Yvonne Vera (19 September 1964 – 7 April 2005) was an author from
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
. Her first published book was a collection of short stories, ''Why Don't You Carve Other Animals'' (1992), which was followed by five novels: ''Nehanda'' (1993), ''Without a Name'' (1994), ''Under the Tongue'' (1996), ''Butterfly Burning'' (1998), and ''The Stone Virgins'' (2002). Her novels are known for their poetic prose, difficult subject-matter, and their strong women characters, and are firmly rooted in Zimbabwe's difficult past. For these reasons, she has been widely studied and appreciated by those studying postcolonial
African literature
African literature is literature from Africa, either oral ("orature") or written in African and Afro-Asiatic languages. Examples of pre-colonial African literature can be traced back to at least the fourth century AD. The best-known is the '' K ...
.
Life
Vera was born in
Bulawayo
Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...
, in what was then
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing colony, self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The reg ...
, to Jerry Vera and Ericah Gwetai.
[
] At the age of eight, she worked as a
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
-picker near
Hartley
Hartley may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hartley, New South Wales
* Hartley, South Australia
** Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district
Canada
*Hartley Bay, British Columbia
United Kingdom
* Hartley, Cumbria
* Hartley, Pl ...
.
[
]
She attended
Mzilikazi High School
Mzilikazi High School (also known locally, in Ndebele, as eMgandane), is a government-maintained F1 (i.e. academic) secondary school named in recognition of the Ndebele king Mzilikazi, the founder of the Ndebele Nation. The School is in the city ...
and then taught English literature at
Njube High School, both in Bulawayo. In 1987, she immigrated to Canada and she married John Jose, a Canadian teacher whom she had met while he was teaching at Njube. At some point in the late 1980s, Vera was diagnosed as HIV-positive, but never shared this information during her lifetime.
At
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...
,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, she completed an undergraduate
degree, a
master's
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. and a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
, and taught literature.
[
]
In 1995, Vera separated from her husband and returned to Zimbabwe. In 1997 she became director of the
National Gallery of Zimbabwe
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) is a gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, dedicated to the presentation and conservation of Zimbabwe's contemporary art and visual heritage. The original National Gallery of Rhodesia was designed and directed by F ...
in
Bulawayo
Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...
, a gallery that showcases local talent ranging from that of professional artists to school children. She resigned in May 2003 because of the withdrawal of government funding, an exodus of local artists and a drop in visitors. In 2004, Vera returned to Canada
[ with Jose to seek treatment. She died on 7 April 2005 of ]AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...
-related meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...
.[ Subscription required.][
]
Awards
* 1994: Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...
(Africa) and Zimbabwe Publishers' Literary Award, for ''Without a Name''
* 2002: Macmillan Writers' Prize for Africa for ''The Stone Virgins''[
* 2003: ]National Arts Merit Awards
The National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA Awards) is a set of annual awards granted by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) in recognition of outstanding achievements in the arts and culture.
The categories have differed over the years. In 20 ...
for Best Written Work.
Works
While at university, Vera submitted a story to a Toronto magazine: the publisher asked for more, so she sat down to write them.[ Her collection of short stories, ''Why Don't You Carve Other Animals'', was published in 1992. It was followed by five completed novels:
*''Nehanda'' (Baobab Books, 1993), shortlisted for ]Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...
[
*''Without a Name'' (Baobab Books, 1994), awarded Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Africa][ and Zimbabwe Publishers' Literary Award][
*''Under the Tongue'' (Baobab Books, 1996)
*'' Butterfly Burning'' (1998), awarded a German literary prize, LiBeraturpreis, in 2002
*''The Stone Virgins'' (2002), awarded Macmillan Writers' Prize for Africa; extracted in '' 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"Le ...
, 2029
At the time of her death Vera was working on a new novel, ''Obedience'', which has never been published. Her other works have been published in Zimbabwe, Canada and several other countries, including translations into Spanish, Italian and Swedish.
Vera wrote obsessively, often for 10 hours a day, and described time when she was not writing as "a period of fasting".[ Her work was passionate and lyrical. She took on themes such as rape, incest and infanticide, and gender inequality in Zimbabwe before and after the country's ]war of independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence.
List
See also
* Lists of active separatist movements
* List of civil wars
* List of ...
with sensitivity and courage. She said: "I would love to be remembered as a writer who had no fear for words and who had an intense love for her nation."[ In 2004 she was awarded the Swedish PEN Tucholsky Prize "for a corpus of works dealing with taboo subjects".
Vera also edited several anthologies by African women writers,][ including ''Opening Spaces: an Anthology of Contemporary African Women's Writing'' (Heinemann ]African Writers Series
The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003.
The series has provided an international audience for ...
, 1999).''Opening Spaces: an Anthology of Contemporary African Women's Writing''
at Amazon.
See also
* Nehanda 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 ...
* TSAR Publications
References
*Robert Muponde and Mandivavarira Maodzwa-Taruvinga, eds, ''Sign and Taboo: Perspectives on the Poetic Fiction of Yvonne Vera'' (Harare: , 2002)
Publisher's review
at postcolonial Literature in English.
External links
Yvonne Vera archives
are held at the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University Libraries
York University Libraries (YUL) is the library system of York University in Toronto, Ontario. The four main libraries and one archives contain more than 2,500,000 volumes.
History
The first York library opened in 1961 at Glendon College and ...
, Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
Interview with ''Financial Gazette''
2002
* Jane Bryce
Interview with Yvonne Vera
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 1 August 2000. Published in ''Sign and Taboo'' (Harare: Weaver Press, 2002).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vera, Yvonne
1964 births
2005 deaths
20th-century novelists
20th-century short story writers
20th-century Zimbabwean women writers
20th-century Zimbabwean writers
21st-century Zimbabwean women writers
21st-century Zimbabwean writers
AIDS-related deaths in Canada
Alumni of Mzilikazi High School
Deaths from meningitis
Neurological disease deaths in Ontario
People from Bulawayo
Women anthologists
Women novelists
York University alumni
Zimbabwean expatriates in Canada
Zimbabwean novelists
Zimbabwean short story writers
Zimbabwean women short story writers