John Eppel

Biography

John Eppel was born 1947 in Lydenburg, South Africa and grew up at Colleen Bawn, Zimbabwe. He is the author of several books of poetry including Spoils of War (1989), which won the Ingrid Jonker prize, Songs My Sonata for Matabeleland (1995), Country Taught Me (2005). Poet and novelist, he is known to write about the indigenous white experience in Zimbabwe and incorporate satire in his work to criticize political and financial corruption in Zimbabwe. His goal with prose is “to ridicule greed, cruelty, self-righteousness and related vices like racism, sexism, jingoism, and homophobia.” He received an MA English from the University of Natal in South Africa and now teaches English at Christian Brothers College in Bulawayo.

Birth Date

1947-01-01

Place of Birth

Zimbabwean

Country of Nationality

Zimbabwe

Languages Spoken

English

University of Natal

Poetry Collections

O Suburbia (Weaver Press, Harare, Zimbabwe, 2018); Landlocked (Smith/Doorstep, Sheffield, UK, 2016); Textures (with Togara Muzanenhamo) (‘amaBooks, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 2018); Hewn From Rock (with Philani Nyoni) (CreateSpace Publishing, California, USA, 2014); Together (with Julius Chingono) (UNO Press, New Orleans, 2011); White Man Crawling, (amaBooks, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 2007); Songs My Country Taught Me (Weaver Press, Harare, Zimbabwe, 2005); Eppel John Selected poems 1965-1995, (Childline, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 2001); Sonata for Matabeleland (Snailpress/Baobab Books, Harare, Zimbabwe, 1995); Spoils of War, (Carrefour, Cape Town, South Africa 1989).

Sources

“John Eppel.” African Books Collective, https://www.africanbookscollective.com/authors-editors/john-eppel. Accessed 10 Apr 2022. “John Eppel.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 June 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eppel. Accessed 10 Apr 2022. “Interview: John Eppel.” Conversations with Writers, 1 Jan. 1970, http://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2007/02/interview-with-poet-novelist-and.html. Accessed 10 Apr 2022. Killam, G. D., and Alicia L. Kerfoot. Student Encyclopedia of African Literature. Greenwood Press, 2008.