Piss Corpse

Meet Charlotte, Peace Corps volunteer fresh off the plane from Iowa to Malawi and teaching English at a local school. Loaded with hilarious preconceptions as an American, feminist, and agnostic, she expected an adventure — just not one where trousers mean pants and white privilege feels like the punchline of a bad joke. With the help of her spirited chaperone, Malawian Mbumba, Charlotte is ushered into a culture clash more like a train smash and has never felt more alive.

When Muthi Nhlema isn't managing a non-profit or trying to understand his 12-year-old son's obsession with anime. He is a Malawian writer best known for his adventures (and misadventures) in African speculative fiction. This story was written during his stay in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.

'Piss Corpse' was selected to be the debut short story of the ZamaShort imprint series of single short stories.

"'Piss Corpse' is a marvellous debut in the ZamaShort series. The very best elements of short stories – characters immediately brought to life, a setting both familiar and defamiliarized, a tight narrative arc with a perfectly paced ending, and, best of all, the type of satire that makes African humour so brilliant."

— Tsitsi Ella Jaji.

"Nhlema's prose is electric and fizzy, accentuating the absurd in this delightful comedy of cross-cultural confusion. You will laugh your head off and be wowed by this tale."

— Tendai Huchu.

"With biting satire and irreverent humour, 'Piss Corpse' dives headfirst into the messiness of cultural collisions, linguistic blunders, the pitfalls of performative wokeness, and the unexpected grace of getting everything wrong."

— Ekari Chirombo.

"'Piss Corpse' is a story with an attitude. It might even be the right attitude. In its ferocity, revulsion at male oppression and corporate cultural garbage, and its weird and coruscating wit, it reads like a mixture of Celine and early Ngugi. Paraffin for wine drinkers."

— Imraan Coovadia.

"Nhlema writes with wit and irony. I enjoyed this humorous take on culture-clashes."

— Brian Chikwava.