Journalists often find themselves on
the front lines of unfolding calamities. Some report the events and leave it at
that. But others decide to go further. They write books – or produce
documentaries. One such is Peter Godwin, author of The Fear.
Godwin, the current PEN President of the Americas, made a presentation at the 5th edition of Storymoja Hay Festival in Nairobi and explained the circumstances that led to the penning of The Fear.
Godwin, the current PEN President of the Americas, made a presentation at the 5th edition of Storymoja Hay Festival in Nairobi and explained the circumstances that led to the penning of The Fear.
“These narratives are the outcome of the
accounts of survivors of atrocities committed in 2008 by Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe
after a disputed election,” Godwin told his audience. He explained how he
interacted with scores of Zimbabweans and how their accounts moved him to write
their stories.
Reading selected passages from the text, Godwin powerfully conveyed the sense of anguish endured by his subjects as he described the terror on opposition supporters. He spoke of its being on "an industrial scale.”
“When those who survive, terribly injured, limp home, or are carried or pushed in wheelbarrows, or on the backs of pickup trucks, they act like human billboards, advertising the appalling consequences of opposition to the tyranny, bearing their gruesome political stigmata. And in their home communities, their return causes ripples of anxiety to spread,” he said.
Gory tales of water boarding, beatings and castrations made for gut-wrenching listening. "Recording these accounts in book form – specifically a novel - makes it more difficult to ignore them in the long run," Godwin said as he explained that the title of his book was inspired by the Zimbabwean native word “Chidudu”, which translates into English as “Fear.”
Peter Godwin is amongst the growing number of authors who are relying on their witnessing of scenes to inform their works. This emerging genre of literature, according to University of Nairobi's Professor Chris Lukorito Wanjala befits authors who take the high moral road.
Edited by Roy Gachuhi
Reading selected passages from the text, Godwin powerfully conveyed the sense of anguish endured by his subjects as he described the terror on opposition supporters. He spoke of its being on "an industrial scale.”
“When those who survive, terribly injured, limp home, or are carried or pushed in wheelbarrows, or on the backs of pickup trucks, they act like human billboards, advertising the appalling consequences of opposition to the tyranny, bearing their gruesome political stigmata. And in their home communities, their return causes ripples of anxiety to spread,” he said.
Gory tales of water boarding, beatings and castrations made for gut-wrenching listening. "Recording these accounts in book form – specifically a novel - makes it more difficult to ignore them in the long run," Godwin said as he explained that the title of his book was inspired by the Zimbabwean native word “Chidudu”, which translates into English as “Fear.”
Peter Godwin is amongst the growing number of authors who are relying on their witnessing of scenes to inform their works. This emerging genre of literature, according to University of Nairobi's Professor Chris Lukorito Wanjala befits authors who take the high moral road.
Edited by Roy Gachuhi
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