we are all zimbabweans now

       James Kilgore: Author Biography

         James Kilgore grew up in California. He graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1969. Living in the politically volatile San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s he became involved with the Symbionese Liberation Army, resulting in an indictment for possession of explosives. He fled the charges, remaining a fugitive for 27 years.

         During his time on the run he rejected the politics of small group violence, building a life as an educator, researcher, activist, parent and partner. He spent 20 years in Southern Africa living in Zimbabwe and South Africa under the pseudonym Charles “John” Pape. During that time he earned a Ph.D. and authored a number of educational and academic materials. He also married Teresa Barnes.  He was arrested in Cape Town, South  Africa in 2002 and served six and half years in prison, gaining his release in May, 2009.

         He currently resides in Illinois, U.S.A. with his wife and two children. He is working to finalize a number of fiction manuscripts he completed during his time of incarceration.  We Are All Zimbabweans Now is his first novel and the first book he ’s written under his real name.

Photo: Annie Holmes

Photo: Annie Holmes