She was educated at york university in toronto, gaining her doctorate in english literature in 1995. Her first published book was a collection of short stories, why dont you carve other animals 1992, which was followed by five novels. The butterfly of the title is phephelaphi, a freespirited young woman who witnesses the murder of her mother by her lover, a white police officer. Butterfly burning tells the story of young phephelaphi and her lover, fumbatha, who is twice her age. Butterfly burning ebook by yvonne vera 9781466806078. In 1997, her novel under the tongue won the commonwealth writers prize, african region. The following version of this book was used to create this guide.
Her novels are known for their poetic prose, difficult subjectmatter, and their strong women characters, and are firmly rooted in zimbabwes difficult past. Butterfly burning by yvonne vera every now and then, one comes across a piece of literature that one cannot stand. This harrowing narration of a womans life around the time of the zimbabwean war for independence is lyrically written yet hauntingly unsettling and heart. Phephelaphi is a free spirit, searching for fulfillment and independence. Sep 12, 2000 butterfly burning brings the brilliantly poetic voice of zimbabwean writer yvonne vera to american readers for the first time. Yvonne vera s novels chronicle the lives of zimbabwean women with extraordinary power and beauty. Yvonne vera 19642005, an awardwinning novelist and innovative museum director was the winner of the first macmillan writers prize for the stone virgins. Her latest novel, the stone virgins 2002, was described by.
Without a name and under the tongue, her two earliest novels, are set in the seventies during the guerrilla war against the white government. Publication date 2000 topics young women publisher new york. Fumbatha is born the same year that his father is hanged and is fifty years old when the story opens. Vera captures the ebullience and bitterness to township life, as well as the strength and courage of her. The pace of veras novels, tension between the general and the specific, the way in which her metaphors constellate, and the beauty of atrocity as it occurs in her work all contribute to the effect that veras novels have on her reader. After yvonnes death in 2005, a writing competition named after her, the yvonne vera award, was.
Yvonne vera page at interlit 97 german yvonne vera. Jun 27, 2017 butterfly burning brings the brilliantly poetic voice of zimbabwean writer yvonne vera to american readers for the first time. Farrar, straus and giroux publicity page publicity page. Vera explodes myths of womanhood and romance, and realistically and unsentimentally depicts. Books advanced search todays deals new releases amazon charts. When fumbatha, a construction worker, meets the much younger phephelaphi, hewants her like the land beneath his feet from which birth had severed him. When fumbatha, a construction worker, meets the much younger phephelaphi, hewants her like the land beneath his feet from which birth had. Vera was born and raised against the backdrop of faltering colonialism and vicious guerilla warfare in 1970s rhodesia, southern africa.
Jul 25, 20 butterfly burning brings the brilliantly poetic voice of zimbabwean writer yvonne vera to american readers for the first time. Her first book, a collection of short stories entitled why dont you carve other animals, was published in 1992 and her novel under the tongue 1996 won the commonwealth writers. It is a romantic story that follows the life of construction worker fumbatha, who falls in love with phephelaphi, a much younger woman. Nehanda 1993, without a name 1994, under the tongue 1996, butterfly burning 1998, and the stone virgins 2002. Yvonne veras novels chronicle the lives of zimbabwean women with extraordinary power and beauty. Butterfly burning brings the brilliantly poetic voice of zimbabwean writer yvonne vera to american readers for the first time. Butterfly burning by yvonne vera fantastic fiction. Butterfly burning by yvonne vera farrar, straus and giroux, september 2000 book ordering available through this electronic version reproduced by kind permission of farrar, straus and giroux, llc, new york, new york, usa. Butterfly burning isbn 9780374291860 pdf epub yvonne vera. Set in the late 1940s, it is about the voice of the people under colonialism in zimbabwe. When fumbatha, a construction worker, meets the much.
This deceptively lean work presents a history and a community that reach back to 1896, when fumbathas father and sixteen other men were hanged for opposing white rule in zimbabwe. Without a name and under the tongue yvonne vera macmillan. Dambudzo marechera 19521987 published in 1988 by baobab books. Set in makokoba, a black township, in the late l940s, the novel is an intensely bittersweet love story. Butterfly burning by yvonne vera book cover, description, publication history. Her novels are known for their poetic prose, difficult. Yvonne vera born 1964, one of africas most esteemed writers, has been showered with awards and her work has landed on feminist and african studies curriculums at universities across the world. Her latest novel, the stone virgins 2002, was described by critics as her most accomplished and. This novel was another incredibly important text to me during my english degree because it was the catalyst for what ultimately became my honors thesis. Yvonne vera was born on 19 september 1964 in bulawayo, zimbabwe. Jan, 2015 butterfly burning by yvonne vera every now and then, one comes across a piece of literature that one cannot stand. Feb 01, 2001 two early novels showing the mesmerizing poeticism of zimbabwean vera butterfly burning, 2000, this time in the lives and fortunes of two young women seeking a measure of solace in a wartorn, povertyridden, yet naturally beautiful land.
A poignant tale of love and ambition overwhelmed by selfconsciously poetic prose. Butterfly burning by yvonne vera overdrive rakuten. Yvonne veras butterfly burning and the politics of. Yvonne vera phephelaphi, living in makokoba in the 1940s, is a young woman who believes unrealistically that her body and her life are her own to control. Instead of feeling satisfied, emotional, or mindblown, you are left with a small feeling of regret that either festers or is properly dealt with.
Apr 27, 2005 yvonne vera, who has died from meningitis aged 40, was one of zimbabwes best known writers. Yvonne vera september 19, 1964 april 7, 2005 was an author from zimbabwe. Butterfly burning is a novel by zimbabwean writer yvonne vera that was first published on january 1, 1998. He meets the very young phephelaphi on the umguza river, and she moves in with him at sidojiwe e2, the longest. Butterfly burning by yvonne vera let s talk about books. Yvonne vera, who has died from meningitis aged 40, was one of zimbabwes best known writers. Set in makokoba, a black township, in the late 1940s, the novel is an intensely bittersweet love story. Her last novel, the stone virgins was described by critics as her most accomplished and accessible work to date. Yvonne vera september 19, 1964 april 7, 2005 was an awardwinning author from zimbabwe. Set in the late 1940s, it is about the voice of the. In 1999, vera was the recipient of swedens voice of africa award. African literature has often been theorized through an implicit act of adaptation. Butterfly burning brings the brilliantly poetic voice of zimbabwe. Vera also edited opening spaces an anthology of contemporary writing by african women.