Chenjerai Hove was a renowned Zimbabwean poet, novelist, and essayist who made significant contributions to literature in both English and Shona. Born on February 9, 1956, in Mazvihwa, near Zvishavane, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Hove’s life was marked by a passion for writing and social justice.
Hove attended Kutama College and Marist Brothers Dete in Zimbabwe before studying at the University of South Africa and the University of Zimbabwe. He began his career as a teacher and later worked as a journalist.
Hove’s literary works include Up in Arms (poetry, 1982), Red Hills of Home (poetry, 1984), Bones (novel, 1988), Shadows (novel, 1991), Rainbows in the Dust (poetry, 1997), Ancestors (novel, 1997), Desperately Seeking Europe (essays, 2003), Palaver Finish (essays, 2003), Blind Moon (poetry, 2004), and The Keys of Ramb (children’s story, 2004).
He received several awards for his work, including the 1989 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa for Bones, Zimbabwe Literary Award for Bones (1988), and German Africa Prize for literary contribution to freedom of expression (2001). Hove was also the inaugural president of the Zimbabwe Writers Union and a founding board member of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association.
A critic of the Mugabe government, Hove lived in exile in Norway at the time of his death on July 12, 2015, due to liver failure. Despite his untimely passing, Hove’s legacy continues to inspire writers and scholars around the world.
