Harare (in the) North: The Metaphor of an Irresolvable Exile Dialectic

Abstract

This article foregrounds the argument that Harare North (Brian Chikwava, 2009) and We Need New Names (NoViolet Bulawayo, 2013) communicate, through the experiences of their central characters, the notion that the exile dialectic is irresolvable. What exacerbates this condition of an irresolvable exile dialectic is the ubiquitous presence of Harare (the space the characters are running away from) in the North (the space of the characters' escape), hence the use of the phrase, "Harare (in the) North" in the heading of this paper. The phrase is a corruption of Harare North, the title of Brian Chikwava's novel. The ubiquity of Harare manifests itself in the sense that the same miracles of existence which the characters needed to fall back on in Harare are still required of them in the Northern spaces they have run to for safety. At the same time, their sense of loss, which is at the heart of their exile experiences, begins before their flight, yet is exacerbated by their existence in the Global North, as if there is no final place of safety for them. A close analysis of Harare North and We Need New Names reveals the dialectical and simultaneous existence of running from crisis and running into crisis, being in Zimbabwe and being in London/Detroit, Michigan, both happening in the same text to the same characters, thus confirming the pervasive nature of Zimbabwe.