Kristina Rungano
Kristina Masuwa-Morgan (born 28 February 1963) is a Zimbabwean poet and short story writer, better known as Kristina Rungano. She was the first published Zimbabwean woman poet.
Background
Rungano was born on 28 February 1963 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her father, who was Roman Catholic, ran a business in Zvimba District.
Education
She was educated at Catholic boarding schools near her hometown, before moving to the United Kingdom to study management and computer science. In 1979, having gained a diploma in computer science, she returned to Zimbabwe and worked at the Harare Scientific Computing Centre.
Career
Her first poetry collection, A Storm is Brewing, was published by Zimbabwe Publishing House in 1984; this made her the first female Zimbabwean poet to have her work published. Her poetry particularly covers themes relating to the experiences of women and war. Some of her poetry has subsequently been included in anthologies such as Daughters of Africa (1992), The Heinemann Book of African Women's Poetry (1995), The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry (1999) and Step into a World: A Global Anthology of New Black Literature (2000). Rungano's second collection, To Seek a Reprieve and Other Poems, was published in 2004.
Although she views her poetry primarily as a means of self-release, her themes are resonant: self-exploration, aspects of womanhood, love, loneliness, alienation, and war are among her subjects. Her enduring strengths include her ability to capture inwardly felt experience using a variety of personae.
Rungano currently lives in England, she is the Director of Learning and Teaching at University of Greenwich.
Works
- A Storm is Brewing: Poems, Zimbabwe Publishing House, 1984, ISBN 978-0949932839
- To Seek a Reprieve and Other Poems, 2004
- Daughters of Africa. Heinemann, 1992.
- Heinemann Book of African Women’s Poetry. Heinemann, 1995.
