Discovering Zimbabwean Digital Literature : An Exploratory Study of the Typologies and Properties of Online Audiences of Ephemeral Literature

Abstract: Cathrine Phiri's novel ‘Never Mine’ on Facebook, highlights the liberating potential of online literary engagement, particularly for female readers, amid creative restrictions in Zimbabwe. Utilising both the Afrocentric and Communicative Figuration concepts, the study examines how digital ephemeral literature fosters connection and conversation. It delves into audience typologies, alignment with community ideals, complex social structures and cultural behaviour. Methodologically, this study takes on a deductive approach and makes use of the theoretical framework that comprises the Afrocentric model and the Communicative Figuration model. African literary circles have in the past embraced the online medium, making digital literary content highly successful, despite its realised (or otherwise perceived) ephemerality. The digital landscape has not only facilitated connections between African writers and their readers but has also enriched the literary landscape through the proliferation of new literary expressions. The data, collected from Facebook interactions in the form of screenshots from user comments, replies and reactions sheds light onto this phenomenon. Grounded in a synthesis of literary studies and digital media studies, this study shows how audience members are seen to readily engage in conversations that are deemed central to African cultural and social being. Never Mine shows that there is a large audience for online ephemeral literature and that this audience is largely active and dynamic in nature, from the observed user comments and reactions. The behaviour of the African audience is therefore intricately connected to the complex interplay of cultural, digital, and political elements that are unique to the region. Thus, grasping these dynamics is essential to comprehend the distinctive trends in online engagement and information consumption within the African context. Different platforms are therefore seen to connect readers to new writing on the continent – writing that more accurately reflects their own lived realities – and in innovative ways.