KwaChirere Exclusive: Interview with Brian Chikwava

He doesn't do a lot of these, so it was great to see this Brian Chikwava interview on Memory Chirere's blog. Here is an excerpt that focuses on the language issue in Chikwava's novel Harare North. It is one of my favorite qualities of this novel, and when day, after I find out how Chirere managed to get an interview with Chikwava, I may attempt a long chat with the author on the issue of language and African literature. It is an issue not to ignore, even when we get too comfortable and think that it's not an issue, it will still be. But for now, read this excerpt and go on to Kwachirere to read the entire piece.

Memory Chirere: Harare North, your debut novel has been applauded for ‘experimenting with language’. Ikhide Ikheloa says you use ‘pretend-language’, back in Harare, Irene Staunton says you use ‘patios’. My students wonder what you wanted to achieve because “Zimbabweans are well known for their ability to speak English.” In what circumstances did you decide to abandon the standard English language you used in the short stories?

Brian Chikwava: I tried standard English and it just didn’t work. The manuscript read stilted and the character had inhabit. That’s when I thought of – is it Achebe, I can’t remember? – who talks about bending the English language in order to make it carry the weight of the African experience. The language that I use in Harare North is not a true language in the sense that it is not spoken on the streets of Zimbabwe, but I believe it expresses the Zimbabwean sensibility better than standard English.