Frank Mkalawile Chipasula (born 16 October 1949) is a
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
an writer, editor and university professor, "easily one of the best of the known writers in the discourse of Malawian letters".
Life
Born in
Luanshya
Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 (2008 census).
Luanshya was founded in the early part of the 20th century after two prospector/explorer, William Collier shot and killed a Roan A ...
,
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...
, Frank Chipasula attended St. Peter's Primary School on Likoma Island, Soche Hill Day Secondary School, Malosa Secondary School, Chancellor College,
University of Malawi
The University of Malawi (UNIMA) is a public university established in 1965 and until 4 May 2021, when the university underwent a delinking, was composed of four constituent colleges located in Zomba, Blantyre, and Lilongwe. Of the four colleges, ...
,
and, finally, the Great East Road Campus of the
University of Zambia
The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...
,
Lusaka
Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
, where he graduated
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
, in exile, in 1976. Before leaving Malawi, Chipasula had worked as a freelance broadcaster for the
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation
The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation is a state-run radio company in Malawi. It was founded in 1964. It has two radio stations, Radio 1 and Radio 2, and transmits on FM, Medium Wave and Shortwave frequencies and Online.
It also runs the nationa ...
while studying English and French at the university. In Lusaka, he served as English Editor for the
National Education Company of Zambia, his first publishers, following his graduation from the
University of Zambia
The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...
.
In 1978 Chipasula went into exile in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
as a result of the
Hastings Banda
Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898 – 25 November 1997) was the Prime Minister of Malawi, prime minister and later President of Malawi, president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994 (from 1964 to 1966, Malawi was an independent Dominion / Commonwealth realm) ...
government, studying for his
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in Creative Writing at Brown University, a second
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in African American Studies at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
and gaining a
Ph.D
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
in
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
in 1987.
[Chipasula, Frank, "Epiphany blazing into the head: the quest for inner truth and transcendence in W.B. Yeats's verse drama", PhD dissertation, Brown University, 1987.] Previously a professor of
Black Studies at the
University of Nebraska at Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...
and
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
, Chipasula has also worked as the education attache at the Malawian embassy in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
His first book, ''
Visions and Reflections'' (1972), is also the first published poetry volume in English by a Malawian writer. As well as poetry, which has been widely anthologised, he has written radio plays and fiction.
Since January 10, 1976, Chipasula has been married to Stella, a former school teacher, whom he met in Mulanje, Malawi, in 1972. They have two grown children, James Masauko Mgeni Akuzike and Helen Chipo.
Achievements
* Honourable mention
Noma Award The Noma Prizes were established by Shoichi Noma, or in his honor. More than one award is conventionally identified as the ''Noma Prize''. Noma was the former head of Kodansha, the Japanese publishing and bookselling company. Kodansha is Japan' ...
, 1985
* BBC Poetry Prize, 1989
*In 2018, Frank Chipasula organized the Women's Poetry Festival in Malawi
Works
* ''Visions and Reflections'', Lusaka: NEZCAM, 1972.
* ''O Earth, Wait for Me'', Johannesburg: Ravan Press, 1984.
* (ed.) ''When My Brothers Come Home: Poems from Central and Southern Africa'', Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press; Scranton, Pa.: Distributed by Harper & Row, 1985.
* ''Nightwatcher, Bightsong'', Peterborough: P. Green, 1986.
* ''Whispers in the Wings: Poems'', Heinemann, 1991.
African Writers Series
The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann (publisher), Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003.
The series has provided an int ...
.
* ''A Decade in Poetry'', Lusaka: Kenneth Kaunda Foundation, 1991.
* (ed. with Stella Chipasula) ''The Heinemann Book of African Women's Poetry'', Heinemann, 1995.
* ''On the Shoulders of the Mountain: A Selection of Poems'', 2007.
* (ed.) ''Bending the Bow: An Anthology of African Love Poetry'', Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2009.
References
Biography with picture at creighton.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chipasula, Frank
1949 births
Living people
Malawian writers
Malawian academics
Brown University alumni
Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
University of Zambia alumni
University of Malawi alumni
People from Luanshya
University of Nebraska Omaha faculty
Howard University faculty