‘We Need New Names’ Launch a Success
Report by Philani Amadeus Nyoni
BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE: A crowd of over three hundred people thronged the National Art Gallery in Bulawayo on Tuesday evening to welcome NoViolet Bulawayo and her history- making novel to both the book’s and author’s hometown. The novel has sent shockwaves across the global landscape and received a resounding welcome home. Residents from all walks of life, including legendary icons of the city such as Phathisa Nyathi, John Eppel, Owen Maseko, former education minister David Coltart, and the author’s family members came to show their support. Most overwhelmed by the turnout was NoViolet Bulawayo herself, who confessed the crowd was the biggest she had ever received in any part of the world, surpassing the attendance in cities like Harare, Johannesburg, San Francisco, Seattle and others.
Prior to the launch, Noviolet Bulawayo conducted an exclusive workshop on prose, discussing technique and secrets of the craft with thirteen writers who have been short-listed for this year’s Yvonne Vera Award. During the workshop she thrilled audiences with readings from her novel, which her home crowd found witty and familiar. The workshop was an exclusive invitation-only affair for the shortlisted writers, while the actual book launch swung the Gallery doors wide open to the whole city. A large part of the launch was a dialogue with Dr. Drew Shaw, who asked the author about life, experiences and writing.
Noviolet Bulawayo is the non-de-plum of Elizabeth Zandile Tshele, born in Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe, in 1981. Asked why she used the name NoViolet, she told the crowd that Violet was her mother’s name and her pseudonym was crafted as a tribute to her. As to the meaning of the title of the book, We Need New Names, Bulawayo explained that Zimbabwe as a country needs a new way of thinking, imagining and seeing its realities.
NoVioet Bulawayo was educated in Bulawayo at Mzilikazi and Injube high schools which are named after the townships they are in. This background undoubtedly gave a strong foundation to her characters, especially the narrator, Darling. The author, however, denied that she was a younger version of Darling, since the worlds they grew up in are different.
After high school, Bulawayo went on to study at Texas A&M University and Southern Methodist Universities where she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s in English respectively. She has been a fellow with the prestigious Stegner Fellowship programme of Standford University since 2012 and will be there until 2014.
She has made history with her literary debut which has been short-listed for this year’s Man-Booker award. This earned her the historic privilege of being the first Zimbabwean writer and the first black African woman to make the list. Many patrons in the overflowing Gallery courtyard expressed their pride in Miss Bulawayo and her achievements. A few people in the audience few felt that the British Council banner was a bit too loud and large, hanging above the table where NoViolet sat flanked by Brian Jones of amaBooks Publishers and Drew Shaw of the National University of Science and Technology. The British Council and amaBooks were the organizers and sponsors of the event.
Philani Amadéus Nyoni is a Zimbabwean writer and actor. His writings have been published on several platforms and media worldwide. In 2006 he received a ‘First Class’ award for poetry in the Girls’ College Literary Competition, the following year he was awarded ‘Honours’ and earned the Best Poem Award in the Seniors’ category.In 2010 his poetry was read at a cultural night in Wales organised by Kushinda Publishing, in the same year he co-wrote and acted in Cletus Moyo’s stage-play titled And Now We Speak. He also took part in the Drama For Life Festival in South Africa where he was part of the ‘A Lover And Another Poetry Challenge’. After the regional slams he went on to represent Gauteng in the national championships.
