimmer Chinodya | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 30, 1957 Gweru |
| Nationality | Zimbabwe |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1967 - date |
| Relatives | Reward Chinodya (brother - late) |
Shimmer Chinodya is a Zimbabwean prolific writer who was born in 1957 in Gweru. Most of his novels were prescribed to be set books (worthy to be studied in high schools) by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education such as Harvest of Thorns (which won the Commonwealth Writer's Award for the Best Book in Africa in 1990), Chairman of Fools and Strife. Some were even studied in tertiary institutions. Chinodya also wrote the script of the award winning film, Everyone's Child.
Background
Shimmer Chinodya was born on 30 May 1957 in Gweru (then Gwelo, Rhodesia). He was the second child in a "large family". He attended his primary education at Mambo Primary School in Gweru. He was then enrolled at Goromonzi High School where he was expelled in 1976 for protesting against Ian Smith.[1] From Goromonzi High, Chinodya went to study at the then University of Rhodesia (present day University of Zimbabwe) where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in English in 1979.[2]
He thus became a teacher from 1981–83, after which he became a curriculum developer under the Ministry of Education.[2] In 1985, he graduated with a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa in the United States of America (USA).[3] Between 1995 and 1997, Chinodya was at the University of St Lawrence in USA where he was a Distinguished Visiting Professor [1]
Career
Chinodya began to write short stories after he had completed his primary education. He wrote his first novel, Dew in the Morning when he was 18, the novel was however published in 1982.[4] Since then, Chinodya began to bask in glory publishing novels, ranging from children's story books, secondary school text books (Step Ahead: New Secondary School English Course book 1-4) and numerous poems in different anthologies.
Two of his novels were translated into German, that is Harvest of Thorns and Strife.[5] Harvest of Thorns was presented as a play during the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) 2013 edition. In 1995, Chinodya and Djibril Drop Mambety, a Senegalese film director worked together trying to produce a film of the novel but the project was thwarted as a result of financial constrains.[1]
Publications
- Dew in the Morning (1982)
- Farai's Girls (1984)
- Child of War (1986)
- Classroom Plays for Primary Schools (1986)
- Harvest of Thorns (1989)
- Poems for Primary Schools (1990)
- Can we Talk and Other Stories (1998)
- Tales of Tamari (2004)
- Chairman of Fools (2005)
- Strife (2006)
- Tindo's Quest (2011)
- Chioniso and Other Stories (2012)
Anthologies with Chinodya's Poems
- Soho Square (1992)
- Writer's Territory (1999)
- Tenderfoots (2001)
- Writing Still (2004)
- Writing Now (2005)
Awards
- Commonwealth Writer's Prize for the Best Book in Africa for Harvest of Thorns (1990)
- National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) Outstanding Book for Strife (2007)
- Noma Honourable Award (2007)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Memory Chirere, Shimmer Chinodya Interviewed by Memory Chirere, "Munyori Literary Journal":,retrieved:18 July 2014"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Victoria Carchidi, Shimmer Chinodya Biography - Shimmer Chinodya comments:, "Net Industries":,retrieved:18 July 2014"
- ↑ , Shimmer Chinodya, "Good Reads":,retrieved:18 July 2014"
- ↑ , Biography of SHIMMER CHINODYA, "Africa Success", published:9 Jul 2008,retrieved:18 July 2014"
- ↑ Memory Chirere, Shimmer Chinodya launches ZWIETRACHT, "KwaChirere", published:15 Apr 2011,retrieved:18 July 2014"
