One of Zimbabwe’s best known writers, Chenjerai Hove, has died in Norway at the age of 59. The prolific poet, novelist and essayist,passed on on Sunday, July 12 in Norway of liver failure.
Born on February 9, 1956 in Mazvihwa near Zvishavane, Hove attended Kutama Mission and Marist Brothers Dete schools before studying at the University of South Africa and the University of Zimbabwe.
He won several awards for his work and was regarded as a leading figure in post-colonial literature in Zimbabwe. Mr Hove’s wife and sister were with him when he died – the first time they had been together since 2001.
He had been taken ill three weeks ago and slowly deteriorated but he remained “bright and clear until the end”, said friend and colleague Helge Lunde, the executive director of International Cities of Refuge Network.
At the time of his death Hove was living in exile as the International Writers Project fellow in residence at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies.
He published numerous novels, poetry anthologies and essays including ‘And Now the Poets Speak’ which he co-edited, Up In Arms,Red Hills of and many more.
