Barbara Makhalisa

Barbara Makhalisa (born 1949),[1] also known by her married name as Barbara Nkala, is a Zimbabwean writer, editor and publisher, one of the earliest female writers published in Zimbabwe.[2] She is the author of several books written in Ndebele, as well as in English,[3] of which some have been used as school textbooks.[4] Barbara is married to Shadreck Nkala. They have three adult children and six grandchildren.

Dr.

Barbara Makhalisa
Born
Barbara Clara Makhalisa

1949 (age 70–71)
Zimbabwe
Other namesBarbara Nkala
OccupationNovelist, publisher, editor
Spouse(s)Shadreck Nkala
ChildrenThree

Biography

Barbara Clara Makhalisa was born in Zimbabwe, and studied at Gweru Teachers' College, majoring in English.[3][5] Her writing career began when she won a national competition with her first book, Qilindini, a detective thriller written in Ndebele,[6] at which time she was only the second female writer in Ndebele.[7] Her second book, the Ndebele novel Umendo ("Marriage Is A Gamble", 1977, Mambo Press, 1977), is considered a classic.[8] She has said: "I feel people should write in their mother tongue.... Our whole culture is stored in language, and literature is the storehouse for culture."[6]

Her writing in English includes The Underdog and Other Stories (Mambo Press, 1984) and Eva's Song: A Collection of Short Stories (Harper Collins, 1996). Her story "Different Values" appears in Margaret Busby's 1992 anthology Daughters of Africa.

In 1981 she became an editor for the publishers Longman Zimbabwe.[9] She now runs a company called Radiant Publishing House,[2] and primarily produces work in Ndebele[10] in order to make a contribution to the "growth of Ndebele language".[11]

In 2015 she received an honorary degree from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo.[4][2]

Selected bibliography

Fiction
  • Qilindini (Ndebele, novel), 1969
  • Umendo (Ndebele, novel), 1977
  • Umhlaba lo! (What a world!; Ndebele, 1977
  • The Underdog and Other Stories, Mambo Press, 1984 (ISBN 978-0869223345)
  • Impilo Vinkinga, 1984
  • Eva's Song, Harper Collins, 1996 (ISBN 978-1779040114)

As editor
  • Rainbow After a Storm: Stories of Loss, Grief & Healing, Radiant, 2008

References
  1. Emmanuel Chiwome, "Makhakisa, Barbara", in Simon Gikandi (ed.), Encyclopedia of African Literature, Routledge, 2003, pp. 432–433.
  2. "Nkala: A loved elder of literature", The Herald (Zimbabwe), 1 March 2017.
  3. Margaret Busby (ed.), Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent (Jonathan Cape, 1992), pp. 618–21, 993.
  4. Pamela Shumba, "President caps 2,388 at Nust", Chronicle, 14 November 2015.
  5. "Barbara Makhalisa" at Reading Zimbabwe.
  6. Casey Kelso, "If it's written in English, is it really African literature?", Institute of Current World Affairs, 15 September 1992, p. 2.
  7. C. M. Sileya, "Book Reviews", Michigan State University, African e-Journals Project, p. 100.
  8. Joyce Jenje Makwenda, "How women have stormed the literary world", The Patriot, 23 March 2016.
  9. Fister, Barbara (1995). "Makhalisa, Barbara C.". Third World Women's Literatures: A Dictionary and Guide to Materials in English. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-313-28988-0.
  10. "Thaph’ uluju!", kwaChirere, 21 October 2010.
  11. "Writer encourages preservation of Ndebele language", NewsDay, 26 September 2012.
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