Literary criticism in ... Zimbabwe

       In The Standard Tinashe Mushakavanhu argues: 'There is something fundamentally wrong with literary journalism in Zimbabwe', in Treason against literature.
       It certainly sounds like the local situation is ... less than ideal:

No good book reviewers. No regular book pages in the local papers. No quality arts and culture magazines. In fact, there is no more vibrancy of literary debate and discussion in Zimbabwe like we had in the 80s and 90s. What we have is a lot of charlatan praise jobs.

       And Mushakavanhu argues:

This lack of serious interest in our own literature has invited foreign critics to dominate the shaping of Zimbabwean literature. They read and define us. It is time we not only declared our independence, but seriously started reading our own writers.

       Any call for a revived local literary culture is to be applauded -- but, of course, in its absence it's good that some outsiders are still paying some attention, too.