Charles Lovemore Mungoshi was one of Africa's most polished and salient writers. He was a superb writer of fiction, both novels and the shorter variety. During his lifetime, he garnered both plaudits and significant laurels.
Like South Africa's
Gomolemo Mokae, Mungoshi excelled in creating and writing in both his mother
tongue (Shona) and in a major European language (English). From a very early
age, his formidable literary talent was obvious to aficionados.
Mungoshi also wrote fine poetry, which can be gleaned from his general works, especially in his last major published work, Branching Streams flow in the dark. He also wrote books targeting
children.
Mungoshi also wrote fine poetry, which can be gleaned from his general works, especially in his last major published work, Branching Streams flow in the dark. He also wrote books targeting
children.
His work straddled the
past and present, and his early book, Coming of the Dry Season, is regarded as
something of a masterpiece by many. He went on to publish drama too; with his
work always invariably impressing the pundits. He was also conferred with
honorary degrees.
Remarkably, he won the Noma Award in 1992 and the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region) twice in the years 1988 and 1998. He also garnered the International PEN Award - again, twice!
Alas, many years before he breathed his last in February last year (2019) there was concern in the literary world over his deteriorating health. Apparently, he also had some difficulty in publishing Branching Streams Flow In The Dark, although when the work finally came out, it was not only well received but garnered awards too.
Zimbabwe has produced
quite a number of world class writers, male and female, and Charles Mungoshi
has gone down as one of the best.
SELECTED WORKS
• Coming of the Dry Season (1972)
• Ndiko Kupindana Kwamazuva (1975)
• Waiting for the Rain (1975)
• Inongova Njake Njake (1980)
• Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura? (1983)
• The Setting Sun and Rolling World (1987)
• One Day Long Ago: More Stories from a Shona Childhood (1991)
• Walking Still (short stories; 1997)
• The Milkman Doesn't Only Deliver Milk (1998)
• Branching Streams flow in the dark (2013)
