WRITING TO CONNECT

UEA’s first International Chair of Creative Writing (ICCW), Tsitsi Dangarembga, thanks donors for making it all possible.

Literary circles at UEA were abuzz with excitement in late 2021, when Tsitsi Dangarembga made her first visit to campus following her appointment as International Chair of Creative Writing.

Our ambition is for the Zimbabwean novelist, playwright and filmmaker to be the first of five International Chairs. Her most recent novel, This Mournable Body, was nominated for the 2020 Booker Prize. In 2021, she received the PEN Award for Freedom of Expression and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.

In addition to hosting tutorials and workshops with UEA students, Tsitsi was the guest of honour at a reception in London. Here, we share an extract from the powerful speech she made on that night.

“My first home, that I remember, was a working-class house in Dover. There were no books in that home – or hardly any. Instead, I watched Dr Who and the Daleks and was rigid with fear. When I was six, we moved back to Umtali, now known as Mutare.

“But now I am here with you because of the power of books. That is a huge journey for a little Kentish girl to have made, don’t you think? I think this shows the power of books. The way literature can communicate different worlds and make leaps that maybe we cannot make in our everyday lives.

“Literature can help solve the most challenging problems we have in the world today. Issues that arise from misconceptions and misunderstandings between people all over the world. Often, we simply do not know enough about one another. But the great power of literature is to bring us together.

“When I first visited UEA as part of my role as International Chair, I hoped to reach students and have meaningful conversations. As we discussed books, I was amazed to see these students’ bodies listening. Not just their ears – their whole bodies. At that moment, literature was helping to connect a diverse group of people who came from many different backgrounds.

“The Creative Writing programme at UEA is absolutely amazing. Before I was asked to be the first International Chair, I had read many of the University’s alumni. Those names I shan’t mention because I can’t possibly mention them all.

“I am excited and honoured to be the first International Chair at UEA, representing the region of Africa. Our ambitious programme of literary events, classes and workshops across Africa and the UK will champion global voices. We are supporting new writers in countries including Botswana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Uganda, as well as on the UEA campus through the first of the Global Voices scholarships.

“These scholarships open up ways for people to be their very best selves. That’s so important – both for the students and all of us. You see, I believe that when people become their best selves, then our countries become the best countries and our world becomes its very best world. On that note, I would like to say thank you very much.

“I am so grateful to the donors who have made it possible and our anonymous philanthropist. Your support has launched the ICCW programme, but more funding is required to keep up the momentum we have built in this first year. The potential here is enormous.

“I look forward to seeing what my fellow Chairs achieve in the regions of Asia, Australasia, the Americas and the Middle East after my time in the post comes to an end.

“Thank you so much.”

The Global Voices Scholarships

Alongside the International Chair of Creative Writing, our ambitious new scholarship programme aims to nurture the next generation of international talent. Ten scholars from the region of Africa will be selected, based on their outstanding creative writing potential and financial need.

This inaugural year has been fully funded by one generous philanthropist who has a passion for championing global voices and supporting emerging new writers. They have chosen to remain anonymous.

The hope is that a total of 50 Global Voices scholars will come to UEA alongside the International Chair programme. The next four regions are Asia, Australasia, the Americas and the Middle East – and fundraising urgently continues to make the remaining four years of the programme a reality.

Our first intake of Global Voices scholars includes Salma Yusuf, an MA Creative Writing (Poetry) student from Mombasa, Kenya.

Salma said, “I was brought up by a single mother who worked earnestly to make ends meet. Her tenacity and zeal always stirred something in me, and I knew I didn’t ever want to settle in life.

“The Global Voices scholarship will go a long way in helping me realise my full potential as a multilingual poet. This is an achievement not often in reach of a woman from the Swahili Coast. I have a vision of creating the first poetry hub in Mombasa to enhance the literacy levels of my people and broaden their perspectives.

“This year so far feels like a rebirth, the nurturing of a new seed. I want to say that I am so, so grateful for this life-changing journey.”