Aryan Kaganof's VUVUZELA MURDERS

STRIKING POETRY IN CITY OF ROSES

The Arts Amuse performing Arts Services from Bloemfontein in partnership with the National Arts Council of South Africa organised the Art of writing Poetry Workshop at the National Afrikaans Literature Museum in Bloemfontein on 14 September 2013. Rita Chihawa (above) from the Arts Amuse said: “The Arts Amuse in partnership with the National Arts Council of South Africa will be championing, developing and investing in artistic and literary arts workshops that enrich people’s lives.” The lady icon added: “We are hosting another series of distinctive workshops that will ensure the Free State aspiring writers develop their skills ranging from poetry scripts, short story and novel writing and performance,” She explained further that as regards the art of writing poetry workshop, veteran, polished, eclectic writer and journalist Flaxman Qoopane was roped in to chip in with his extraordinary experience and dexterity. Also invited was Serame “Icebound” Makhele who also strutted his stuff eloquently. Flaxman Qoopane, always a colourful character, said in his distinctive voice: “During the workshop I introduced the twenty aspiring poets to the following language resources, spoken word, listening, speaking, reading, vocabulary, improving your writing etc. When we want to find out how well or badly a poem is written we appreciate or criticize that poem. In other words, we want to get points that help us in liking or disliking the poem. This is commonly referred to as literary criticism,’ During the workshop, Qoopane and Makhele distributed a poem, Alexandra penned by the illustrious Mongane Wally Serote, to the aspiring poets. The duo also helped the participants to analyse the pertinent poem. According to Qoopane and Makhele: “Poet Serote praises his birthplace, Alexandra which is next to Johannesburg. The poet was nostalgic whilst in exile…’Alexandra is like a beautiful caring mother’ He personifies Alexandra by saying: ‘A most beautiful Mother’. The poet has travelled to many other countries, but still feels Alexandra is the best. These memories of the poet are strong, trenchant and resonating – as he even reminisces on the horrors, murders et al. ‘There is no place like the birth place’ is the stirring message that strikes a chord from this piece. It was a most enlightening workshop! Serame Makhele presented a talk about the late Stephen Bantu Biko who was killed by the apartheid regime on 12 September 1977. He read some extracts from his book, I write what I like Ncumisa Stokwe from J.B Mafora, Mangaung said: “The facilitators Flaxman Qoopane and Serame Makhele have great experiences as poets. We learned a lot from them about poetry. Thank you Arts Amuse for inviting Qoopane and Makhele to inspire us,” Angelina de Wee from Bochabela Location in Bloemfontein said; “I saw for the first time the Qoopane Literary Gallery. It exposed me to so many SA writers. I felt as if I was rubbing shoulders with Mongane Wally Serote, Don Mattera, Njabulo Ndebele, Sol Plaatje, Lebo Mashile etc. A magnificent Gallery!!”

BOLAJI IN HIS POMP - A P.Lechesa literary study

Pule Lechesa writes on literary allusions in Bolaji’s book: ‘Kunle Apantaku’

In this new book, it is remarkable how many sweeping, far-ranging literary allusions author O Bolaji resorts to whilst paying this heart-felt tribute to his friend and literary colleague, Kunle Apantaku. My intention here is to briefly point out some of these references. Bolaji mentions a raft of literary protagonists, most of them among the best the world has ever seen. These writers, African and Eurocentric, include Wole Soyinka, Kola Onadipe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Chinua Achebe, Ama Atta Aidoo, Ben Okri, Dillibe Onyeama, R.L Stevenson and Herman Melville. Other wordsmiths mentioned in this new book are William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Philip Roth, John Steinbeck, Bessie Head, Dambudzo Marechera, Ayi Kwei Armah, Sol Plaatje, Njabulo Ndebele, Melvyn Bragg, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Enid Blyton, Sidney Sheldon, William Shakespeare, Nostradamus (the great seer), Frantz Kafka, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Flaxman Qoopane, and Ishmael Mzwandile Soqaga. Reminiscing on their youthful writings long ago (he and Kunle) Bolaji states: “Now looking back on it, it is rather strange that we considered ourselves as “old” at that time, and even the themes of what we wrote reflected this: love, philosophy, sex, crime etc. There is a very impressive corpus of African literature anchored on children’s books. Even in those days, the outstanding African writers like Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Ama Ata Aidoo and Ngugi wa Thiong’o had penned some children’s works. But although we had read countless Eurocentric works of this ilk some years ago (the Enid Blytons, Biggles series, Three Investigators, Hardy Boys and the like) we now firmly considered ourselves – even at 15 – as mature, rather wizened wordsmiths! “I have always maintained that the youth must devour pertinent literature (Children’s books) when they are very young – let’s say from around 4, 5 upwards. Nothing can be more exciting than reading such books at the right age. In this wise, I must pay a brief special tribute to one of the all-time greats of Black African writing pertaining to children – Kola Onadipe. “His books were – are - extraordinarily interesting for the young ones, with works like the exhilarating The adventures of Souza. Mr Onadipe (now deceased) was a very prolific author of such books for the young; his published titles include The adventures of Souza, The boy slave, Koku Baboni, Sugar girl, The magic land of the shadows, The forest is our playground, The return of Shettima, Footprints on the Niger, Sunny boy, Sweet mother, Around Nigeria in thirty days, Call me Michael, Halima must not die : and other plays for schools; Happy birthday : queen for a day; Mothers-In-Law, The Other Woman, A pot of gold, Beloved daughters, The king is naked : and other stories, The mysterious twins; and Binta : beautiful bride…” Do writers belong to the loony bin? Are they a crazy breed? Here are Bolaji’s views on this:

“We think of excellent (now dead) African writers like Dambudzo Marechera and Bessie Head, who were also “oddities” in their own way. Their idiosyncrasies and “weird” behaviour have been chronicled by scholars over the years. Lunacy also seems to loom large in the magnificent novels of Ayi Kwei Armah (especially in Fragments) “How many times over the years have I heard African writers complaining in this vein: “Few people appreciate writers; they think we are crazy. We Blacks just want to enjoy material things, not things of the mind. Why can’t we wordsmiths be appreciated?” “But it is not only “Black Africans” who might view writers with suspicion. Consider the case of Herman Melville, American, now world famous for his fantastic novel, Moby Dick in particular. Yet during his lifetime he was often derided; family members even prevailed upon his wife to leave him, “the madman”. Incredibly, here is how a national publication (The New York Day Book) commented on the great Melville in those days (1852): “A critical friend, who read Melville's last book, Ambiguities, between two steamboats accidents, told us that it appeared to be composed of the ravings and reveries of a madman. We were somewhat startled at the remark, but still more at learning, a few days after, that Melville was really supposed to be deranged, and that his friends were taking measures to place him under treatment. We hope one of the earliest precautions will be to keep him stringently secluded from pen and ink..." Bolaji in this book also remembers how Kunle used to mention then-young writers, Ben Okri, and Dillibe Onyeama. Bolaji concedes that Okri is by far the more famous now, adding:

“But here is a brief literary sketch of Onyeama for record purposes: The writing career of Dillibe Onyeama, a Nigerian, has straddled five decades - though he was only born in 1951. Author of the famous book, Nigger at Eton, Onyeama was reputed to be the first Black African to study at that institution (Eton College). He went on to publish over twenty books and has contributed prodigiously to African publishing after returning back to Nigeria. “His other published books, over the decades, include John Bull’s Nigger (1974), African Legend, The Return, Juju (novel) Secret Society, Boomerang (short stories), Notes of a so-called Afro-Saxon, Godfathers of Voodoo, Female Target, The Night Demon, The New Man, Revenge of the Medicine Man, Book of Black Man’s Humour; and God, Sex and the English man (2012). Readers of Onyeama’s books insist that in works like Juju, he matches the best of Eurocentric mystery/thriller fiction…” Whilst adumbrating on diverse literary styles Bolaji writes; “Take three disparate writers for example, all Nobel-award winners in literature; William Faulkner (USA), Ernest Hemingway (USA), and Wole Soyinka (Nigeria). Their approach to writing is completely different; you might say the simplistic, “journalistic” approach of Hemingway is the complete opposite of that of the dense, profound, intricate style of Soyinka. Faulkner might not be as complex as Soyinka, but he is certainly streets ahead of Hemingway in this wise. And what about the “streetwise” John Steinbeck (American too) who also won the Nobel Award?” Thereafter Bolaji quotes Faulkner with great relish (even making it come out in bold type in this book);

“Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him...” Bolaji is also happy to reproduce what distinguished British writer, Melvyn Bragg has written as regards literary criticism: “…the teaching and programming of literature has let loose armies of ‘readings’ and interpretations which – whatever the quality –have threatened to divert the attention from the novel itself, to the theory erected around it,” There is a lot more – Bolaji even deprecates and undermines his own contributions to literature over the decades – but it is appropriate that Bolaji ends his tribute to Kunle by making an allusion to William Shakespeare. Better still let us reproduce the very end of this book: “Olakunle Olubukola Apantaku was one of the finest literary talents Africa has produced. It does not matter that due to strictures etc of his time he could not publish much during his lifetime. And so what? The great European writer, Kafka (Franz Kafka) published very little during his lifetime; and it was only later on, posthumously that those who had been close to him began to publish the bulk of what he had written. “Now we come to the terminal stage where we spew the clichés: Rest in peace, Kunle. Or in Yoruba: Sun re oo…O di’gba ose… Ah, but Kunle also revered Shakespeare. So as Horatio says in Hamlet: “…and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest…”

In effect, Kunle Apantaku and international literature are intertwined in this illuminating new book.

CHAPINDAPASI (Short Stories) By Maxwell Kanemanyanga

Excerpt from the book: “My husband, I might have news that will make you a happy till the day you will go to your grave.” (Tikidi, the King’s wife,) said. “You remember the time i went to my parents. I gave birth to a baby boy, we lied to you that he was dead because i knew you will kill him. You have a son King Makombe." The smile on his face (The King) said it all. The tears of sorrow turned out to be tears of joy. During his young years he would have dragged her to her grave but now she had just made him the happiest man alive. He did not want to waste any more time, he rushed to his palace to meet with his elders and advisors. They sat for the whole night and it was at this indaba that they all agreed that the King's son should come home and learn from his father and elders. Early in the following morning the six bodyguards, one king's advisor and the mother Tikidi took the long journey to Bumhira's kingdom. It was a long journey as always especially with a woman among them. When they finally arrived they saw King Bumhira seating in front of his palace. He was shocked to see his daughter coming. Without wasting time Tikidi took her father aside and briefly explained to him the reason why she came. King Bumhira was happy and sad at the same time. Happy because mother and son would finally unite and not live a lie an more. On the other hand he was sad to see a boy he raised as his own son leave even though he had to. They rested for two more days before they embarked on the long journey back home. The rumour of the King's son spread like fire. People from all walks of life flocked to the King's palace to see this mysterious son. How could the king have a son when he killed all his sons, they could not stop wondering. Meanwhile the other wives of King Makombe were hurt and jealous. How did Tikidi manage to raise a son when all their sons were slaughtered? Her son will now be the king, and she will obviously become the King's favourite because she gave him an heir that he desperately wanted. When people saw the delegation arriving all their questions were answered. They didn't need any introduction; it was obvious who the King's son was. This was not a rumour any more it was reality. Mapuranga was huge and strong just like his father. King Makombe declared a holiday to celebrate the resurrection of his son as he called it. Whilst people were celebrating plans were made for Mapuranga to stay with a council of elders for one year to learn the customs of his people and how to be a ruler. Even though Mapuranga had the best advisers there was nothing they could do about his nature. He was a cruel, stubborn, proud and heartless young man. In short he was his father's son in every way. However if there was one man who was happy with the development of Mapuranga it was his father. “How can he be a king if he is soft? Power is for people who are ruthless, people with heart and guts", he reiterated to his advisers’ who voiced their concerns about his rude and sometimes disrespectful behaviour…

Leke Giwa on Soqaga's second Book

I have just read Ishmael Mzwandile Soqaga’s book, Promoting Quintessential African writing (2013). I have read a prior review of this work (by R Mokoena) which is adequate enough. However I was also struck by the approach of the author – when near the end of the book, he refers to case studies of five “outstanding African writers” – Achebe, Ngugi, Ayi Kwei Armah, Es’kia Mphahlele, and Wole Soyinka. This is followed by a long list of “prolific” African writers. The problem is that many a-reader could be confused here; thinking that the “outstanding” writers should not be prolific; or/and the “prolific” ones might lack enough quality. This is not the case. The first thing to point out is that largely, even these “outstanding” writers are prolific themselves. Chinua Achebe, though famed globally for “Things fall apart” published many other books; at least 20 of them, including other brilliant novels, essays, short stories, criticism and the like. The same applies to Ngugi wa Thiong’o who has published some 30 books too. South Africa’s Es’kia Mphahlele, a literary pioneer during his lifetime, published all this and more too; at least 20 books in his case! As for Ayi Kwei Armah, the Ghanaian writer, he might not have published up to twenty books, but we must remember that the world class novels he is now famous for were largely published within a period of ten years (around 1968 to 1978). The works include The beautyful ones are not yet born, Fragments, 2000 seasons, and The Healers) Armah also later published other novels which further put him on the map. In fairness to author Soqaga, he does at least point out briefly that in the case of Wole Soyinka, he has been very prolific too: “On my own part I am very proud that many African writers have been prolific in their output…David Maillu for example, has published over 60 books; and Nobel award winner Soyinka might well have surpassed this figure (60)…” (Page 30, Promoting Quintessential African Writing, by I.M Soqaga). And no one would doubt the shining quality of Soyinka’s works despite his being prolific! But perhaps we should not dwell on prolificacy too much. As writers, critics, researchers etc, we must always learn from current developments. Charmaine Kolwane, the South African female writer in her new, updated, revised study on the writer O Bolaji (2013), asks him how many books he has published thus far. Bolaji’s reply is illuminating, touching on ‘prolific writing’: ‘I don’t think writers should dwell on the number of books they have published – quality will always be more important than quantity. Most literary pundits like to state that I have published some 30 books, discounting ghost-writing and stuff like that. Yeah, maybe that is a figure one can hang a hat on! There are some writers obsessed with how many books they have published; but I am not one of them. I have been writing books since I was a kid for decades and as I write in so many literary genres, the figure might not be so bad by now. But what is the point of having so many books if most or even all of them are ignored by serious critics? I always mention female icons like Yvonne Vera and Tsitsi Dangarembga as examples; they published relatively few books; but studies and books on them continue to appear world-wide. These are people who have really made their mark. How many countless studies have been issued globally on Tsitsi’s one book, Nervous Conditions?’ Whilst bearing this in mind, one should still commend our African writers, especially those who are BOTH qualitative and prolific; I am sure the author, Ishmael Soqaga will appreciate my perspective here.

THROBBING SA BLACK LITERATURE