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Paulina Chiziane

Biography

Paulina Chiziane was born in Manjacaze in 1977 but grew up in the suburbs of Maputo. Her family spoke the Chope and Ronga languages. She learned Portuguese at school. She studied linguistics at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane but did not finish the course, not least because she was involved in the Mozambican independence movement, Frelimo. However, she became disillusioned with the movement and concentrated on her writing.

She was the first woman to publish a novel in Mozambique, though she had started by publishing stories in magazines. One of of her key themes, particularly in her first novel to be translated into English, Niketche: Uma História de Poligamia (Niketche : A Story of Polygamy; later: Fìrst Wife), was the issue of polygamy, still prevalent, particularly in the South of the country. She formally retired from writing in 2016.

Other sites

Paulina Chiziane
Paulina Chiziane
Paulina Chiziane
Interview
Paulina Chiziane (in Portuguese)
Paulina Chiziane, primeira romancista moçambicana (in Portuguese)
Interview (in Portuguese)

Bibliography

1990 Balada de Amor ao Vento (novel)
1992 Eu, mulher… por uma nova visão do mundo (essay)
1993 Ventos do Apocalipse (novel)
2000 O Sétimo Juramento (novel)
2002 Niketche: Uma História de Poligamia (Niketche : A Story of Polygamy; later: Fìrst Wife)(novel)
2008 O alegre canto da perdiz (The Joyful Cry of the Partridge) (novel)
2009 As Andorinhas (novel)
2013 Na mão de Deus (novel)
2013 Por Quem Vibram os Tambores do Além (novel- with Rasta Pita)
2015 Ngoma Yethu: O curandeiro e o Novo Testamento (novel)
2017 O Canto dos Escravizados (novel)