The Genealogies of Hope

The Public Policy Center is proud to support this lecture hosted by the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council (ICFRC).

Zaza Muchemwa, born, raised and making her artistic practice in Zimbabwe, looks at and shares the experiences of living in a country of constant transition, of being in fear and rising despite that fear, of holding onto hope amid despair and, what it means to stay alive in Zimbabwe today. She writes that there is a country in southern Africa which is known for always being in mainstream news for all the things that went wrong with young African nations shortly after gaining independence from colonial regimes. Chances are that one out of the ten times you have switched on a news channel in the past three decades, you have come across the name Zimbabwe. You may have learned that the country is mineral rich, with a climate favorable to a rich agrarian economy, with a highly literate population, and that this country, Zimbabwe, should be thriving. Yet misrule, corruption, poverty, dictatorship, decline, unemployment (the list goes on) have come to be associated with Zimbabwe. Equally you may have been astounded by the resilience of Zimbabweans. Rightly so, even when the country hit rock bottom several times, the citizens mysteriously found ways to bounce back from one catastrophe to another. The Art Scene has grown to, over the years, proffering thought provoking, delightful and visceral music, visual art, theatre, poetry, and literature to global consumers. This with little to no support from the government, often within the confines of regulation censoring free expression. Ms. Muchemwa will address these issues during her presentation.

Zaza Muchemwa (poet, playwright, arts administrator; Zimbabwe) has had her poetry appear at PEN International and Badilisha Poetry X-change and included in the anthology Zimbabwe Poets for Human Rights. Author of the play,  The IVth Interrogation, she is also an award-winning theater director and producer. Her journalism appears in Index on Censorship Magazine, Povo Magazine, and elsewhere. As a fall resident in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, she participates thanks to a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

This event is free and open to the public; attendees must register beforehand.