Books by Steve Chimombo

Malawian Oral Literature: The Aesthetics of Indigenous Arts The first edition of Malawian Oral Literature was seminal in the study of oral literature, giving a truly indigenous theoretical framework for the study of Malawi's oral literature, which could be replicated for other Bantu language cultures. Despite the fact that the text was first published more than 30 years ago, the theory and related studies herein remain remarkably current. For example, the trickster and the dupe continue to appear in news stories, both local and international, in different forms and environments, from politics to finance, as well as literature.

Some people often ignore the fact that writers respond to the HIV&AIDS pandemic by using it as a theme in their poetry, fiction, and plays. Steve Chimombo started recording the writers' responses as early as 1990 and wrote 'AIDS and the Writer' in WASI: the magazine for the arts. The article reported the results of a poetry competition organized by the Ministry of Health on the theme, and there have been other competitions also by different institutions since then. Some radio and television programs have also called upon the writer to help in the dissemination of information to their listeners. The Hyena Wears Darkness is the author's own contribution to the national Malawian campaign to educate the public on the pandemic. Its focus is on those cultural practices which help propagate HIV/AIDS in Malawian society.