Chenjerai Hove

Chenjerai Hove, born in 1956 in Zvishavane, Zimbabwe, gives a voice in his poems and novels to the outcasts and those with no rights in the society of his home country. With glowing rage but without losing faith in humanity he writes in Shona and English about the challenges of colonial repression, disillusionment and bitterness in the face of the political situation in Zimbabwe. The harsh reaction and threats he received after publishing political and social-critical comments in the weekly magazine The Standard (2000-2002) caused him to leave his homeland and he now lives as a novelist and critic in Europe. He was awarded the Noma Prize in 1988 for his novel Bones.

Publications (a selection): Up in Arms (1982), Red Hills of Home (1985), Bones (1988), Ancestors (1996), Rainbows in the Dust (1998), Blind Moon (2003).

Awards (a selection): 1983 Special Commendations for the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa, for Up in Arms;1984 Inaugural President, Zimbabwe Writers Union;1988 Winner, Zimbabwe Literary Award, for Bones;1990 Founding Board Member, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimrights);1996 Guest Writer, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany;1998 Second Prize, Zimbabwe Literary Award, for Ancestors;2001 German-Africa Prize for literary contribution to freedom of expression