HOLD BACK YOUR TEARS

Book: Hold back your tears
Author: Raselebeli Khotseng
Introduction by Pule Lechesa


From the Introduction of the book...

The publication of this book comes at a very important, exhilarating period in Free State Black literature. Many literary pundits have pointed out that, stripped of exceeding literary criticism, this year (2010) has been a remarkable year for writing – with the emergence of writers like NMM Duman, Hector Kunene, Jah Rose (Nthabiseng Jafta), Teboho Masakala.

Not all of them are poets; in fact Kunene and Jah Rose are the recognised poets. They are young, promising and confident. It is part of the irony of the literary pantheon that they actually published their books of poetry before a veritable doyen of poetry in the Free State, Raselebeli “Magic” Khotseng.

What is the quintessence of poetry? Amidst the cymbals of the distinction between real poetry and prose, we can at least say that we expect poetry to comprise heightened, elevated language; with moving imagery thrown in for good measure. In this wise nobody can deny that “Magic” is a good poet!

Nobody deserves a book of poetry more than Mr Raselebeli Khotseng. His dedication and sacrifices for poetry are legendary and date back to some two decades ago! Yet this remarkable individual has never published a book before, though of course his poems have been published liberally in a wide variety of publications over the years.

As for the quality and maturity of Khotseng’s poetry, his talent has always belonged to the top drawer. He is easily one of the best in the country. On a personal level, I might criticise this great poet for the rarity of humour in his poetry – but this Introduction does not intend to critique “Magic’s” poetry – rather to celebrate his life work...

PULE LECHESA (November, 2010)

SHADES OF HUBRIS IN JAH-ROSE'S WORK

SHADES OF HUBRIS IN JAH-ROSE’S WORK

By Pule Lechesa

Book: Rooted from the Heart
Author: Nthabiseng Rose Jafta (Jah Rose)
Pages: 83
Reviewer: Pule Lechesa

The old Greeks had a word for it: hubris. This means pride. Unbearable, overweening, even irritating pride!

We might as well note that Hubris was considered a crime in classical Athens. It was also considered the greatest crime of the ancient Greek world; "outrageous treatment" in sum. It often resulted in fatal retribution or Nemesis, the protagonist’s downfall in general.

Yes, hubris! This is the distinct impression one gets whilst reading this work. This might as well be the work of a deluded potentate when we read early poems here with lines like:

“The crown I am wearing
The queen ship I feel…
(pg 1)

“Beautiful girl born…
A real beauty from the inside out
Gone and going to surprise the world”
(pg 3)

Admittedly, one must commend the author/poet f or ensuring that she produces a beautiful looking book, the fascinating cover, the litany of fine photographs o herself etc. the problem is that this is the only aspect beautiful about this work. This is a book that looks beautiful on our shelves – but sadly that’s where the beauty ends.

One’s mind goes to the magnificent English writer and playwright, Oscar Wilde who used to insist that works of art are not capable of being moral or immoral but only well or poorly made, and that only "brutes and illiterates," whose views on art "are incalculably stupid" would make such judgements about art. Aesthete though he was, many would disagree with this.

The insights provided by the poet, in the book Rooted from the Heart, if any, are negligible – even in the nigh average poems. Consider the poem “1652” for example...(pg 41)

“The abuse of power is what we see
All they do is blare instead of act
They are wrapped up with greed and selfishness
They earn millions yet they still scheme fraud
He he he...”

Alas, there is nothing poetic about these lines, no imagery, no puns, no exhilaration. We might as well be reading ordinary prose – like virtually all the poems in this book – instead of deceiving ourselves that this is poetry

In the “poem” MISSING YOU (Page 64) one definitely comes across a bad piece of composition. The faults of style and misplaced emotions aside, there is a jarring vulgarity that finds expression in lines like this:


“The feeling from your touch
The feeling from your lips kissing mine from the neck
To only you and I know to where
The feeling from when you thrust
That snake growing under your tummy in me
And it makes me wanna go oooohhh!...”

No lines could be more banal, and irritating (not to talk of bordering on indecency for sensitive readers). There is nothing poetic here. We have seen distinguished African writers like Njabulo Ndebele, Soyinka and Laye writing about sex and incorporating superb imagery. Here we are confronted with pure unimaginative trash.

The same is true for “MONARENG” (Page 68)

“He became mine and I became his
I watched him sit on that toilet seat and
Chat with him like we were in a decent place
He lets me in...”

It is unlikely that even DH Lawrence at his most vulgar went this far, but at least he had luxuriant imagery to push his ideas further

But enough of the despair – let us end this review on a positive note. The poet writes late in the book about how therapeutic she finds her poetry:

“I have been going through my poems
It’s amazing how the stuff one writes
Seems to heal...”
(page 80 )

It is as well that she feels like she has been healed by her poetry. Pity she’s the only one; as readers are unlikely to feel such healing after going through this book.

HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY CHINUA ACHEBE

Today the great African writer, Chinua Achebe, clocks 80! We are all delighted about this - what better tribute to him than to re-publish an article published about Achebe on this blog many months ago?


There can be no doubt about it: the celebrations will cascade on, the drums will roll, as Africa and the world celebrate the 80th birthday of Chinua Achebe today, who many consider as the greatest novelist black Africa has ever produced. Achebe wrote Africa’s all time most famous novel, Things fall apart (1958)

It is a novel that has delighted and moved the world for decades. But the author (Chinua Achebe) published other excellent novels – like No longer at Ease, (1960), Arrow of God, (1964) A man of the people (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). Of course there was a 20 year gap between A man of the People, and Anthills of the Savannah, which has been attributed to Achebe being “traumatised” by the Nigerian civil war (in the late sixties).

Achebe is an Ibo (or Igbo) from the eastern part of Nigeria. The Ibos were mainly the disenchanted people of eastern Nigeria who tried to form their own country or republic: “Biafra” precipitating the Nigerian civil war which ended in 1970. From his writings it is clear enough that Achebe was very much a Nigerian in spirit before the war (this is not to suggest that he is no less a Nigerian thereafter, as can be ascertained from his honest, earnest book of essays The Trouble with Nigeria)

In his novel, No longer at ease, for example, young well educated Obi regards himself as both an Ibo man, and a Nigerian. There is nothing wrong in being proud of one’s tribal origins or Mother tongue (Ghana’s Kofi Awoonor has demonstrated this in his works too). In Achebe’s A man of the people, national (Nigerian) politics loom large too, whilst still paying tribute to ethnic origins. Like Wole Soyinka (a Yoruba and a proud Nigerian too) Achebe’s works often assume a national and international dimension.

Things fall apart has been acclaimed as a classic as the author (Achebe) re-creates a pre-colonial, proud society with elaborate, intriguing customs complemented by a fluent, expressive language. If we contrast this work with Camara Laye’s superb work The African Child, the dispassionate approach by Achebe to his own first novel puts him in a special class. When an author tries to be “neutral” a work is often more powerful, and many critics, eg, hated the tone of Ayi Kwei Armah for example in Two thousand Seasons. Achebe’s work shows a highly intelligent, dispassionate author at work.

Achebe’s language in his fictional work shows that he is very much at ease with his mother tongue. Whilst writing in English he goes out of his way to convey the particular authentic atmosphere of the (often) people at grassroots level he is writing about; even as regards “Pidgin English” he gets the inflections and jokes right. Hence, his global acclamation as a great writer

There is the tendency to harp on Things fall apart as the author’s greatest work, and it must be said that many of such observers have probably not read all of Achebe’s works of fiction. It is a matter of taste, but I personally believe that novels like Arrow of God and No longer at ease (both also written by Achebe) are perhaps better than the original classic (Things fall apart) Certainly Achebe’s re-creation of the past and the sweep (even co-incidence?) of pivotal events in the society is more powerful in Arrow of God. Many critics frowned at A Man of the people, but it’s a brilliant work too, castigating political corruption, and also a satire – before Armah’s The beautyful Ones are not yet born.

But all this show how great a writer Chinua Achebe is. His books are read all over the world. Like in his works, Achebe in real life condemns negative things, including bad leadership, but at the same time he has a gentle, sagacious sense of humour. No praise can be too much for this wonderful son of Africa! We wish him all the best as he clocks 80 today…

CRIPPLING SHORTCOMINGS IN HECTOR KUNENE's THROUGH THE TUNNEL

By Pule Lechesa

Hector Kunene has rightly been praised by many for his promising work, Through the Tunnel. However I am yet to read even one critical piece or essay on the book, which is a great disservice to the author. As a new author he deserves his work to be evaluated in a critical manner, not just praised in ignorant fashion.

We have always pointed out that no writer, no matter how good, is immune from criticism. Thomas Hardy for example is one of the greatest writers the world has ever seen with his world class novels; yet even when he was at the height of his powers and he published Jude the Obscure the critics in his enlightened society tore the work apart – it was a real ‘onslaught of vituperative criticism’ as Hardy himself described it whilst alive

It is tragic indeed that basically so many people at grassroots level hardly read in our (black African) society, no matter how educated they are; hence we have situations where works full of many mistakes are praised, whilst more sophisticated readers, and especially the scholars and critics, can identify these mistakes very easily. Through the Tunnel is full of such mistakes

Take page 38 for example (containing the poem ‘I will portray’). The mistakes on this page are quite horrific; or how else do we describe a situation where almost TEN spelling mistakes appear on just one page? Of course the most painful error here is the misspelling of ‘portray’ many times on this page; but there are others, like ‘highlights’ instead of ‘highlight’

In case some readers out there start thinking that this is a random mistake, the unfortunate fact is that the legions of mistakes in the book start even before the book formally begins! It is irritating enough that the poet engages in extreme self-praise even on the blurb and the error-strewn ‘Hector Kunene biography’. Indeed the page (page 3) is very embarrassing with so many illogical and syntactical mistakes.

Sentences such as ‘The poem Bloody corpuscles is about alarming the use of the specific words when talking especially to the young ones’ and ‘His poems are mainly in English but he throws in Zulu poems...which are normally shared at occasionally’ are meaningless and will make the purists of the English language flinch with shock.

With logic also often thin on the ground, the perceptive reader is left perplexed on a regular basis as he or she reads this book. A poem like ‘Cheating Standard’ might well have a message, but one suspects that only the poet knows what it is. At the very end of the poem the poet tries to explain what it is all about, but we are still none the wiser, as we are confronted with another confusing, quite meaningless sentence – ‘This friend ended up having a baby with this guy whilst married to his wife few months after this poem was inspired’ (page 23)

What the hell is this? we wonder. Is ‘this friend’ male or female? Surely a male can not have a baby, so we assume it is a woman; but can a woman be married ‘to his wife’ as the rest of the sentence ‘explains’? And how can all this (the betrayal) have happened months AFTER the poem was inspired? Doesn’t the poet mean that his poem was inspired after this betrayal? No matter how you look at it, there is no coherence here.

Indeed it is a common mistake with people who use languages like English formally whilst writing, to want to flaunt their knowledge, and hence they often go off in a tangent, and end up in a confused muddle. Additionally there are problems with similar sounding words which often lead some writers to add to their mistakes.

Alas, such is the case in Through the Tunnel too. There is no point in pointing out dozens of such mistakes in this book, but two shall suffice here. On page 17 the poet wants to write ‘at first sight it was’ but ends up writing ‘site’; again on page 37,(line 6) he confuses ‘live’ with ‘leave’ and ends up writing ‘you live me in a state...’

The desire for the poet to display his ‘flair for words’ often ends in confusion and embarrassment, as we have pointed out. The ‘big words’ hardly go hand in hand with common sense or real poetry. In the poem ‘Paradigm in paradise’ we can only assume that the poet, whilst showing the world that he knows such a ‘big’ word, is amusing himself, but not the intelligent reader. Lines such as ‘perpetual lifestyle sarcastic to the ancestors who fought’ are in no way poetry.

That the poet is confident, very confident, is clear enough from the book; but the problem is when this confidence strays into the arena of arrogance which should not be tolerated. Indeed in more enlightened societies a poem like ‘Gays and games’ (page 32) would land the poet in serious trouble from countless quarters!

One can only shake one's head sadly at this juncture, realising that the hoary statement ‘if you want to hide something from a black man put it in a book’ might well be true. Or how do we explain a poem like ‘Gays and games’ in this modern world? The disdain and arrogance of the poet shines through in lines like ’Gays and games or lesbians and less beings’? Again the poet makes a mistake here, as he clearly wants to write ‘lesser beings’ – but the effect is still the same; a very dangerous, insensitive poem.

Time and again, it has been shown that the best poets, whilst writing in English as a mother tongue, or as a ‘foreign language’ focus on a coherent message, with brilliant imagery, at least. Good poetry is not about big words or trying to sound clever – that is why even in the Free State the likes of Lebohang Thaisi will continue to be respected for their brilliant simplicity and lyricism in their published poetry. One can only hope that Mr Hector Kunene will try to focus less on ‘sounding bombastic and clever’, and more on writing moving poetry that will linger in the mind.

* Pule Lechesa, often referred to as the foremost literary critic in the Free State, is the author of critical books like Four Free State Authors, and The evolution of Free State Black Literature

'ROOTED FROM THE HEART' LAUNCHED WITH GUSTO!

JAH-ROSE's Rooted from The Heart!

By Flaxman Qoopane

An anthology of poetry “Rooted from The Heart” by poet Nthabiseng (Jah-Rose) Jafta, has been launched at a glittering gala dinner at the Café Society, Waterfront in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

The Master of ceremonies was Itumeleng Modise who is a well known comedian. Speaking at the launch of the book of her daughter, Matselane Jafta, from Phelindaba Location in Mangaung said: “As the family of Jafta, we are happy to be invited to be part of the launch of the book of my child”

Goitsemang Pholo, from the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation in the Free State rendered inspirational words. He said he felt it was important for him to be part of the launching of the book of Jah Rose. “The achievement of the poet will motivate many young women in the Province to follow the footsteps of Jah Rose.”

Flaxman Qoopane, veteran poet, journalist and author presented a speech and connected Nthabiseng Jafta with quotations of other female poets.

The book reviewer and the seller was Hector Kunene, the well known poet and columnist. The highlight of the occasion included the performances by the female guitarist and singer Belinda Van Zweindrech, actor Alcapone Pieterson, Dela-Zee, Peace Jafta a popular soloist and poet Lebogang Motloung.

Jah Rose entertained, educated and inspired the audience with her performance of some of her poetry. In conclusion, Jah Rose thanked the management of the Café Society and the staff for giving her the venue for the book launch. She also thanked everybody who contributed to the success of the launch of her anthology “Rooted from the Heart”

MINE BOY - By Peter Abrahams

Review by Neo Mvubu

As a very young South African lady, Mine Boy touches the heart in such a way that it moves every inch of your body. This book – published over fifty years ago - has touched a part of me that I didn’t know existed. It explores the life of Xuma, a man born in the rural areas to seek wealth in the big city Johannesburg.

We walk with Xuma in his love life, in his path to find success as a miner and we realise the inequalities that the apartheid government imposed on him. As the story progresses we find him falling in love with Eliza, a woman who dreams of living the life of a white man, she loves him too but is pulled away by the luxuries, the material and the life that the white man lives. She then realises that that she cannot live with Xuma, at the same time, Xuma cannot satisfy her material needs.

We also experience the life of a miner and the conditions these people had to endure, the illnesses and the hunger and we see an old man who is on the verge of death but doesn’t disclose his disease, just to see his family pay off the debt!

The book is so visual that it pulls you into the lives of these people, you can see the people dancing in the street, drinking alcohol and you can see them blissful in their lives, even for that brief moment. The imagery is powerful, Peter Abrahams is able to create a picture that remains in your mind for years, and this is what one calls an unforgettable read.

As a young person in South Africa, we tend to take for granted the strides our people had to go through to ensure a great future for us and we don’t really understand what was going during the apartheid era, for me, it feels like it never happened, it’s like people never fought but when you read this book, you truly become part of your history. You tap into the daily lives of these people and experience every single emotion, the happiness, the heartache, the love and the music. You can feel yourself being part of the history and it just takes you back.

We see a man called Johannes in the book, this man was introduced into the life of alcoholism and never had anyone seen him sober. They say in the book, that white people introduced alcohol and then tried to take it away from black people, they introduced something that would take away the dignity of a black man and for Johannes, and it took away his essence. It took away the thing that made him who he was.

We also see a black doctor experiencing the same amount of racism and he doesn’t understand why he is treated like this. He is a doctor, tried to get the very education that would make him equal to a white man but it doesn’t and we get the impression that whatever you do, the whites would never see blacks as their equal.

Mine Boy was written many decades ago but we still see the racism taking place today, and this makes us realise that achieving a non-sexist, non-discriminatory democracy will take many more years; it is a journey rather than a destination.

Peter Abrahams addresses the plight of the black man in apartheid South Africa and makes us re-live the history in a visual way. This book is for people who appreciate black history, people who are eager to learn about themselves and where they come from.

LEWIS NKOSI: Literary icon breathes his last

Writer, composer and journalist Lewis Nkosi has died at the age of 73, the communications company, wRite Associates has announced. It said he died on Sunday after a long illness.

Starting his career as a journalist at the Zulu-language newspaper Ilanga lase Natal, Nkosi joined Drum magazine in the early 1950s.

When he received a Nieman Fellowship to study at Harvard University in 1960, he was forced to leave South Africa on a one-way exit permit, exiling him from his country of birth for the next 31 years.

He held teaching posts at several universities including Zambia, Warsaw, Wyoming, London and Brandeis.

Among his works are the novels Mating Birds, Underground People and Mandela's Ego. plus several volumes of essays. His plays include The Black Psychiatrist, We Can't All Be Martin Luther King, and The Rhythm of Violence.

Project director of the South African Literary Awards Raks Seakhoa said on Tuesday(Sep 7 2010) that Nkosi was "part of those talented few who took South Africa's literary heritage to greater heights. He was among the pioneers of South African writing during his stint at the Drum magazine,"

A memorial service would be held on September 8 at the Museum Africa, Newtown Cultural Precinct, in Johannesburg at 5.30pm. The funeral would be in Durban on September 10.