Panashe Chigumadzi (born 1991) is a Zimbabwean-born journalist, essayist and novelist, who was raised in South Africa.

Background

Born in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, Zimbabwe, in 1991, Chigumadzi grew up in South Africa. She has published her writing in a variety of media. She has been a columnist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

'', ''

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'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', '' New York Review of Books'' and '' Chimurenga''. She was a founder of ''VANGUARD'', a magazine designed to give space to young, black South African women interested in how queer identities, pan-Africanism and Black Consciousness intersect. At the start of her career, Chigumadzi worked as a reporter for CNBC Africa. Chigumadzi draws on the history of Zimbabwe in her work, by exploring national and personal histories and identities. Her first novel, ''Sweet Medicine'', was published in 2015, winning the

K Sello Duiker Memorial Literary Award The South African Literary Awards (SALA) have been awarded annually since 2005 to exceptional South African writers. They "pay tribute to South African writers who have distinguished themselves as ground-breaking producers and creators of litera ...

. Her 2017 narrative essay ''These Bones Will Rise Again'' drew on Shona perspectives to explore the concept of the "Mothers of the Nation" and interrogating perceptions of

Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana also known as Mbuya Nehanda ( 1840–1898) was a '' svikiro'', or spirit medium of the Zezuru Shona people. She was a medium of Nehanda, a female Shona mhondoro (a powerful and respected ancestral spirit). As one of t ...

in Zimbabwe. While studying and writing on the legacies of Zimbabwe's struggle for independence, Chigumadzi also writes about modern identities for southern Africans. She has written on the complexities of identity dismantling the notion of a colourblind, post-Apartheid South Africa, through a reclamation of the term "coconut". She is outspoken about the need for decolonisation at national and at personal levels. Her 2019 essay "Why I'm No Longer Talking to Nigerians About Race" discussed her experience at the Aké Arts and Book Festival on a panel discussing whether

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

has relevance in Africa. Chigumadzi argued that, yes, in a continent with such different experiences of racialisation under colonialism, it did. In 2015, Chigumadzi was Programme Curator of the first Abantu Book Festival. In addition to her writing on literature and literary criticism, she regularly appears on

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

radio. She is also a contributor to the 2019 anthology '' New Daughters of Africa'', edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let' ...

. In late2021, Chigumadzi wrote on the concept of the

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: ''Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All the ...

philosophy for ''

'' and how restoration is a necessary part of reconciliation in postcolonial societies such as South Africa. Indeed:

Writings

Books

*''Sweet Medicine'' ( Blackbird Books, 2015) – a novel exploring the 2008 economic crisis in Zimbabw * ''These Bones Will Rise Again'' (Indigo Books, 2017) – a mixture of memoir and historical essay exploring nation-building in Zimbabwe Paperback edition. *''Beautiful Hair for Landless People'' (forthcoming)

Acknowledgements

Awards

in 2016 for ''Sweet Medicine'' * Ruth First Journalism Fellowship, 2015

Reception

Chigumadzi's work has been studied widely, particularly within post-colonial studies. Her writing on the use of charms in ''Sweet Medicine'' led to further studies on healthcare and traditional practices in Zimbabwe. Her focus on strong female characters living in economic precarity has been explored in terms of their religious beliefs and the reflection they may give to contemporary life.

Education

Chigumadzi grew up in South Africa. She studied at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

; while there she was part of the "Transform Wits Movement", which called for significant changes to southern Africa's universities. As part of her doctoral study at the

Hutchins Center for African and African American Research The Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, also known as the Hutchins Center, is affiliated with Harvard University. The Center supports scholarly research on the history and culture of people of African descent around the world, ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, she has written about the Rhodes Must Fall protests she witnessed at the University of the Witwatersrand.

References

External links

Panashe Chigumadzi website
* Bwesigye Bwa Mwesigire
"Between Our Selves: An Interview with Panashe Chigumadzi"
''This Is Africa'', 16 June 2016. * Geoff Ryman
"Special Interview: Panashe Chigumadzi"
''Strange Horizons''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chigumadzi, Panashe 1991 births 21st-century novelists 21st-century Zimbabwean women writers Date of birth missing (living people) English-language writers from Zimbabwe Harvard University alumni Living people University of the Witwatersrand alumni Zimbabwean essayists Zimbabwean expatriates in South Africa Zimbabwean novelists Zimbabwean women journalists Zimbabwean women writers Zimbabwean writers