Julius Sekai Chingono (1946-2011) was a writer from Zimbabwe. He wrote poetry in
Shona and English.
Biography
Julius Sekai Chingono was born in Zimbabwe in 1946. He got his primary education at Mabvuku School, but dropped out of school at the age of 14 and worked as a rock blaster in the mining industry for most of his life. Chingono was inspired to pursue his education to become a writer and attended
Nyatsime College.
In 1960, at a commemoration at Mabvuku, he met
Walter Lambert Muparutsa
Walter Lambert Muparutsa (23 March 1941 - 12 April 2012) was a Zimbabwean writer and pioneering theatre practitioner.
Early life
Muparutsa grew up in the township of Mbare (then known as Harare) in the 1950s and 60s, where he developed his lov ...
, former editor of the Literature Bureau, and showed him his poem “My Old Shoe”. According to Muparutsa, a British colonial officer suggested he translate the poem in Shona, reflecting a bias against local writers publishing in English.
Chingono began his career writing for Shona and English magazines. He worked as a cadet reporter with journalists such as Justin Nyoka (later
Robert Mugabe's director of information), and wrote poetry along the way. His poetry has been published in several anthologies of Shona poetry such as Nhetembo, Mabvumira eNhetembo, and Gwenyambira between 1968 and 1980. His poetry in English has also been published in several South African and Zimbabwean anthologies: Flags of Love (Mireza yerudo) was published by Gazebo books in 1983; Flag of Rags was published by Quartz Press 1996.
In 2004, he attended the Uncwadi Writer's Conference in
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
with young writer,
Tinashe Mushakavanhu. He was a guest poet at festivals in Rotterdam (Poetry International: 2004), Durban (Time of the Writer: 2006) and Tel Aviv (Sha'ar International Poetry Festival: 2008).
Some of his work proved controversial: on 21 March 2009, speaking at an event for
World Poetry Day
World Poetry Day is celebrated on 21 March, and was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999, "with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the o ...
in
Bulawayo, Chingono was briefly detained after reading "My uniform", a poem treating police corruption and hunger in Zimbabwe; the poem was said to be offensive.
Chingono died on 2 January 2011 at age 65, after a short illness.
Published works
*''Ruvimbo'' (play)
*''Chipo Changu'' (novel)
*''Flags of Rags'' (poetry)
*''Kazwi'' (poetry)
*''Not Another Day'' (short stories and poems)
*Together (written with John Eppel)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chingono, Julius
1946 births
2011 deaths
Zimbabwean poets