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Versions of Zimbabwe: New approaches to literature and culture
Robert Muponde and Ranka Primorac
May 27, 2005

http://www.weaverpresszimbabwe.com/lit/litframeset.htm?versions_of_zim.htm

Versions of Zimbabwe: new approaches to literature and culture is a first of its kind: in a turbulent historical moment, the book asks questions about how Zimbabwe's creative literature may be related to its history and politics. The result of a collaboration of scholars situated both in Southern Africa and overseas, the book addresses Zimbabwean literature and culture from angles that have hitherto remained overshadowed.

Literary texts imagine multiple versions of Zimbabwe, and only a multiplicity of opinions can do Zimbabwe true justice: Versions of Zimbabwe places a deliberate emphasis on plurality, inclusiveness and the breaking of boundaries. Chapters on internationally celebrated authors such as Yvonne Vera, Dambudzo Marechera and Alexandra Fuller appear alongside discussions of writers not widely known outside Zimbabwe, and critical examinations of literary works in three languages are complemented by discussions of film and autobiography/memoir.

In an attempt to end the needless segregation of Zimbabwean writing, several chapters discuss white Zimbabwean authors in comparison to black ones; yet others engage with the neglected topic of Zimbabwean poetry.

In all these ways, Versions of Zimbabwe: new approaches to literature and culture makes a stand against rigidly proscriptive attitudes and in favour of a plurality of textual stances and approaches.

2005
ISBN 1 77922 036 7
Territory: Zimbabwe

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