Brian Chikwava is a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an writer and musician. His short story "Seventh Street Alchemy" was awarded the 2004

Caine Prize The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, the £10,000 prize was named ...

for African writing in English; Chikwava became the first Zimbabwean to do so. He has been a Charles Pick fellow at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, and lives in London. He continues to write in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and put out an album titled ''Jacaranda Skits''.

Background

Brian Chikwava was born in

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Victoria Falls, popularly known as Vic Falls, is a resort town and city in the province of Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. It lies on the southern bank of the Zambezi River at the western end of Victoria Falls themselves. According to the 2022 Pop ...

, in 1971. He went to boarding-school in Bulawayo, going on to study civil engineering at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

.Olivia Laing
"'The book will be published in Zimbabwe ... no one will buy it': The novelist: Brian Chikwava"
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', 4 January 2009. He settled in London in 2004.

Writing

Chikwava won the fifth

Caine Prize for African Writing The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, the £10,000 prize was named ...

in 2004 with his short story "Seventh Street Alchemy" (which was published in ''Writing Still'', Weaver Press, Harare, 2003),"2004 Caine Prize Winner Announced"
Bellagio Publishing Network, 19 July 2004. the first Zimbabwean to win the prize. Making the award, the chair of the judges, Alvaro Ribeiro, described the story as: "A very strong narrative in which Brian Chikwava of Zimbabwe claims the English language as his own, and English with African characteristics.... A triumph for the long tradition of Zimbabwe writing in the face of Zimbabwe’s uncertain future!" His first novel ''

Harare North ''Harare North'' is a novel by the Zimbabwean author Brian Chikwava, 2004 winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. The novel was published in London by Jonathan Cape in 2009. A French translation was published by Editions Zoe in 2011. Expl ...

'' was published in 2009 through

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...

. Reviews were generally positive, with Mary Fitzgerald of the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' writing that "in bringing to life the plight of those often marginalised by mainstream society, hikwavahas opened up a bleak, yet urgently important, social landscape". She also praises his "wit and suggestiveness", something that Tod Wodicka, author of ''All Shall Be Well'', agrees with, writing that "page by page, line by line, hikwavahas created a perfectly original and true narrative voice...full of surprises, delicious little tics, and real fire-in-the-belly creativity...but importantly, the voice comes off as effortless, and therefore true… it’s a major accomplishment". Trevor Lewis of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' wrote that "Chikwava has created a compelling protagonist, whose back-to-front English and spiky argot throw up sly, acidly comic observations", while

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

wrote in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'': "Chikwava has the talent to find lightness and comedy in the darkest desperation, drawing humour even out of wretchedness...occasionally among novelists one comes across a voice so distinctive...that it grips in an unforgettable way. For me, Chikwava looks set to be in that category. From first page to last, the vernacular narrative of Harare North is arresting, haunting, exciting, funny." Speaking about

and the reception he believed his book would receive, Chikwava said: "the Zimbabwe I knew no longer exists. The book will be published there but no one will buy it. No one buys books now. They are no longer a priority". He also took part in the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

's 2011 project ''

Sixty Six Books ''Sixty-Six Books'' was a set of plays premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2011, to mark the theatre's reopening on a new site and the 400th anniversary of the King James Version. It drew its title from the 66 books of the Protestant Bible ...

'' for which he wrote a piece based upon a book of the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...

Bush Theatre

References

External links

"Brian Chikwava's top ten works by writers who had a score to settle with society"
''The Guardian'', 2 September 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chikwava, Brian Zimbabwean writers Zimbabwean musicians Zimbabwean emigrants to the United Kingdom Living people Caine Prize winners 21st-century novelists Year of birth missing (living people)

Background

Writing

References

Further reading

External links