Chirikure Chirikure (born 1962), is a Zimbabwean poet, songwriter, and writer. He is a graduate of the

University of Zimbabwe The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It 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 University o ...

and an Honorary Fellow of

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, US. He worked with one of Zimbabwe's leading publishing houses as an editor/publisher for 17 years, until 2002. He now runs a literary agency and also works as a

performance poet Performance poetry is a broad term, encompassing a variety of styles and genres. In brief, it is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe ...

, cultural consultant and translator.

Literary career

He has contributed some pieces in a

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people * Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today Shona may also refer to: * ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing * Shona (given name) * S ...

poetry anthology, ''Zviri Muchinokoro'' (2005, ZPH Publishers). He has written and translated a number of children's stories and published some educational textbooks, and has also been an occasional contributor to the print media and ran a radio programme for young Shona writers. Chirikure performs his poetry solo and/or with his

mbira Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...

music ensemble. He has recorded an album of poetry and music, ''Napukeni'' (2002), with his colleagues, DeteMbira Group. He has also written lyrics for a number of leading Zimbabwean musicians and he occasionally performs with some of these musicians.

Prizes

All of Chirikure's poetry books received first prizes in the annual Zimbabwe writer of the year awards. His first volume, ''Rukuvhute'', also received an Honorable Mention in the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa, in 1990. His other book, ''Hakurarwi – We Shall not Sleep'', was selected as one of the 75 Best Zimbabwean Books of the 20th Century in a competition run by the

Zimbabwe International Book Fair The Zimbabwe International Book Fair was held for the first time in 1983 in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. It was founded by David Martin (late), Phylis Johnson and Charles Mungoshi (late). Until the opening of the Cape Town Book Fair in 2006 i ...

in 2004. In that competition the same book got a prize as one of the best five Shona publications of the 20th century. Chirikure has participated in several local and international festivals and symposia over the years. He is married and has three children.

Bibliography

*''Rukuvhute'' (poetry in Shona) (1989), Harare: College Press *''Chamupupuri'' (poetry in Shona) (1994), Harare: College Press *''Hakurarwi – We Shall not Sleep'' (poetry in Shona, with English translations) (1994), Baobab Books *''Mavende aKiti'' (children's stories) (1989), Harare: College Press *''Zimbabwe Junior Certificate Shona Revision'' (1989), Harare: College Press *''Grade Seven Shona Revision'' (co-author), (1989), Harare: College Press *''Zviri Muchinokoro'' (co-author; poetry anthology), (2004), Harare: ZPH Publishers *''Aussicht auf eigene Schatten'' (poetry in Shona and English, with German translations) (2011), Heidelberg, Germany: Verlag Das Wunderhorn

Discography/audio recordings

*''Napukeni'' (album of mbira music and poetry) (2002), Tuku Music/ZMC, Harare *''Ray of Hope'' (Compilation album of AIDS awareness music), Rooftop Promotions, Harare *''Chisina Basa'' (album recorded in 2012), Rooftop Promotions, Harare

References

External links

Chirikure Chirikure
at Lyrikline.org, with audio of the author reading, Shona text, and translation. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chirikure 1962 births Living people Zimbabwean poets Zimbabwean male writers Male poets Zimbabwean musicians Alumni of Bernard Mizeki College University of Zimbabwe alumni International Writing Program alumni African poets