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Charles Mungoshi

チャールズ・ラヴモア・マンゴシ

Charles Lovemore Mungoshi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1947-12-02 （Manyene, near Chivhu）
Died
2019-02-16 （Harare, Zimbabwe） age 71
Nationality
Zimbabwean
Languages
Shona, English
Residence History
Manyene (near Chivhu) → Harare

Career

Occupations
Writer, Editor, Actor
Active Years
1970-2019
Affiliations
Literature Bureau (worked as editor), Zimbabwe Publishing House (worked)

Education

St Augustine's, Penhalonga
Country: Zimbabwe
University of Zimbabwe
Degree: 名誉学位
Country: Zimbabwe
Received an honorary degree from the university

Awards

Noma Award
1992
Organization: Noma Award committee
Result: 受賞
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Africa Region)
1988
Category: Africa Region
Organization: Commonwealth Writers
Result: 受賞
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Africa Region)
1998
Category: Africa Region
Organization: Commonwealth Writers
Result: 受賞
National Arts Merit Award (Outstanding Fiction)
2014
Work: Branching Streams Flow in the Dark
Category: Outstanding Fiction Book
Organization: National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
Result: 受賞
International PEN Awards
1975
Work: A Shona novel (Makunun'unu Maodzamoyo) and the English collection Some Kinds of Wounds
Organization: International PEN
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Coming of the Dry Season

1972 Novel

One of his early English works, depicting personal growth against the backdrop of colonial-era challenges.

ColonialismComing of age

Some Kinds of Wounds

1975 Short story collection

An English short story collection reflecting oppression under colonial rule and interpersonal dynamics; parts faced censorship at the time.

OppressionIndividual and society

Makunun'unu Maodzamoyo

1977 Novel (Shona)

An early Shona novel by Mungoshi that delves into conflicts in traditional society and individual anguish.

Tradition vs changePersonal suffering

Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura?

1983 Novel (Shona)

A Shona-language work addressing silence and expression; it won several awards.

SilenceExpression and repression

Branching Streams Flow in the Dark

2013 Novel

One of his later major works weaving family, history, and personal memory; it won the 2014 National Arts Merit Award.

FamilyMemoryHistory

Bibliography

  • Coming of the Dry Season (1972)
  • Ndiko Kupindana Kwamazuva (1975)
  • Waiting for the Rain (1975)
  • Makunun'unu Maodzamoyo (1977)
  • Inongova Njake Njake (1980)
  • Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura? (1983)
  • The Setting Sun and the Rolling World (1987)
  • Stories from a Childhood (1989)
  • One Day Long Ago: More Stories from a Shona Childhood (1991)
  • Walking Still (1997)
  • The Milkman Doesn't Only Deliver Milk (1998)
  • Branching Streams Flow in the Dark (2013)
  • How the World Will End (2017)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Concise, direct narrationIncorporation of Shona idioms and colloquial speech
Recurring Motifs
Colonialism and its aftereffectsSilence and voiceFamily and traditionIndividual suffering

Legacy

Charles Mungoshi, writing in Shona and English, was a major figure in Zimbabwean literature. His works addressing colonialism, social oppression and family earned recognition both locally and internationally.

Academic Societies

  • University of Zimbabwe (associated)

In Popular Culture

  • Influenced Zimbabwean literature and theatre; participated in local drama series.

Trivia

  • His brother is the writer David Mungoshi.
  • He was married to actress Jesesi Mungoshi.
  • Some of his works were censored or banned during the colonial period.
  • He had five children.
  • Two works published in 1975 (one in Shona and one in English) won International PEN Awards.