Publishing can be a cliquish and incestuous business; it is not uncommon for writers from the same agencies and publishers to review each other. Petina Gappah Read Quote
I guess you could say I’m lucky because I’ve known a Zimbabwe that didn’t have Robert Mugabe leading it. One of the saddest things about Zimbabwe is there are so many hidden casualties of the Mugabe government’s misrule. They’re not just casualties that you immediately see. Petina Gappah Read Quote
I was eight when independence happened. I remember my mum and dad getting dressed up to go to the independence concert to go listen to Bob Marley. Independence was such a wonderful time; we had so many expectations of the kind of country we would become. The vision of the government then was a wonderful vision. Petina Gappah Read Quote
The first thing I remember when I moved to a school in the suburbs was, ‘My gosh, all these books!’ The classroom and school had a library; I’d never seen so many books in my life! It was something we didn’t have in the township. Petina Gappah Read Quote
For the first years of my life, I went to school in Rhodesia. My memory of living in the townships is that they were actually really happy places. Petina Gappah Read Quote
A novelist, poet and playwright who writes equally well in Shona and English, Charles Mungoshi is Zimbabwe’s finest and most versatile writer. His life project has been to interrogate the notion of family. Petina Gappah Read Quote
Zimbabwe is an unusual case study in African colonialism in that it was invaded by a private company under Royal Charter. Petina Gappah Read Quote
I see myself in public service in Zimbabwe. I would prefer an advisory role – cabinet secretary, minister of trade or the arts, or something like that. I don’t want to be just a writer. Petina Gappah Read Quote
I was one of the first six black kids to integrate a formerly all-white school. I remember being looked at all the time and people laughing at my hair. I was also very self-conscious about the food I had for lunch. I had egg sandwiches, and the other mothers gave kids fancy stuff like bologna and Marmite. It took about a year to settle in. Petina Gappah Read Quote
I wonder why people commit crimes that are premeditated – to gain love, because of hatred, or for financial reasons. Petina Gappah Read Quote
