Alternative Literary Representations of Zimbabwe Post-2000
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Nation in Crisis: Alternative Literary Representations of Zimbabwe Post-2000 by Oliver Nyambi Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof. Annie Gagiano December 2013 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za DECLARATION By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. December 2013 Copyright © 2013 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved i Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za ABSTRACT The last decade in Zimbabwe was characterised by an unprecedented economic and political crisis. As the crisis threatened to destabilise the political status quo, it prompted in governmental circles the perceived ‗need‘ for political containment. The ensuing attempts to regulate the expressive sphere, censor alternative historiographies of the crisis and promote monolithic and self-serving perceptions of the crisis presented a real danger of the distortion of information about the situation. Representing the crisis therefore occupies a contested and discursive space in debates about the Zimbabwean crisis. It is important to explore the nature of cultural interventions in the urgent process of re-inscribing the crisis and extending what is known about Zimbabwe‘s so-called ‗lost decade‘. The study analyses literary responses to state-imposed restrictions on information about the state of Zimbabwean society during the post-2000 economic and political crisis which reached the public sphere, with particular reference to creative literature by Zimbabwean authors published during the period 2000 to 2010. The primary concern of this thesis is to examine the efficacy of post-2000 Zimbabwean literature as constituting a significant archive of the present and also as sites for the articulation of dissenting views – alternative perspectives assessing, questioning and challenging the state‘s grand narrative of the crisis. Like most African literatures, Zimbabwean literature relates (directly and indirectly) to definite historical forces and processes underpinning the social, cultural and political production of space. The study mainly invokes Maria Pia Lara‘s theory about the ―moral texture‖ and disclosive nature of narratives by marginalised groups in order to explore the various ways through which such narratives revise hegemonically distorted representations of themselves and construct more inclusive discourses about the crisis. A key finding in this study is that through particular modes of representation, most of the literary works put a spotlight on some of the major talking points in the political and socio-economic debate about the post-2000 Zimbabwean crisis, while at the same time extending the contours of the debate beyond what is agreeable to the powerful. This potential in literary works to deconstruct and transform dominant elitist narratives of the crisis and offering instead, alternative and more representative narratives of the excluded groups‘ experiences, is made possible by their affective appeal. This affective dimension stems from the intimate and experiential nature of the narratives of these affected groups. However, another important finding in this study has been the advent of a distinct canon of hegemonic texts which covertly (and sometimes overtly) legitimate the state narrative of the crisis. The thesis ends with a suggestion that future scholarly enquiries look ii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za set to focus more closely on the contribution of creative literature to discourses on democratisation in contemporary Zimbabwe. iii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za OPSOMMING Die afgelope dekade in Zimbabwe is gekenmerk deur ‗n ongekende ekonomiese en politiese krisis. Terwyl die krisis gedreig het om die politieke status quo omver te werp, het dit die ‗noodsaak‘ van politieke insluiting aangedui. Die daaropvolgende pogings om die ruimte vir openbaarmaking te reguleer, alternatiewe optekenings van gebeure te sensureer en ook om monolitiese, self-bevredigende waarnemings van die krisis te bevorder, het ‗n wesenlike gevaar van distorsie van inligting i.v.m. die krisis meegebring. Voorstellings van die krisis vind sigself dus in ‗n gekontesteerde en diskursiewe ruimte in debatte aangaande die Zimbabwiese krisis. Dit is gevolglik belangrik om die aard van kulturele intervensies in die dringende proses om die krisis te hervertolk te ondersoek asook om kennis van Zimbabwe se sogenaamde ‗verlore dekade‘ uit te brei. Die studie analiseer literêre reaksies op staats- geïniseerde inkortings van inligting aangaande die sosiale toestand in Zimbabwe gedurende die post-2000 ekonomiese en politiese krisis wat sulke informasie uit die openbare sfeer weerhou het, met spesifieke verwysing na skeppende literatuur deur Zimbabwiese skrywers wat tussen 2000 en 2010 gepubliseer is. Die belangrikste doelwit van hierdie tesis is om die doeltreffendheid van post-2000 Zimbabwiese letterkunde as konstituering van ‗n alternatiewe Zimbabwiese ‗argief van die huidige‘ en ook as ruimte vir die artikulering van teenstemme – alternatiewe perspektiewe wat die staat se ‗groot narratief‘ aangaande die krisis bevraagteken – te ondersoek. Soos met die meeste ander Afrika-letterkundes is daar in hierdie literatuur ‗n verband (direk en/of indirek) met herkenbare historiese kragte en prosesse wat die sosiale, kulturele en politiese ruimtes tot stand bring. Die studie maak in die ondersoek veral gebruik van Maria Pia Lara se teorie aangaande die ‗morele tekstuur‘ en openbaringsvermoë van narratiewe aangaande gemarginaliseerde groepe ten einde die verskillende maniere waarop sulke narratiewe hegemoniese distorsies in ‗offisiële‘ voorstellings van hulself ‗oorskryf‘ om meer inklusiewe diskoerse van die krisis daar te stel, na te vors. ‗n Kernbevinding van die studie is dat, d.m.v. van spesifieke tipe voorstellings, die meeste van die letterkundige werke wat hier ondersoek word, ‗n soeklig plaas op verskeie van die belangrikste kwessies in die politieke en sosio-ekonomiese debatte oor die Zimbabwiese krisis, terwyl dit terselfdertyd die kontoere van die debat uitbrei verby die grense van wat vir die maghebbers gemaklik is. Die potensieel van letterkundige werke om oorheersende, elitistiese narratiewe oor die krisis te dekonstrueer en te omvorm, word moontlik gemaak deur hul affektiewe potensiaal. Hierdie affektiewe dimensie word ontketen deur die intieme en ervaringsgewortelde geaardheid van die narratiewe van die geaffekteerde groepe. Nietemin is ‗n ander belangrike bevinding van iv Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za hierdie studie dat daar ‗n onderskeibare kanon van hegemoniese tekste bestaan wat op verskuilde (en soms ook openlike) maniere die staatsnarratief anngaande die krisis legitimeer. Die tesis sluit af met die voorstel dat toekomstige vakkundige studies meer spesifiek sou kon fokus op die bydrae van kreatiewe skryfwerk tot die demokratisering van kontemporêre Zimbabwe. v Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thanks to my supervisor Prof. Annie Gagiano for her priceless criticisms, ideas and professional guidance throughout the years of my doctoral studies. My appreciation also goes to staff and students in the English Department and the wider Stellenbosch University community for creating an enabling social and academic environment for intellectual growth. I am exceedingly humbled by the efforts of the following people and institutions in supporting my PhD research in many ways: The Graduate School of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University for the scholarship. Duke University offered me a two-month fellowship as an Africa Initiative scholar in the USA. Special thanks to Anna Alcaro for the American welcome. I am grateful for the world-class academic experience. Dr. Cindy Lee Steenekamp of the Graduate School at Stellenbosch University was instrumental in my application for the USA visa. My home institution (Great Zimbabwe University) offered me a generous study- leave and funded me to attend the 2012 Names Association of Southern Africa conference in Lesotho. My wife Patricia Rufaro, family and friends gave me invaluable moral support and encouragement which kept me going. Naomi Visser and Karen Hunt (librarians at Stellenbosch and Duke Universities respectively) deserve special mention for their keenness to help. Ken Lipenga offered some handy technical touches to the dissertation. Gugulethu Siziba, Kizito Muchemwa and other Graduate School fellows who used the Fifth Floor reading room were incredibly inspiring and fun. vi Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Table of Contents DECLARATION ....................................................................................................................... 1 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... ii OPSOMMING .......................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................................................