Tag: Zimbabwe

Tendai Huchu is a Zimbabwean novelist who resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.  In 2014, his debut work, The Hairdresser of Harare made the shortlist of the Caine Prize in Literature.  Set in the capital city, Harare, the story depicts the author’s childhood experiences in a rather bizarre form.  Now his second novel titled The Maestro, the Magistrate and the Mathematician, is set in Scotland in a story revolving around Zimbabweans in Diaspora.  In this encounter with Edozie Udeze in Abeokuta, Huchu says much about his home people, his life abroad and so on.

Tendai Huchu is a Zimbabwean novelist resident in Edinburgh, Scotland where his second novel is set.  An award winning author, Huchu is versed in both the Zimbabwean and Scottish cultures which have helped him in piecing his ideas together.  In this interview with The Nation while he was in Abeokuta, Ogun State, for the Ake Book and Arts Festival, Huchu said, “You’d say my first work is set in a hair dressing saloon.  It is because I am a dreadlock guy and that would seem more macho.  So the story naturally took off from there.  Now, I remember when I was younger, my mother used to take me to dressing saloons to make her hair.  At that time, I didn’t know I was unconsciously observing what was going on there,” he said.

Often, it is after a book is out that an author realises what really inspired his groove.  Huchu said as much.  “Yes, to be honest, it is after a book is out that you’d look back and rationalise the source, what engineered you to do it and so on.  It was so with me.  This was a book I wrote the first draft in twelve days.  It came to me really quickly.  I heard the voice of the lead character and it kept sticking in my mind.  That was how the story came to me and it came out x-raying those elements I used to observe while my mum was doing her hair.”

He didn’t realise what place The Hairdresser of Harare as a novel had in the annals of the Caine Prize until it made the shortlist years back.  Even though critics and close watchers of the development in the literary circle had problems narrowing down the book that would clinch the award in 2014, Huchu didn’t flinch a moment.  “The book was already out there.  It was the role of readers to read and make deductions.  The book that eventually won it is a fantastic book.  So, for me, when it was shortlisted it proved that the book has a lot to offer.  That year, nine stories were on the shortlist but the good thing is that it promotes literature in Africa.  And this is good for writers and for readers also.  That is the most important thing.

“The influence of Zimbabwean culture is very important to me.  For instance, my second novel is about Zimbabweans in Scotland.  Even then, we see the centre of universe as Harare in Zimbabwe and so my story took off from there.  So the characters revolve around that to show how much we carried our cultures over to Scotland.  The story says a lot about who we are and what we do in Edinburgh and other cities within.  A lot of popular cultures from Zimbabwe are reflected in the book, and even the place of the Scottish culture in our own bearings also come in handy.  This is what I’d never forget whenever I write my book.”

For a writer who believes so much in his society, someone who lives outside his birth place, how possible is it for him to travel home to gather materials for his works?  “Oh I do not go home as often as I’d want.  But the thing is that if you think about it and about the situation back home, you’d like to write more.  Someone was talking about Idi Amin in his works yesterday and said he’d have loved to remove him as a character in the book.  He was so domineering.  But that is it!  It is the same with what we have back home.  So our president is alive; he is still in power.  He doesn’t look as if he is going anywhere any time soon.  As writers, as Nigerian writers, you people respond quickly to what is happening in your society.  This is so because the difference is there.  The freedom is there.  But as a Zimbabwean, being influenced by what is happening in the country…  em… well, I used to give example with what is happening to a fish in a bowl of water.  It has been there for a while, now, it is a natural thing for it.  But for readers, they keep asking you about what is really happening back home.  When we write about Zimbabwe now, we still talk about love; about music, about culture.  We write about mental deficiency and so on.  Even though to most readers what is happening in Zimbabwe is what they want to read about, it is not what I am thinking about as a writer,” he said.

But then, does the government gag writers?  Does it mean that if you write about those political upheavals, you may not live to recount the story of your life?  “It is very tricky.  Obviously there are many sad situations in Zimbabwe at the moment.  However, Western press helps to ignite the situation the more.  Obviously, Zimbabwe is not North Korea where you cannot live like a human being.  No, it is not.  If you read Noviolet Bulawayo and so many other Zimbabwean writers, they are on top of their game.  Their works are often satirical, yet they indeed depict the situation back home.  The state, as I see it today, I don’t think has a role in literature or try to control it.  The only thing is that here in Nigeria the print media is more vibrant.  You people have the population and so on.  For me, my book is likely to sell 500 copies in a year.  But a Nigerian writer may sell that number over and over again and reaches out to more people across the globe.  A book that sold 500 copies in Zimbabwe may not be a threat.  But a newspaper that has a larger circulation may be.  Here in Nigeria, reporters have the freedom to write, to report and are free to air their views.  That is a more serious business.  In 2000, there was a Newspaper that was closed down because the government did not agree with it.  It is more than that, indeed more than we can do in an interview of this length.”

Comparing the level of literary development across African nations, Huchu, known for his simple narrative style and innovative story lines, said “Honestly, when you talk of African literature, of course, Nigeria is the engine room.  It is followed by South Africa, because these countries have sizeable population and publishing firms.  Festivals like this also help to prosper literature and let the people become more conscious of what stories writers are telling.  But don’t forget that Zimbabwe is a country of only 14 million people and we have been able to produce some known writers before and now.  For our size I think we have been able to create an interesting reservoir of writings that portray who we are and so on.  We are glad we are also being appreciated by other people in the continent of Africa.  Now, our writers try to revive that viability you are talking about.  Agreed, it is not what it used to be.  A lot has changed but we are on the path of re-engineering, but a lot of publishers due to the situation in the country, abandoned their roles in the industry.”

Concerning the once vibrant Zimbabwean Book fair that has gone moribund today, Huchu said “This situation has also affected the book fair which used to be the best in Africa.  Yet, we have four Zimbabwean writers at this festival which is like a big representation.  However, the issues that help the sector to thrive have to be revived in order to have the vibrancy back in place.  If you have the annual Zimbabwean book fair back in place, for me, it will help to reinvigorate the book in the society.”

Over all, Huchu described the Ake Book Fair as a positive signal that the place of books in Africa cannot die.  To him, Africans should keep on telling their stories, correcting their leaders and telling the world to see us in and out.  “Stories help to revive a society and keeping the hope ever alive,” he said.