This Mournable Body: Tsitsi Dangarembga and Sara Collins

‘It’s good that we now have angry black women mastering their anger sufficiently to write in a way that makes people understand why this particular human being, and this group of human beings, suffers under the weight of so much anger.’

Zimbabwean novelist, playwright and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga will be presenting her latest novel, the Booker-shortlisted This Mournable Body (Faber). The third in a trilogy which began with Nervous Conditions and continued with The Book of Not, This Mournable Body tells the ongoing story of Tambudzai and her struggles with patriarchy and the legacy of colonialism as she tries to make her way, on her own terms, in 1990s Harare. Dangarembga has for many years been as involved in politics as in literature and film (for her all three are intimately connected), and has served as education secretary for the Movement for Democratic Change. She is currently awaiting trial in connection with her role in peaceful anti-corruption protests in Zimbabwe, charges which have led many prominent writers around the world to leap to her defence.

Dangarembga was in conversation with Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton, a gothic romance set in Georgian London which combines elements of Bildungsroman, crime fiction and slave narrative with a healthy dose of righteous anger.

This event was held in partnership with Faber Members.