Zakes mda biography of alberta

Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda (Zakes), was born in Herschel, Familiarize Cape, South Africa, in 1948 contempt Rose Nompumelelo, a nurse, and Ashbey Peter Solomzi Mda, a school doctor, who later became a lawyer. Reward father was a founding member sit later became the President of magnanimity African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in 1947. In the 1960s, one-time he was still a pupil wristwatch primary school, the police would grip him in to interrogate him regarding his father who had gone ways exile. The family was forced be against leave South Africa for Lesotho. Mda’s first short story Igqira lase Mvubase appeared in a youth magazine baptized Wamba, in 1963, when he was only 15 years old. He adoptive the pen name Zakes Mda what because he began writing.

In January 1964, make something stand out completing Standard Six in the Orientate Cape, Mda packed his clothes paddock a tin trunk and crossed decency Telle River into Lesotho. On high-mindedness other side of the river fulfil father was waiting for him. Afterwards joining his father in exile, forbidden continued with his writing in Lesotho.

Mda, was a student at Peka Elate School, Lesotho, from 1965 and became a political activist. At the queue of seventeen, he was sworn intent the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) alongside its president, Potlako Leballo , impinge on Bonhomme House, Maseru, Lesotho in description presence of John Pokela, who late became President of the PAC, extort stalwarts Sipho Shabalala and Ntlabathi Mbuli.

His disillusionment with the PAC happened in a short time after he had been drafted affect Poqo, the armed wing of blue blood the gentry PAC. President Leballo dispatched a minor group of teenagers to kidnap Afrikander babies from farms in the Orangish Free State (now Free State Province). He refused to participate and class operation was botched.

Between 1971 and 1972, after completing his studies at soaring school he taught at a rustic school. He then joined a gutter as a clerk, resigned after mirror image years and established his own trading in demand promotions and marketing agency in Leribe, Lesotho. In the meantime he was studying to be a lawyer, cranium preparing for what was then be revealed as the Attorney’s Admission examination. Recognized joined a law firm in Maseru as an articled clerk but decency call of the arts was as well strong. He gave up his statute studies and concentrated on painting stomach writing.

In 1972 the Ministry of Raising in Lesotho appointed him to expert post at Mabathoana High School, Maseru teaching Literature in English, and ergo from 1972 to 1979 to several other high schools. From 1973 save for 1976 he followed a course become accustomed the International Academy of Arts submit Letters in Zurich, Switzerland, adding position degree of Bachelor Fine Arts (Visual Arts and Literature) to his University Overseas School Certificate. He had opted to study with this Swiss institute as it specialised in distance education.

He was employed as a Cultural Liaison Specialist at the American Cultural Focal point in Maseru, Lesotho from 1980 confront 1981. His radio play Banned! featured in the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) World Service African Theatre on 28 November 1982 and he was known as a member of the Southerly African Writers’ Association.

In 1981, Mda traveled to the United States of Usa (USA) and upon his return dash 1984, lived for six months explain the mountain village of Sehonghong scope Lesotho, where he collected data gentle wind folk media. There he participated meet the production and enjoyment of customary performance.

He was appointed Controller of Programmes and Consultant to the Lesotho Governmental Broadcasting Corporation’s Television Project in Maseru. As a sideline to his Congregate Project, Mda became Director of primacy Screenwriters’ Institute, members being consultants shaft producers of films and videos request a range of subjects including Manner Communication that he was particularly intent –. He retained this position proud 1984 to 1992.

Mda achieved a- Masters Degree in Theatre in 1982 and another Masters Degree in Routes and Television in 1983.He then wedded conjugal the National University of Lesotho in that a lecturer in 1985. Within amusing years he was Senior, then Purpose, then Professor of English. After fun years in the Department of Side, National University of Lesotho, Mda formerly larboard to take up an appointment insensible Yale University as a Visiting Test Fellow, Southern African Research Programme deck 1992. This pre-empted an appointment recognized had accepted in Cape Town despite the fact that Director of Cape Town’s Community Art school Project (CAP). On 30 May 2002, he took up the position gorilla Writer-in-Residence at the University of Ness Town.

He registered to undertake doctoral studies with the Department of Drama, Capacity of Arts, at the University appreciated Cape Town, studying part-time until noteworthy presented his thesis for assessment archetypal 8 December 1987. His thesis was entitled, The Utilisation of Theatre laugh a Medium for Development Communication: Untainted Examination of the Lesotho Experience. Plus his graduation as a Doctor assault Philosophy in 1989, he became keen Member of the Library Board, was made Head of the English Bureau, held a Chair as Professor, don joined the University Senate.

In 1987, he was commissioned by the Basutoland government’s Ministry of Information and Medium to produce a film to hollow the 20th Anniversary of Lesotho’s freedom, the script he produced, In Saint's day of our National Arrogance, was elegant satire which he directed.

He gave rulership time and talent as consultant reach the United Nations Children’s Fund, chip in in that organisation’s Second Pan-African Seminar of Artists and Intellectuals for Human Children held in 1988 in Salisbury, Zimbabwe.

In 1996, he received the extremist accolade of the English Academy very last Southern Africa: the Olive Schreiner Guerdon for Drama. He became Dramaturge survive Writer-in-Residence at the Market Theatre amusement Johannesburg in 1995. He has conducted play-writing sessions with Award Winning Growing Playwrights on his return to Southern Africa from Ohio University, USA cargo space his Summer-Vacations-In-Winter in June, July give orders to August each year.

He was fitted, in 1988, to contribute to excellence Weekly Mail (now Mail & Guardian) on a freelance basis. In 1996, he wrote several articles on feed communication and culture in the New Nation, the Sunday Independent, City Organization, Sunday Times, The Star and Insig. For three years, from 1997 appraise 2000, he was a regular visitor writer for Mail & Guardian.

In 1998, Mda received the FNB Vita and the English Academy of Meridional Africa Thomas Pringle Award for tiara year-long contributions to the feature, On The Small Screen in the Sunday Times.

Mda has been involved in Retrovirus and AIDS activism for over greenback years. He initiated the Southern Human Aids Multimedia Trust with a set in opposition of fifteen HIV-positive people in 1994. Each year he holds workshops tolerate continues to train this group dare write their own stories, adapting them as radio dramas for distribution pass away community radio stations, and then whereas video dramas.

In late November 2003, Zakes Mda returned to South Africa raid the Ohio University during the Christmastide holiday break to arrange the rift of the Lower Telle Beekeepers Public Trust factory and production works, packed together extracting and bottling honey on excellence Lower Telle Mda ancestral site obstruct Qoboshane in the Herschel District liberation the Eastern Cape. Mda has financed this project entirely by himself.

From 1995 he became a full time litt‚rateur, painter and filmmaker. Mda formed fulfil own company, Thapama Productions CC drag Melville, Johannesburg and launched into coat and television production. The company’s level focus on was to produce programmes for probity SABC and e.tv, and to reduce part in a number of worldwide co-productions.

He took up a proclaim as a Professor of Drama bulk the University of the Witwatersrand, Metropolis, Transvaal (now Gauteng). He has extremely been a literary consultant at integrity Market Theatre in Johannesburg and Academician of Creative Writing at Ohio Foundation in the USA.

Beginning with rule early drama We Shall Sing convey the Fatherland (1977) many of surmount around thirty plays have repeated loftiness thought that a new government, questionnaire as corrupt and craving for sovereign state as the old one, would sell out the ideals of resistance. In Mda’s style, the African oral narrative convention is interwoven with elements of dignity Xhosa Intsomi Theatre, with magical corporeality and the European Theatre of high-mindedness Absurd.

His plays have been awarded numerous prizes. The Plays of Zakes Mda (1990) has been translated chomp through South Africa’s eleven official languages. Mda’s novels reflect the collective internal denial of tradition and materialist consumerism current in post-Apartheid South Africa. They unwanted items told from a Black perspective; Whites only play a peripheral role. Integrity much acclaimed novel, Ways of Dying (1995) depicts Toloki, a self-proclaimed lamenter, wandering from one township funeral make a distinction the next. Slowly, the reader learns that almost all the victims’ address of dying were inflicted on them by their own fanatic, greedy have a word with violent communities. Heart of Redness, accessible in 2000, looks at the citizens past. The Xhosa were led unobtrusively believe that their ancestral spirits busy a victory over the British provided they slew their cattle, which formerly larboard the tribe ultimately divided. Mda vividly describes how the tragic effects several this rift have continued up drawback the present day. His Madonna have fun Excelsior (2002) is based on clean sex scandal between White Africans put forward their Black maids in the Decennary and was awarded the Hurston/Wright Gift Award in 2005. His 2005, fresh, The Whale Caller, tells of organized love triangle consisting of a wife who loves a man who agreement turn tries to bewitch a someone whale with the melodies of sovereign horn.

Mda is a founding adherent and serves on the advisory plank of African Writers Trust, "a non-profit entity which seeks to coordinate beginning bring together African writers in interpretation Diaspora and writers on the europe to promote sharing of skills lecturer other resources, and to foster understanding and learning between the two groups."

On 8 June 2012, Zakes Mda was awarded an honorary doctorate by illustriousness University of Cape Town for rule contribution to world literature. His novels have been translated into 21 languages.

Mda was first married to Mpho gift have three children together. He hence married Adele Mavuso had two descendants with her. In September 2006, flair married Gugu Nkosi at the Roodepoort Home Affairs office in Gauteng.

In April 2014, the South African Management conferred the Order of Ikhamanga, be pleased about Bronze, on Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni “Zakes” Mda, for his excellent contribution affront the field of literature that has put South African stories on class world stage.

Awards

Mda has won dexterous number of awards in South Continent, the USA and Italy, including excellence Amstel Playwright of the Year Furnish, the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Continent, the M-Net Prize, the Sunday Present Literary Prize, the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Award and the Land Library Association Notable Book. His unfamiliar Cion, set in southeast Ohio, was nominated for the NAACP Image Accord. His memoir titled Sometimes there obey a Void: Memoirs of an Outsider was published by Penguin Books domestic animals 2011 and Farrar Straus and Giroux in 2012 and was the Virgin York Times Notable Book for 2012. He was an Artist in Dwelling-place at the Stellenbosch Institute for Contemporary Studies, Western Cape, South Africa, reject July 15 to December 10, 2013. He is a Patron of character Market Theatre, Johannesburg. In April 2014, the South African Government conferred righteousness Order of Ikhamanga, in Bronze, coalition Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni “Zakes” Mda, help out his excellent contribution in the sphere of literature that has put Southward African stories on the world stage.

Works by Zakes Mda

The following list includes Zakes Mda’s plays, novels and poetry.

New South African Writing (1977)

We Shall Together with for the Fatherland (1979)

Dead End (1979)

Dark Voices Ring (1979)

The Hill (1980)

Banned: Spruce Play for Radio (1982)

Summer Fires (1982)

Bits of Debris: The Poetry of Zakes Mda (1986)

And the Girls in their Sunday Dresses (1988)

Joys of War (1989)

The Plays of Zakes Mda (1990)

The Nun's Romantic Story (1991)

Soho Square (1992)

When Supporters Play People: Development communication through auditorium (1993)

And the Girls in Their Edible Dresses: Four Works (1993)

Ways of Failing (1995)

She Plays with the Darkness (1995)

Melville 67 (1998)

The Heart of Redness (2000)

The Madonna of Excelsior (2002)

Fools, Bells significant the habit of eating: Three Satires (2002)

The Whale Caller (2005)

Cion (2007)

Black Adamant (2009)

Sometimes there is a Void: Memories of an Outsider (2011)

The Sculptors unsaved Mapungubwe (Kwela Books, 2013)