ISSUE #1

49
BRYONY RHEAM
Tell us about yourself - where you live,
where you studied, where you work?
I live in Bulawayo with my partner, John, and
our two children, Sian and Ellie. I am an
English teacher at Girls’ College and I am
also a proofreader and freelance writer. I
studied in the UK and then worked for a year
in Singapore before returning to Zimbabwe
in 2001. In 2008, we left to work in Zambia
and ended up staying there for 7 years. We
have been back in Bulawayo for five years
and do not regret the move.
What inspired you to become a writer?
What is your favorite book? Which
authors have influenced your writing?
I have always wanted to be a writer. Even
when I was very young, I would write little
stories and put them in a book. When I was
eleven, my dad bought me a typewriter and I
just loved it and would spend hours
producing stories about fairies and dogs and that sort of thing! I also remember reading a
biography of Enid Blyton who was quite a prolific writer and how she kept notebooks and
detailed plans of stories. This really appealed to me. I think my favourite book is The Great
Gatsby because I think Fitzgerald’s writing is just so beautiful. I remember the first time I
read it and how powerfully it affected me. There is a real strain of cynicism in a lot of modern
writing which I don’t like. Some writers delight in being vulgar or brutal; it’s a tendency that
can come across as childish, a need to shock. Writing like that of Fitzgerald’s is so beautiful,
it reminds us how fragile the world really is. It affects us on a much deeper level.
This September Sun has had much success, from being selected as a set book for ‘A’
Level Literature exams in Zimbabwe, to being translated into Arabic. Please tell us
about your writing journey with your debut novel.
It has been quite a journey and when I was sitting on many a long, lonely evening, often
without power, I didn’t think it would be as popular as it has been. I have received many
messages from people who say it struck a chord with them; it was something they could
relate to. Perhaps because it was more of an urban novel to those we are used to seeing