Sunday 25 November 2012

Mbali Literary Awards, Clocolan

Literary protagonists who graced the inaugural Mbali Awards were united in their advice in respect of Free State literacy and literature – complacency is a bugbear! This was obvious at the event that took place in Clocolan. Pule Lechesa, the internationally renowned critic said: “FS writing can not afford to rest on its laurels. We still have a long way to go; we must guard against complacency which is a very dangerous thing; with the eloquent, futile shrug of the shoulder that does not bode well eventually,” Lechesa was one of the formal speakers at the Awards, which was graced by arts and culture practitioners. Speakers also pointed out that it was important there should be regular encouragement and boosts for writers in particular. “Fine Black writers are relatively few and far between in black Africa,” Peter Moroe said. “But this is no excuse for them not to be encouraged. Hence the pivotal importance of such award nites,”
Peter Moroe, widely recognised for editing the literary series, The growth of FS Black writing over the years, added: “We have to try much harder to build a society of readers. Our people are just not reading, and the few who do, read absolutely the wrong things. Hence knowledge of literature in particular is plummeting yearly,” Raphael Mokoena, polished critic and essayist, also bemoaned the prevailing situation. “The ignorance on literature is so shocking these days,” he said. “When educated black people are not familiar with the works of SA writers like Es’kia, Lewis Nkosi, Gomolemo Mokae, Siphiwo Mahala etc one, is enveloped in despair” He added: “Occasions like this show that there is some hope on the horizon. I have been impressed with the Citations on the Mbali awardees which display knowledge of literature and eclectic trends…One hopes that soon the likes of Flaxman Qoopane will be honoured for what they have done for the world of letters,”
- R Khotseng

Friday 16 November 2012

ES'KIA MPHAHLELE'S DOWN SECOND AVENUE

The author of this great work, Pa Es’kia Mphahlele breathed his last after a long fruitful life (he was almost 90 when he departed this world) Mphahlele was celebrated as one of the greatest writers Africa has ever produced. Over the decades he was an academic, journalist, editor and international professor. As early as 1959 he published his classic, Down Second Avenue which made the literary world to drool.
Down Second Avenue details the early years of the author’s life how he incredibly made good for himself despite coming from a background of great poverty. We learn all the hard things that happened to him and his family when he was very young but how he decided to be different. It was his love for the written word – for reading and writing – that came to the author’s rescue. From a very early age he relished reading books and in fact went through virtually all the books in his local library easily. He began to explain things to his friends and contemporaries; things he had learnt from books and the early cinema in those days. We see the strength of women in those days of apartheid – the strength of mothers, foster mothers, aunts, etc who despite grinding poverty were always ready to help one way or the other. The young Es’kia did well at school, became a teacher, and later a celebrated journalist and editor at Drum. For a man of his great intelligence and awareness, apartheid era was completely unacceptable, so Es’kia decided to go abroad, to west Africa which was of course then much freer than South Africa. Here he began to blossom as a great creative writer and critic… - KA Motheane (Bookshelf Column)