1. Yvonne Vera's first published book was a collection of short stories, Why Don't You Carve Other Animals, which was followed by five novels: Nehanda, Without a Name, Under the Tongue, Butterfly Burning, and The Stone Virgins.
10 Facts About Yvonne Vera
1. 2.
Yvonne Vera attended Mzilikazi High School and then taught English literature at Njube High School, both in Bulawayo.
3.
At some point in the late 1980s, Yvonne Vera was diagnosed as HIV-positive, but never shared this information during her lifetime.
4.
In 1995, Yvonne Vera separated from her husband and returned to Zimbabwe.
5.
Yvonne Vera resigned in May 2003 because of the withdrawal of government funding, an exodus of local artists and a drop in visitors.
6.
In 2004, Yvonne Vera returned to Canada with Jose to seek treatment.
7.
Yvonne Vera died on 7 April 2005 of AIDS-related meningitis.
8.
At the time of her death Yvonne Vera was working on a new novel, Obedience, which has never been published.
9.
Yvonne Vera wrote obsessively, often for 10 hours a day, and described time when she was not writing as "a period of fasting".
10.
Yvonne Vera edited several anthologies by African women writers, including Opening Spaces: an Anthology of Contemporary African Women's Writing.