“Three generations of white South African men were bound together at that table. Vermuelen was the first generation. He defined Africa, made it safe for Basson to defile. I was the last generation, the last to grow up in segregated neighborhoods. Between us was the silent photograph of Wouter Basson. Like a distant father, Basson was absent at the dining table.” – Henk Rossouw (Hole in the White ‘Hood). Also Mahmood Mamdani on Bantu Education at UCT, Gael Reagon on sisterhood, Binyavanga Wainaina on dis-covering Kenya, Gaston Zossou on African intellectuals and more…
Cover:
Strange Fruit by Lewis Allen
Amandla Embongi by Menzi Thango (Bhiyoza Publishers, 2019)
The poet is an eloquent speaker. The poet uses a figurative language, poetic language and literary techniques. For example, you find a king called a bull, calf, heifer, buffalo, beast, lion etc. The poet is a brave man, wherein in the ancient times he was a man who did not look aside when the king went astray but rebuked him. Likewise, when a king did well, the poet praised and praised everything that had happened. Kings loved poets because of their courage. Hence the author of this book titled his book ‘Amandla Embongi’, which is translated as ‘the power of the poet’. The poems found in this book are modern poems which speak to the present time. The poet uses a poetic language to rebuke the society. (Title is in isiZulu)