I actually don't sleep much; I only need about four hours a night. Petina Gappah hournightsleep Change image and share on social
I see myself in public service in Zimbabwe. I would prefer an advisory role - cabinet secretary, minister of trade or the arts, or something like that. I don't want to be just a writer. Petina Gappah advisoryartcabinet Change image and share on social
People always ask me how I manage to find humor in so much bleakness. I think this is almost a necessary skill to have. Petina Gappah bleaknessfindhumor Change image and share on social
The painful truth may be that Zimbabwe, the youngest of Africa's former colonies, has simply followed where the continent has led, treading the well-worn path beaten out of the lie that taking power from the colonialists and delivering democracy to the people are one and the same. Petina Gappah africabeatcolonialist share on social
For the first years of my life, I went to school in Rhodesia. My memory of living in the townships is that they were actually really happy places. Petina Gappah happylifelive Change image and share on social
There are some people who are happy to be African writers. They are pan-Africanists. I'm not a pan-Africanist. I think African countries have a lot in common. But we are also very different. Petina Gappah africanafricanistcommon Change image and share on social
Only al-Jazeera is allowed to report from Zimbabwe, but it is unwatchable. Their Zimbabwean reporter Supa Mandiwanzira was one of Zanu-PF's praise-singers at the reviled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. Petina Gappah allowbroadcastcorporation share on social
The first thing I remember when I moved to a school in the suburbs was, 'My gosh, all these books!' The classroom and school had a library; I'd never seen so many books in my life! It was something we didn't have in the township. Petina Gappah bookclassroomgosh share on social
On April 18, 1980, the last outpost of empire in Africa died. From Rhodesia's ashes rose a country that would take its place among the free nations as Zimbabwe, the last among equals. And men and women leapt to embrace this dream called Zimbabwe. Petina Gappah africaaprilashe share on social
Zimbabweans, I've come to believe, we are very passive-aggressive people. We don't like conflict; we don't like confrontation, so we find all sorts of ways of avoiding that conflict and confrontation. We are not allowed to talk about bad things that go on in families. Petina Gappah aggressiveallowavoid share on social
