Steve Bernard Miles Chimombo (4 September 1945 – 11 December 2015) was 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, poet, editor and teacher. He was born in Zomba.Chalamanda, Fiona Johnson "Steve Chimombo" ''The Literary Encyclopedia''. First published 8 January 2001.
Life
He was educated at Zomba Catholic Secondary School, then at the
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, ...
where he earned a B.A. At the
University of Wales
The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff †...
, he took a teaching diploma in ''English as a Second Language''. At
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
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 ...
, he was awarded his M.A. and Ph.D. in teaching. After studying at
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, England, Chimombo returned to Malawi to edit the literary bulletin ''Outlook-lookout''.
He was a professor of English at
Chancellor College
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, ...
in Malawi and was considered one of the nation's leading writers. In 1988 his ''Napolo Poems'' gained him honorable mention for the
Noma Award for Publishing in Africa The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa (''French:Le Prix Noma de Publication en Afrique''), which ran from 1980 to 2009, was an annual $10,000 prize for outstanding African writers and scholars who published in Africa. Within four years of its est ...
. He was married to Moira Chimombo.
The poet
Stanley Onjezani Kenani
Stanley Onjezani Kenani (born in 1976) is a Malawian writer of poetry and short stories.Profile from 11t ...
wrote the following appreciation of Chimombo: "Except for J.W. Gwengwe, D.D. Phiri,
Jack Mapanje
Jack Mapanje (born 25 March 1944)Francis Chipasula, I cannot think of any Malawian who has contributed more to Malawian literature than Prof. Chimombo." He died at the age of 70 on 11 December 2015 in Blantyre.
Works
Poetry
* ''Napolo Poems'', Manchichi Publishers, 1987
* ''Python! Python! An Epic Poem'', Wasi Publications, 1992
* ''Napolo and the Python'', Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1994,
* ''Malawian Oral Literature: The Aesthetics of Indigenous Arts'' (1988)
* ''The Culture of Democracy: Language, Literature, the Arts and Politics in Malawi, 1992–94'' (1996)