Journalist and M.F.A. in Creative Writing Wadzanai Mhute
Creative writing M.F.A.聽student Wadzanai Mhute is out to smash what she calls 鈥渄angerous stereotypes鈥� that stop the full story of a people and their culture from finding its way into literary canon. An immigrant from Zimbabwe, she was alarmed when she came to the United States to realize that African writers were underrepresented, their broadly diverse and myriad cultures relegated to what Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called in a widely cited 2009 TEDGlobal talk 鈥渢he single story,鈥� one which overshadows the more rich and complex histories of the African peoples.
A multimedia producer, reporter, and author currently working as a writer and community moderator for聽The New York Times, Mhute also worked as an associate producer at A可乐视频 News Radio. Before she joined the 可乐视频 M.F.A. program, she graduated with a master鈥檚 degree from Columbia University鈥檚 School of Journalism.
础迟听The New York Times聽Mhute is making good on her goal of erasing the single story by introducing readers to a number of African writers, namely women, from her native Zimbabwe, to Cameroon, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Ghana. Her reporting for the聽Times聽is not confined to covering Africans, as her work on the Pulitzer Prize鈥搘inning 1619 Project attests. For her story as part of that project,听聽co-written with project director Nikole Hannah-Jones, Mhute interviewed Howard Law School graduates about their family histories and their future plans. She also spoke with a genealogist who was helping the students trace their roots.
鈥淭he public response was overwhelmingly positive,鈥� says Mhute. 鈥淭his history is not always taught in schools or talked about; we tend to skip to certain parts of history without delving into the genesis of that same history. Understanding that the first enslaved people landed in Virginia in 1619 and the continued impact of the institution to this day, was a surprise to a lot of readers, and it made them ask more questions.鈥�
Nonfiction is not the only writing in Mhute鈥檚 portfolio, as she has published short stories in several international journals, such as聽Per Contra,听The Warwick Review, and聽Farafina, and in聽Journeys Home: An Anthology of Contemporary Diasporic Experience聽(African World Press, 2019),听One World: A Global Anthology of Short Stories聽(New Internationalist, 2009), and聽Women Writing Zimbabwe聽(Weaver Press, 2008). In her fiction, Mhute spotlights her homeland.
鈥淚 tend to explore the role of women in Zimbabwe, the effects of the civil war there, and the generational trauma that needs to be addressed,鈥� says Mhute. 鈥淏ut I also write about adventure as well as the mundane and delightful lives of Zimbabweans. My worldview always focuses on illuminating the inequalities in society but also the ordinary lives of my characters who live, love, and work in Zimbabwe.鈥�
