Annotated Bibliography
Bourgois, Geert
Gabriël, ed. Legacies
of Stone: Zimbabwe Past and Present Volume 2. Tervuren, Belgium: Royal
Museum for Central Africa, 1997.
This work is a collection of articles on the
overall art scene in Zimbabwe. Through its several articles, different
aspects of Zimbabwean art are introduced and discussed. It provides a
nearly complete catalogue in the end of the book for the readers to see
the art that was discussed. It could be easily read by most people and
serves as an excellent introduction.
Dube, Caleb. “Popular Music in Zimbabwe.”
Art from the Frontline: Contemporary Art from Southern Africa.
London: Frontline States/Karia Press, 1990.
Reading fairly fast, “Popular Music in Zimbabwe”
discusses the history of popular music in Zimbabwe. Starting at the
1920’s and working forward, the different styles of music are introduced
and how popular society has effected its music. This article places
several artists in their genres and tells of several instruments.
Impey, Angela They Want Us with Salt and Onions: Women in the Zimbabwean Music
Industry. Diss. Indiana University, 1992. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University
Microfilms International, 1993.
Impey looks at women in all areas of music from
performance to DJ’ing in her dissertation for her Ph.D. in Anthropology.
She examines how women are discriminated against in the music scene in
Zimbabwe as she herself feels the effects of it during her research. Her
dissertation is full of personal interviews and life experiences.
Undergraduates can easily read this work.
Kalumbu, Isaac.
The Process of Creation and Production of Popular Music in Zimbabwe.
Diss. Indiana University, 1999. Ann Arbor: UMI, 2001.
As his thesis for his Ph.D. in Folklore, Kalumbu
tells of what influenced music in Zimbabwe and how it then becomes
popular. He spent several years in Zimbabwe studying the music and
interviewing experts in the field of music to see how it has changed in
the last 40 years or so. Kalumbu writes at about the high school level,
clearly expressing his findings and opinions.
Kasfir, Sidney Littlefield. “Patron and
Mediators.” Contemporary African Art. New York: Thames and Hudson,
LTD, 1999. 64–101.
Patrons have played an important part in
Zimbabwean’s entrance on the world art scene and Kasfir tells of several
patrons who have worked in Zimbabwe. Many patrons’ stories are discussed,
such as Frank McEwen. It is shown how McEwen as effect the art and
political scene of Zimbabwe and how the same scenes effected his work. It
is somewhat complex to understand, but Kasfir is through.
Lane, Martha S. B. "The Blood that Made
the Body Go": The Role of Song, Poetry and Drama in Zimbabwe's War of
Liberation, 1966-1980. Evanston, IL: Northwestern U., 1993.
This PH.D. in history explores how poetry, drama and
song were used to help the Zimbabweans win their war. She includes in an
appendix several translated versions of songs sung during the war of
liberation. Dr. Lane writes her book with an audience of undergraduates
who have some knowledge of the Chimurenga.
Maraire, Dumisani.
The Position of Music in Shona Mudzimu (Ancestral Spirit) Possession.
Diss. University of Washington, 1990. Ann Arbor: U.M.I., 1990.
By having a need to
understand his own culture, Maraire went to Zimbabwe to find out the role
of music with the Shona spirits. In his Ph.D. thesis, he explains his
findings at the undergraduate level. This thesis is straightforward,
providing wonderful glossaries, maps and other references.
McEwen, Frank. “Shona Art Today.”
African Arts. 5.4(1972): 8-11.
“Shona Art Today” serves as an introduction to
Shona Art for those that have not experienced it before. McEwen also
introduces the people of Shona to his audience, those that have some
experience with art. The article provides plenty examples of art and
explains what can be seen in the art and why.
Noy, Ilse. The Art
of the Weya Women. Harare: Baobab Books, 1994.
Through a personal
volunteer experience, Noy went to Weya, Zimbabwe to establish a weaving
workshop for the women there to earn money. From there, she was able to
get to the know the women of Weya personally and how they live their
life. The book is a collection of the art from the women she met, their
stories about the art and life.
Turino, Thomas. Nationalists,
Cosmopolitans, and Popular Music in Zimbabwe. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2000.
Thomas Turino, a professor of musicology and
anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign takes a
look at the development of the ‘nationalist’ music of Zimbabwe. Written
at the undergraduate music student level, the book starts in the 1950’s
and continues to the present. It takes into account all of the possible
factors of Zimbabwe making ‘it’ in the international music scene and
explains them in detail. 
