Dambudzo Marechera
Dambudzo Marechera was a prominent Zimbabwean writer born in 1952 in Vengere Township, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). His early life was marked by tragedy, including the death of his father and the hardships faced by his family, which influenced his powerful literary voice. Marechera gained recognition for his debut collection, *The House of Hunger*, published in 1978, which captured the struggles of Zimbabwean intellectuals under oppressive regimes. His writing often reflected his tumultuous experiences, including a turbulent academic career that included expulsions from both the University of Rhodesia and New College, Oxford.
As a writer, Marechera was known for his avant-garde style and critical perspective on both colonial and post-colonial governments, which led to his work being banned at times. His novel *Black Sunlight*, published in 1980, explored themes of absurdity in a nuclear age but received mixed reviews. Despite his struggles with mental health and substance abuse, he continued to produce influential works until his untimely death from AIDS-related complications in 1987. Today, Marechera is viewed as a cult figure in African literature, and his posthumous publications, including *Cemetery of Mind* and *The Black Insider*, continue to resonate with readers seeking to understand the complexities of Zimbabwean identity and experience.
Subject Terms
Dambudzo Marechera
Zimbabwean novelist, short fiction writer, and poet.
- Born: June 4, 1952
- Birthplace: Vengere Township, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)
- Died: August 18, 1987
- Place of death: Harare, Zimbabwe
Biography
Dambudzo Marechera was born in 1952 in Vengere Township, Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. His father, Isaac, was a mortuary attendant and his mother, Masuotwa Venezia, was a nanny. His father died when he was thirteen, and his mother and her nine children were evicted and forced to live in a shanty town. Marechera became deeply disturbed by the fact that his mother had to work as a prostitute to feed and educate the family. His childhood was a difficult time for many blacks in Rhodesia, who were subject to frequent police brutality during the guerrilla fighting which lasted from 1966 until 1979.
Marechera won a place at St. Augustine’s Anglican Mission School, an elite school for black students. Here, his talent was recognized and he was encouraged to study English and read widely. After reading the Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o, he decided he also wanted to be a writer. He gained a scholarship to the University of Rhodesia, but after a series of student riots he was expelled in 1973. He won another scholarship, this time to New College, Oxford University, where he began studying English in 1974. However, at this university he also was considered a disruptive influence, and faced with the choice of seeking psychiatric help for his paranoia and alcoholism or being expelled, he chose to leave.
He then began a career as a tramp writer, living on the edges of society, often with hippies or squatters. Nevertheless, his first collection of short stories was snapped up by the Heinemann publishing house for its African Writers series. The collection, The House of Hunger: Short Stories, was published in 1978 and contained a novella and eight short stories. It centered around a generation of lost Zimbabwean intellectuals, disrupted by the restrictiveness of the white minority government. Marechera was immediately proclaimed a new voice in African literature, even though many of his influences were European, such as James Joyce and Günter Grass. He received the 1979 Guardian Fiction Prize. His novel, Black Sunlight, emerged out of his disintegrating life in 1980. It centers round a photographer in an urban guerrilla gang and deals with the absurdities of life in a nuclear age. The book was less well received than his earlier publication, with some critics complaining the plot was incoherent.
With the downfall of the white government in Zimbabwe, Marechera returned in 1982, ostensibly to help film House of Hunger. He immediately became as critical of the new black government as he was of the previous white one; he frequently was in trouble with the authorities and his work briefly was banned. He wrote Mindblast: Or, The Definitive Buddy from a park bench. He also spoke and lectured, but his health was failing because of alcohol abuse and poor diet.
In 1987, he was diagnosed with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and he died on August 18, 1987. Marchere died a cult figure, but with his early anger somewhat abated. His unpublished was published posthumously through a trust that was set up by sympathizers. This work included the novel The Black Insider, written while he was in the United Kingdom; D.M.: A Sourcebook on his Life and Work, 1982-1987, a collection of stories, plays, and poems; and Cemetery of Mind: Collected Poems of Dambudzo Marechera.
Author Works
Long Fiction:
Black Sunlight, 1980
The Black Insider, 1990
Miscellaneous:
Mindblast: Or, The Definitive Buddy, 1984
D.M.: A Sourcebook on his Life and Work, 1982-1987, 1988
Scrapiron Blues, 1994
Poetry:
Cemetery of Mind: Collected Poems of Dambudzo Marechera, 1992
Short Fiction:
The House of Hunger: Short Stories, 1978
Bibliography
Cairnie, Julie, and Dobrota Pucherova. Moving Spirit: The Legacy of Dambudzo Marechera in the 21st Century. LIT, 2012. A collection of essays about Marechera's life and work, as well as fiction and art inspired by Marechera.
Hamilton, Grant, editor. Reading Marechera. James Currey, 2013. A collection of scholarly essays on Marechera's work.
Veit-Wild, Flora, and Anthony Chennells, editors. Emerging Perspectives on Dambudzo Marechera. Africa World Press, 1999. A collection of scholarly essays on Marechera's work.