Prolific writer and poet, Chenjerai Hove has died.
He passed away in Norway of liver failure ZimEye.com can reveal.
Family sources confirmed to ZimEye.com the man died and plans are underway to repatriate his body to Harare. His friend Dr Chirikure-Chirikure said he died on Sunday afternoon of liver failure.
“He died of liver failure,” Chrikure said.
He had been in political exile, in Europe for several years.
He was born in Mazvihwa near Zvishavane in 1956 and attended school at Kutama College and Marist Brothers in Dete, near Hwange.
He became a teacher and then took degrees at the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the University of Zimbabwe.
He has also worked as a journalist, and contributed to the anthology ‘And Now the Poets Speak.’
Hove has published numerous novels, poetry anthologies and collections of essays and reflections and one of his pieces stands bold as one of Zimbabwe’s great scripts of the millennium – READ MORE– Click here.
His publications include:
•    And Now the Poets Speak (co-editor; poetry), 1981
•    Up In Arms (poetry), Harare: Zimbabwe Publishing House, 1982
•    Red Hills of Home (poetry), 1984; Gweru: Mambo Press, 1985.
•    Bones (novel), Harare: Baobab Books, 1988; Heineman International AWS, 1989. ISBN 0-435-90576-7
•    Shadows (novel), Harare: Baobab Books, 1991; Heinemann International Literature and Textbooks, 1992. ISBN 0-435-90591-0
•    Shebeen Tales: Messages from Harare (journalistic essays), Harare: Baobab Books/London: Serif, 1994
•    Rainbows in the Dust (poetry), 1997
•    Guardians of the Soil (cultural reflections by Zimbabwe’s elders), 1997. ISBN 0-908311-88-5
•    Ancestors (novel), 1997. ISBN 0-330-34490-0
•    Desperately Seeking Europe (co-author; essays on European identity), 2003
•    Palaver Finish, essays on politics and life in Zimbabwe, 2003
•    Blind Moon (poetry), 2004. ISBN 1-77922-019-7
•    The Keys of Ramb (children’s story), 2004
Honours and awards
•    1983 Special Commendations for the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa, for Up in Arms
•    1984 Inaugural President, Zimbabwe Writers Union
•    1988 Winner, Zimbabwe Literary Award, for Bones
•    1989 Winner, Noma Award for Publishing In Africa, for Bones
•    1990 Founding Board Member, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimrights)
•    1991-94 Writer-in-Residence, University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
•    1994 Visiting Professor, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon, USA
•    1995 Guest Writer, Yorkshire and Humberside Arts and Leeds University, UK
•    1996 Guest Writer, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany
•    1998 Second Prize, Zimbabwe Literary Award, for Ancestors
•    2001 German-Africa Prize for literary contribution to freedom of expression
•    2007-08 International Writers Project Fellow, Brown University
 
More to follow…