Samuel Chimsoro (13 February 1949 – 6 July 2016) was a Zimbabwean poet and novelist who published in both English and Shona.[1][2][3][4]
Chimsoro was born on 13 February 1949,[4] in Mrewa in the Mashonaland East Province of Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia).[5] He attended Nyatsime College, the first privately black owned secondary school in Zimbabwe. He then trained as a laboratory technician with a focus on radiation detection. He worked for the government of Zimbabwe before moving to the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).[4]
Chimsoro published his first volume of poetry, Smoke and Flames, in 1978. In the same year he published a Shona-language short story, "Hoyiyo ne Hohwa", which would later be used for instruction in primary schools.[5] These were followed by Nothing is Impossible, a novel inspired by the life of Paul Mukondo,[4] in 1983, and the Shona poetry collection Dama rekutanga: muunganidzwa wenhetembo (Dama rekutanga: the first promise) in 1990. Chimsoro's works deal with themes of colonialism, racial discrimination, and Zimbabwean politics.[5][6]
Chimsoro died on 6 July 2016 in Umgugu Village, Zhombe, Zimbabwe.[4]