Valerie Tagwira is a Zimbabwean writer who is a specialist obstetrician-gynaecologist by profession.Sara Davies, "Literary conversation with Valerie Tagwira" , Harare News, 4 June 2014. Her debut novel The Uncertainty of Hope, published in 2006 by Weaver Press, won the 2008 National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) Outstanding Fiction Book."‘The Uncertainty of Hope’ wins NAMA award", Valerie Tagwira website, 14 February 2008.Sharon Dell, "Hope in a climate of fear", The Witness, 4 June 2008. Via News 24/City Press.
Early life Valerie Joan Tagwira was born in the city of Gweru, in central Zimbabwe, but lived for most of her childhood in Rutendo (Redcliff), a town in the Midlands Province.Interview: Tagwira Valerie by Bertha Shoko, Weaver Press, 13 May 2007. She attended Monte Cassino Secondary School in Macheke and St James High School in Nyamandhlovu. She graduated in 1997 from the University of Zimbabwe's Medical School, and subsequently studied at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists while working in London, UK."Valerie Tagwira", African Books Collective.
Her first novel, The Uncertainty of Hope – which is set in Mbare, a suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe, and, as she has described it, "is all about the day-to-day nitty-gritty during the hard times of 2005" – was written during the time when she was in England, between 2002 and 2010, travelling home twice a year.
Writing The Uncertainty of Hope, published in 2006 by Weaver Press, received widespread favourable reviews. Percy Zvomuya in the Mail & Guardian wrote: "Tagwira's book is a celebration of urban sisterhood and abiding relationships that withstand the deprivations of harsh, life-negating policies."Percy Zvomuya, "Two sides of one coin", Mail & Guardian, 7 August 2008. According to reviewer Annie Gagiano, "the overwhelming, lingering and realistic impression left by this work is of lives lived under extreme difficulty, but faced with immense courage, dignity and the vital support of caring friendship among women. It is, indeed, a highly accomplished first novel and a valuable addition to the African literary archive, however painful it may be to read its many harrowing moments."Annie Gagiano, Book Review: LitNet, 3 March 2008. Writing in The Standard newspaper, Bertha Shoko concluded: "This is a 'must read' for anyone with a passion for good literature. Tagwira manages to make me angry, happy, hopeful, and hopeless, as she narrates this touching story about Zimbabwe".Bertha Shoko, "Novel revisits Murambatsvina", The Standard, 25 March 2007. Charles Mungoshi in The Herald said the novel was a welcome addition to the canon of Zimbabwean literature,Charles Mungoshi, "Book a welcome addition to Zimbabwean literature", The Herald, 30 April 2007. while the reviewer for The Zimbabwean, calling the book "satisfying and thought-provoking", was reminded of award-winning Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo's novel Changes."Reviews: The Uncertainty of Hope", The Zimbabwean, 13 April 2007."The Uncertainty of Hope" reviews at Weaver Press.
The Uncertainty of Hope won the National Arts Merit Award (NAMA) for literature in 2008,Emmanuel Sigauke, "Valerie Tagwira Wins the NAMA award", Wealth of Ideas, 14 February 2008. and is studied by Advanced-Level students as part of the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) English Literature curriculum.Fungai Machirori, "‘The Uncertainty of Hope’ Added to Local English Literature Curriculum" , Her (Zimbabwe), 25 February 2015.
Tagwira also writes poetry and short stories."Short Stories", Valerie Tagwira website. She is included in the anthologies Writing Mystery and Mayhem (Weaver Press, 2015), edited by Irene Staunton,Writing Mystery and Mayhem, Weaver Press, 2015, . and New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.Joanne C. Hillhouse, "In Company with New Daughters of Africa", Jhohadli, 8 October 2018.
Bibliography
Novels
The Uncertainty of Hope (2006). Weaver Press
Anthology appearances
Writing Mystery and Mayhem (2015). Weaver Press
References
External links Official website Sara Davies, "Literary conversation with Valerie Tagwira" , Harare News, 4 June 2014. Ambrose Musiyiwa, "An Interview With Novelist Valerie Tagwira", Worldpress.org, 15 April 2007. "Interview with Valerie Tagwira", World Press Review, 18 February 2009. "The Uncertainty of Hope: A book that reminds us who women are in Zimbabwe", Kubatana.