The post-2000 period saw an increase in writing by white Zimbabweans, in particular about land, the experience of the farm invasions and expropriations in the course of Zimbabwe’s controversial land reform, and the accompanying trauma of displacement, violence, and the infringement of citizenship rights. Another central topic is the experience of transnational out-migration which has increased dramatically since 2000. In addition to works of fiction, there exists a large corpus of autobiographical accounts in particular by farmers who have lived through the land invasions and have been dispossessed and evicted. Childhood memoirs form another genre in which white Zimbabweans have been prolific; popular examples include the famous Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (2002) by Alexandra Fuller and Rainbow’s End (2007) by Lauren St.John.
The diversity of voices and stories notwithstanding, the complexity of Zimbabwe’s white communities and histories often remains unacknowledged. Essentialist notions of race which are part of the radically nationalist discourse and politics of the ZANU-PF regime have led to a marginalization and exclusion of white citizens, and of literary voices from the `official’ canon of national literature. Critics such as Amanda Hammar (2012), Rory Pilossof (2009; 2012), and Andrew Hartnack (2014) have pointed out, however, that there exists a general tendency, which they detect even in scholarly discourse, to essentialize whiteness and to treat white Zimbabweans as a monolithic group without sufficiently acknowledging the complex and diverse histories, backgrounds, and political standpoints of those considered white. This paper argues that literary voices can add to our understanding of the complexity and diversity of white Zimbabwean experiences and identities. What perspectives can literature offer which might add to a more nuanced understanding of Zimbabwean whiteness? In what ways can literary voices enable us to think of whiteness in a Zimbabwean (and, by extension, Southern African) context beyond binaries? In order to approach these questions, this paper will discuss selected pieces of fiction which appeared after 2000, including Graham Lang’s Place of Birth, and Ian Holding’s Unfeeling.