David Sunsly Mungoshi (30 September 1949 – 29 August 2020) was 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 novelist, actor, poet and teacher.

Early life

He was born in 1949 in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

and was fluent in

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people ** Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today ** Shona languages, a wider group of languages defined in the early 20th century ** Kingdom of Zimbabwe, a Shona stat ...

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe * Sumayela Ndebele (Northern Transvaal Ndebele), located in South Africa Languages *Southern Ndebele language, the language of ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. He learnt Zulu, similar to Ndebele, which at that time was not recognised as a distinct language, at school.

Career

In 1970, he started teaching at St Annes Goto Primary School in Hwedza. He struggled at the start of his writing career, with some believing that he was writing simply because his brother, the then established

Charles Mungoshi Charles Lovemore Mungoshi (2 December 1947 – 16 February 2019), was a Zimbabwean writer. Life and career Mungoshi was born on 2 December 1947 at Manyene, near Chivhu, in Zimbabwe. He was educated at St Augustine's, Penhalonga. After leaving ...

, was writing, or that his brother had even written them. In 1975, he enrolled for a BA in English and History at the

University of Rhodesia The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It was opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the Univers ...

. Mungoshi was a teacher for most of his life, and taught at various institutions, including the

University of Zimbabwe The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It was opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the Univers ...

. Mungoshi was also an actor, and until 2011 featured in the local soap opera ''Studio 263'', as well as the short film, ''The Postman'', and the feature film ''Secrets''. He lived in

Gweru Gweru, originally known as Gwelo, is a city in central Zimbabwe. It is on the centre of Midlands Province. Originally an area known to the Ndebele as "The Steep Place" because of the Gweru River's high banks, in 1894 it became the site of a m ...

after his retirement.

Awards

He won the 2010

National Arts Merit Awards The National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA Awards) is a set of annual awards granted by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) in recognition of outstanding achievements in the arts and culture. The categories have differed over the years. In 20 ...

Outstanding Fiction Book for ''The Fading Sun''

Family

He is the brother of

Death

He died on 29 August 2020.

Bibliography

* ''Stains on the Wall'' (1992) * ''Live like an Artist'' * ''Broken Dream And Other Stories'' * ''The Fading Sun'' (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mungoshi, David 1949 births 2020 deaths Zimbabwean writers Zimbabwean male actors Zimbabwean educators People from Bulawayo