Virginia Phiri

Virginia Phiri (* 1954 in Bulawayo ) is a Zimbabwean author.

Life

She lives with her family in Harare and works there as an accountant . She started writing in 1990 and now has considerable work in the three main languages ​​of Zimbabwe ( English , North Ndebele and Shona ). Her short stories and articles were published in several anthologies between 1995 and 2006 . When Virginia Phiri was in danger during a civil war-like situation, she was rescued by prostitutes and has therefore dealt intensively with their living conditions.

This resulted in her first book “Desperate” in 2002 , a collection of stories about sex workers. Her second book “Destiny” ( 2006 ) is also about people on the fringes of society; it is about hermaphrodites .

Another book "Highway Queen", also from the prostitute milieu, was published in May 2010. She says of herself: "I am not writing of the pleasant". The author is currently working on a book project entitled "Gray Angels", which deals with everyday superstitions and the religion in their environment.

Virginia Phiri volunteers in many organizations in her home country , such as the "Zimbabwe Women's Writers", the Zimbabwean-German Society or the Foundation of the International Book Fair in Zimbabwe, which she herself was managing director in 2002/2003.

Phiri is also considered an expert on African orchids , has co-authored numerous specialist articles and has received numerous awards for her commitment. In 2008 she received a grant from the city of Munich for the artist house Villa Waldberta .

Works

• Desperate (2002), ISBN 0-7974-2367-2
• Destiny (2006), ISBN 0-7974-3199-3
• Highway Queen (2010), table of contents on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation website

Web links

• Villa Waldberta, Munich
• BR online, interview / report (from July 31, 2008)