Zakes Mda ( ), legally Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda (born 1948) is a South African

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and he is the son of politician A. P. Mda. He has won major South African and British literary awards for his novels and plays. He is currently a Patron of the

Etisalat Prize for Literature The 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature 2013–16) was created by Etisalat Nigeria in 2013, and is the first ever pan-African prize celebrating first-time African writers of published fiction books.

Early life and education

Zanemvula Mda was born in Herschel, South Africa, in 1948. and completed the Cambridge Overseas Certificate at Peka High School, Lesotho, in 1969. He pursued his BFA (Visual Arts and Literature) at the International Academy of Arts and Literature, Zurich, Switzerland, in 1976. He completed a MFA (Theater) and a MA (Mass Communication and Media) in 1984 at

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

, United States. He completed his PhD at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

, South Africa, in 1989.

Career

When he started publishing, he adopted the pen name of Zakes Mda. In addition to writing novels and plays, he taught English and creative writing in South Africa and the United Kingdom. Most recently, he went to the United States, where he became a professor in the English Department at

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city and the county seat of Athens County, Ohio. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Athens is best known as the home of Ohio Universit ...

. He has been a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

Yale 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 wor ...

and the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

. As of July 2021, he is a Lecturer in Advanced Academic Programs at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. Mda is a founding member and currently (as of 2011) serves on the advisory board of African Writers Trust,"Advisory Board"
African Writers Trust. Retrieved 24 August 2011. "a non-profit entity which seeks to coordinate and bring together African writers in the Diaspora and writers on the continent to promote sharing of skills and other resources, and to foster knowledge and learning between the two groups.""What is African Writers Trust?"
African Writers Trust. Retrieved 24 August 2011.Lamwaka, Beatrice
"Goretti Kyomuhendo of African Writers Trust"
, 22 May 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011. On 8 June 2012, Mda was awarded an honorary doctorate of the

for his contributions to world literature.Doctoral acceptance speech
live broadcast from UCT Website on 8 June 2012. His novels have been translated into 21 languages, the translation of ''Ways of Dying'' into Turkish being the latest.

Literary works

Mda's first novel, ''

Ways of Dying ''Ways of Dying'' is a 1995 novel by South African novelist and playwright Zakes Mda. The text follows the wanderings and creative endeavors of Toloki, a self-employed professional mourner, as he traverses an unnamed South African city during ...

'' (1995), takes place during the transitional years that marked South Africa's transformation into a democratic nation. It follows the character of Toloki. After finding himself destitute, he invents a profession as a "Professional Mourner." He traverses the violent urban landscape of an unnamed South African city, finding an old love amidst the internecine fighting present in the townships and

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

settlements. ''The Heart of Redness'' (2000), Mda's third novel, is inspired by the history of Nongqawuse, a

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

prophetess whose prophecies catalyzed the Cattle Killing of 1856–1857. Xhosa culture split between Believers and Unbelievers, adding to existing social strain, famine and social breakdown. It is believed that 20,000 people died of starvation during that time. In the novel, Mda continually shifts back and forth between the present day and the time of Nongqawuse to show the complex interplay between history and myth. He dramatizes the uncertain future of a culture whose troubled relationship with the colonizing force of Empire, as well as their own civil factions, threatens to extinguish their home of Qolorha-by-Sea. Mda's account of the Cattle Killing draws heavily on that of historian Jeff Peires in his book ''The Dead Will Arise'' (Mda acknowledges this at the outset of his novel). Like Peires, Mda identifies Mhlkaza, Nongqawuse's uncle and one of the key players in the event, with William Goliath, the first Xhosa person baptised in the Anglican church.

Bibliography

* (1977) ''New South African Writing'' * (1979) ''We Shall Sing for the Fatherland'' * (1979) ''Dead End'' * (1979) ''Dark Voices Ring'' * (1980) ''The Hill'' * (1982) ''Banned: A Play for Radio'' * (1982) ''Summer Fires'' * (1986) ''Bits of Debris: The Poetry of Zakes Mda'' * (1988) ''And the Girls in their Sunday Dresses'' * (1989) ''Joys of War'' * (1990) ''The Plays of Zakes Mda'' * (1991) ''The Nun's Romantic Story'' * (1992) ''Soho Square'' * (1993) ''When People Play People'' * (1993) ''And the Girls in Their Sunday Dresses: Four Works'' * (1995) ''

'' * (1995) ''She Plays with the Darkness'' * (1998) ''Melville 67'' * (2000) ''

The Heart of Redness ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' * (2002) ''The Madonna of Excelsior'' * (2002) ''Fools, Bells and the Importance of Eating: Three Satires'' * (2005) '' The Whale Caller'' * (2007) ''Cion'' * (2009) ''Black Diamond'' * (2011) ''Sometimes There is a Void: Memoirs of an Outsider'' * (2012) ''Our Lady of Benoni'' * (2013) ''The Sculptors of Mapungubwe'' * (2014) ''Rachel's Blue'' * (2015) ''Little Suns'' * (2019) ''The Zulus of New York'' * (2021) ''Wayfarers' Hymns''

Awards

* 1978:

Amstel Playwright of the Year Award The Amstel Playwright of the Year Award, an independent non-governmental prize, was launched in South Africa in 1978. It recognised South African playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is ...

, special merit award for ''We Shall Sing for the Fatherland'' * 1979:

, winner for ''The Hill'' * 1997: M-Net Book Prize, ''Ways of Dying'' * 2001: Commonwealth Writers' Prize: Africa, ''The Heart of Redness'' * 2001:

Hurston-Wright Legacy Award The Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards program honors Black writers in the United States and around the globe for literary achievement. Introduced in 2001, the Legacy Award was the first national award presented to Black writers by a national organizatio ...

, ''The Heart of Redness'' * 2001: ''Sunday Times'' Fiction Prize, ''The Heart of Redness'' * 2004: Top Ten South African Books published in the Decade of Democracy, ''The Madonna of Excelsior'' * 2017: Barry Ronge Fiction Prize, ''Little Suns''

References