author
Arthur Shearly Cripps
1869–1952
A priest, poet, and novelist, he spent much of his life in what is now Zimbabwe and became known for writing with deep sympathy for African communities. His work joins spiritual reflection with a sharp sense of justice, giving it unusual warmth and moral force.
2 Audiobooks
Primavera: Poems by Four Authors
by Stephen Phillips, Laurence Binyon, Arthur Shearly Cripps, Manmohan Ghose
Cinderella in the South: Twenty-Five South African Tales
by Arthur Shearly Cripps
About the author
Born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on June 10, 1869, he was educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, Oxford, before training for the Anglican priesthood at Cuddesdon. Early in his career he served in Essex, then left for missionary work in Mashonaland after becoming troubled by reports about colonial rule there.
From the early 1900s he lived near Enkeldoorn, now Chivhu, in Southern Rhodesia, today Zimbabwe. He spent most of the rest of his life there as an Anglican priest and writer, and he became known for siding with African communities in disputes over land and colonial power. Sources also note that he was given the Shona name "Mpandi," often explained as "the man who walks like thunder."
Alongside his religious work, he wrote poetry, short stories, and novels. His reputation rests not only on the range of his writing, but on the way it reflects both spiritual seriousness and outspoken concern for justice. He died on August 1, 1952.