Zakes Mda (Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda, born in Herschel, South Africa, in 1948) is a South African novelist, poet and playwright, the son of the politician A. P. Mda. His work deals with South Africa's transition to democracy and has won major South African and British literary awards. It should be noted that, although he studied visual arts, the available references do not document a career as a painter, so this biography focuses on his literary work.
His education was spread across several countries. He completed the Cambridge Overseas Certificate at Peka High School in Lesotho in 1969, pursued a BFA in visual arts and literature at the International Academy of Arts and Literature in Zurich in 1976, and in 1984 completed an MFA in theatre and an MA in mass communication and media at Ohio University. He earned his PhD at the University of Cape Town in 1989. When he began publishing, he adopted the pen name Zakes Mda. He taught English and creative writing in South Africa and the United Kingdom before moving to the United States, where he became a professor in the English Department at Ohio University in Athens.
His first novel, Ways of Dying (1995), follows a man who makes a living as a professional mourner in an unnamed South African city torn by violence in its townships. The Heart of Redness (2000) draws on the story of Nongqawuse and the cattle-killing of 1856 to 1857, moving back and forth between past and present to explore the relationship between history and myth. In 2011 he published his memoir, Sometimes There is a Void, which The New York Times called a gregarious and transfixing book.
His influence is also visible in the reach of his work: his novels have been translated into 21 languages. In 2012 the University of Cape Town awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contribution to world literature.