Barbara Makhalisa Explained

Honorific Prefix:Dr.
Birth Name:Barbara Clara Makhalisa-Moyo
Birth Place:Zimbabwe
Other Names:Barbara Nkala
Occupation:Teacher, novelist, publisher, editor
Spouse:Shadreck Nkala
Children:Three

Barbara Makhalisa (born 1949),[1] also known by her married name as Barbara Nkala, is a teacher, Zimbabwean writer, Ndebele translator, novelist, editor and publisher, one of the earliest female writers published in Zimbabwe.[2] She is the author of several books written in Ndebele, as well as in English,[3] of which some have been used as school textbooks.[4] Barbara is married to Shadreck Nkala. They have three adult children and six grandchildren.

Biography

Barbara Clara Makhalisa was born in Zimbabwe, and studied at Gweru Teachers' College, majoring in Ndebele and English ("at a time when everything colonial was considered to be more superior").[5] [6]

Her writing career began when she won a national competition with her first book, Qilindini, a detective thriller written in Ndebele,[7] at which time she was only the second female writer in Ndebele.[8] Her second book, the Ndebele novel Umendo ("Marriage Is A Gamble", 1977, Mambo Press, 1977), is considered a classic.[9] She has said: "I feel people should write in their mother tongue.... Our whole culture is stored in language, and literature is the storehouse for culture."

Her writing in English includes The Underdog and Other Stories (Mambo Press, 1984) and Eva's Song: A Collection of Short Stories (Harper Collins, 1996). Her story "Different Values" appears in Margaret Busby's 1992 anthology Daughters of Africa.[10]

In 1981 she became an editor for the publishers Longman Zimbabwe.[11] In 1991 she left Longman and worked with her husband in the family company for five years before being invited to head International Bible Society Zimbabwe (IBS Zimbabwe) as a national director in Malawi and Zimbabwe. she coordinated the translation and publishing of the new IBS Shona and Ndebele Bibles, as well as Chichewa New Testament. She left IBS in 2005. She now runs a company called Radiant Publishing Company, whose vision is to publish for transformation.[12]

In 2015, she received an honorary degree from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo.

Nkala is an active member of the Brethren In Christ Church in Zimbabwe. As an elder in her church, she has sat in a number of humanitarian boards. Her influence in the church has mentored many young people to write their stories and many have been published in the Good Words/Amazwi Amahle in Zimbabwe. She is the Mennonite World Conference Regional Representative[13] Southern Africa covering South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Nkala and other women were featured in Doris Dube's Silent Labourers.[14]

Fiction

As editor / publisher

Other books

Achievements / awards

Social engagements

External links

Notes and References

  1. Emmanuel Chiwome, "Makhakisa, Barbara", in Simon Gikandi (ed.), Encyclopedia of African Literature, Routledge, 2003, pp. 432–433.
  2. http://www.herald.co.zw/nkala-a-loved-elder-of-literature/ "Nkala: A loved elder of literature"
  3. Margaret Busby (ed.), Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent (Jonathan Cape, 1992), pp. 618–21, 993.
  4. Pamela Shumba, "President caps 2,388 at Nust", The Chronicle, 14 November 2015.
  5. Web site: Arts Legends Barbara Makhalisa-Nkala – Taking pride in the development of local languages. 5. Sahwira Spotlight - FIRST EDITION. 1. 1. February 2022.
  6. http://readingzimbabwe.com/authors/barbara-makhalisa "Barbara Makhalisa"
  7. Casey Kelso, "If it's written in English, is it really African literature?", Institute of Current World Affairs, 15 September 1992, p. 2.
  8. C. M. Sileya, "Book Reviews", Michigan State University, African e-Journals Project, p. 100.
  9. [Joyce Jenje Makwenda]
  10. Web site: Meet Gogo Nkala, the matriarch with swagger. Mbulelo. Mpofu. The Chronicle. 22 January 2022.
  11. Book: Fister, Barbara. Barbara Fister. Third World Women's Literatures: A Dictionary and Guide to Materials in English. registration. 1995. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-28988-0. 193. Makhalisa, Barbara C..
  12. http://memorychirere.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/thaph-uluju-iqoqo-lezindatshana-ilifa.html "Thaph' uluju!"
  13. Web site: pwadmin. 2019-07-29. Regional Representatives. 27 April 2021. Mennonite World Conference. en.
  14. .Book: Dube, Doris. Silent labourers. 2002. Radiant. 0-7974-2444-X. Harare. 818622306.
  15. Book: Makhalisa, Barbara. Umendo. Mambo Press. 1977. 0869226193. Gweru. 1–136.
  16. Web site: Barbara Nkala. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412130021/http://www.bcmnliterarytrust.org/the-author/ . 2021-04-12 .
  17. Book: Makhalisa, Barbara. Impilo Yinkinga. Longman. 1983. 9780582587175. Harare. 1–163.
  18. Book: Vus' inkophe: isiphala sezindatshana zeZimbabwe Women Writers . 1996 . Zimbabwe Women Writers . Barbara Nkala . 0-7974-1609-9 . Harare . 37722220.
  19. Book: Giya Giya . Radiant . 2021 . 9781779216557 . Makhalisa Nkala . Barbara . Zimbabwe . 1–328.
  20. Book: Celebrating the vision: a century of sowing and reaping . 1998 . Brethren in Christ Church . Barbara Nkala . Nellie Mlotshwa . 0-7974-1836-9 . Bulawayo, Zimbabwe . 40774018.
  21. Book: Sibanda, Olivia Mahwaya . Olivia Sibanda . Umkhosi wenhliziyo . 2020 . 978-1-77925-359-0 . Harare, Zimbabwe . 1264735172.
  22. Book: Phiri, Lindani . Uhambo lwempilo . 2020 . 978-1-77925-467-2 . Borrowdale, Harare, Zimbabwe . 1268543172.
  23. Book: Nkala, Barbara . Thaph' uluju: iqoqo lezindatshana, ilifa lakho . 2010 . Radiant Publishing Company . 978-0-7974-4279-5 . Harare . 671238627.
  24. Book: Ngwenya, Tsitsi Nomsa . Izinyawo zayizolo . 2016 . 978-0-7974-7241-9 . Harare . 960043403.
  25. Web site: Africa . This Is . Interview — Ndebele novelist Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya is seeking the ancient paths . 19 May 2022 . 2023-05-16 . en-US.
  26. Book: Mpofu, I. N. . Sithini isiNdebele? . 2011 . Radiant Publishing Company . 978-0-7974-4280-1 . Harare, Zimbabwe . 755905987.
  27. Book: Zimbabwe Women Writers. Selections Inkondlo. Zimbabwe Women Writers. 1998. Harare. 28–30, 37, 48–50.
  28. Book: Dube, Doris . Golide: gogo khokho-- lived, loved & left a legacy . 2011 . Radiant Pub. Co . Barbara Nkala . 978-0-7974-4660-1 . Harare, Zimbabwe . 781940002.
  29. Book: Growing and branching out: Brethren in Christ Church in Zimbabwe and southern Africa . 2014 . Barbara Nkala . Doris Dube . 978-0-7974-5977-9 . First . Borrowdale, Harare, Zimbabwe . 928047296.
  30. Book: Umusa Wansuku Zonke Ugwalo 2. Radiant Publishing Company. 2006. 0797431128. Harare.
  31. Book: Hadebe, Samukele. Isichazamazwi Sesindebele. 2001. College Press [in conjunction with the] African Languages Research Institute. ALLEX Project, University of Zimbabwe. African Languages Research Institute. 1-77900-404-4. Harare, Zimbabwe. 48619090.
  32. Web site: Chronicle . The . President caps 2,388 at Nust . 24 May 2022 . The Chronicle . 14 November 2015 . en-GB.
  33. Web site: Zimbabwe: NAMA 2021 a Thunderous Triumph, But... NAMA Legends. Tafadzwa. Zimoyo. The Herald. AllAfrica. 29 March 2021. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210506104853/https://allafrica.com/stories/202103290092.html . 6 May 2021 .
  34. Web site: Barbara Makhalisa Nkala. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412130023/https://barbaramnkala.blogspot.com/p/authors-biography.html . 12 April 2021 .
  35. Web site: pwadmin. 1 August 2019. 'God greatly sustained me'. 27 April 2021. Mennonite World Conference. en.
  36. Web site: Welcome To BCMN Literary Trust – Barbara Clara Makhalisa Nkala Literary Trust. 27 April 2021. en.

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