Download or read book Xhosa Poets and Poetry written by Jeff Opland and published by New Africa Books. This book was released on 1998 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Xhosa oral poetry has defied the threats to its integrity over two centuries, to take its place in a free South Africa. This volume establishes the background to this poetic re-emergence, preserving and transmitting the voice of the Xhosa poet.
Download or read book The Nation s Bounty written by Nontsizi Mgqwetho and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A beautiful study of the incredible life of Nontsizi Mgqwetho For nearly a decade Nontsizi Mgqwetho contributed poetry to a Johannesburg newspaper, Umteteli wa Bantu, the first and only female poet to produce a substantial body of work in Xhosa. Apart from what is revealed in these writings, very little is known about her life. She explodes on the scene with her swaggering, urgent, confrontational woman's poetry on 23 October 1920, sends poems to the newspaper regularly throughout the three years from 1924 to 1926, withdraws for two years until two final poems appear in December 1928 and January 1929, then disappears into the shrouding silence she first burst from. Nothing more is heard from her, but the poetry she left immediately claims for her the status of one of the greatest literary artists ever to write in Xhosa, an anguished voice of an urban woman confronting male dominance, ineffective leadership, black apathy, white malice and indifference, economic exploitation and a tragic history of nineteenth-century territorial and cultural dispossession. The Nation's Bounty contains the original poems alongside English translations by Jeff Opland. It was the first of a number of new titles planned for release in the African Treasury Series, a premier collection of texts by South Africa's pioneers of African literature and written in indigenous languages. First published by Wits University Press in the 1940s, the series provided a voice for the voiceless and celebrated African culture, history and heritage. It continues to make a contribution by supporting current efforts to empower and develop the status of African languages in South Africa.
Download or read book Nation s Bounty written by Jeff Opland and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2007-06-01 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A beautiful study of the incredible life of Nontsizi Mgqwetho For nearly a decade Nontsizi Mgqwetho contributed poetry to a Johannesburg newspaper, Umteteli wa Bantu, the first and only female poet to produce a substantial body of work in Xhosa. Apart from what is revealed in these writings, very little is known about her life. She explodes on the scene with her swaggering, urgent, confrontational woman's poetry on 23 October 1920, sends poems to the newspaper regularly throughout the three years from 1924 to 1926, withdraws for two years until two final poems appear in December 1928 and January 1929, then disappears into the shrouding silence she first burst from. Nothing more is heard from her, but the poetry she left immediately claims for her the status of one of the greatest literary artists ever to write in Xhosa, an anguished voice of an urban woman confronting male dominance, ineffective leadership, black apathy, white malice and indifference, economic exploitation and a tragic history of nineteenth-century territorial and cultural dispossession. The Nation's Bounty contains the original poems alongside English translations by Jeff Opland. It was the first of a number of new titles planned for release in the African Treasury Series, a premier collection of texts by South Africa's pioneers of African literature and written in indigenous languages. First published by Wits University Press in the 1940s, the series provided a voice for the voiceless and celebrated African culture, history and heritage. It continues to make a contribution by supporting current efforts to empower and develop the status of African languages in South Africa.
Download or read book Xhosa Oral Poetry written by Jeff Opland and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1983-12-30 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, first published in 1983, was the first detailed study of the Xhosa oral poetry tradition.
Download or read book Of Land Bones and Money written by Emily McGiffin and published by University of Virginia Press. This book was released on 2019-07-18 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The South African literature of iimbongi, the oral poets of the amaXhosa people, has long shaped understandings of landscape and history and offered a forum for grappling with change. Of Land, Bones, and Money examines the shifting role of these poets in South African society and the ways in which they have helped inform responses to segregation, apartheid, the injustices of extractive capitalism, and contemporary politics in South Africa. Emily McGiffin first discusses the history of the amaXhosa people and the environment of their homelands before moving on to the arrival of the British, who began a relentless campaign annexing land and resources in the region. Drawing on scholarship in the fields of human geography, political ecology, and postcolonial ecocriticism, she considers isiXhosa poetry in translation within its cultural, historical, and environmental contexts, investigating how these poems struggle with the arrival and expansion of the exploitation of natural resources in South Africa and the entrenchment of profoundly racist politics that the process entailed. In contemporary South Africa, iimbongi remain a respected source of knowledge and cultural identity. Their ongoing practice of producing complex, spiritually rich literature continues to have a profound social effect, contributing directly to the healing and well-being of their audiences, to political transformation, and to environmental justice.
Download or read book Xhosa Literature written by Jeff Opland and published by University of Kwazulu Natal Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Xhosa Literature consists of fourteen essays addressing Xhosa literature in three media-the spoken word, newspapers, and books. Literary critics tend to focus on Xhosa literature published in books with some attention paid to Xhosa oral poetry and tales, but by and large the contribution of newspapers to the development of Xhosa literature has been overlooked. This book explores aspects of Xhosa literature in all three media, and their interconnections. Six of the essays treat historical narratives (amabali) and praise poetry (izibongo), setting out the social and ritual function of poetry and the poet (imbongi), mapping changes in the izibongo of three poets as South Africa moved towards democracy in the 1990s, and analyzing recordings of two poems recited by S.E.K. Mqhayi. Three essays are devoted to the first Xhosa novel, Mqhayi's U-Samson (1907), to the publication of the greatest novel in Xhosa, A.C. Jordan's Ingqumbo yeminyanya (1940), and to the first published poem in praise of Nelson Mandela, D.L.P. Yali-Manisi's 'UNkosi Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela' (1954). There follow accounts of Xhosa literature in the nineteenth century and the appropriation of the press by Xhosa editors towards the end of that century, of Nontsizi Mgqwetho's fiery poetry published in Umteteli wa Bantu, and of poems by Mgqwetho and Mqhayi published in Abantu-Batho, two Johannesburg newspapers. The volume concludes with an exposition of an imaginative response to David Yali-Manisi and his poetry. (Series: Publications of the Opland Collection of Xhosa Literature, Vol. 6) [Subject: African Studies, Politics, Sociology, Xhosa Literature]
Download or read book The Making of a Servant and Other Poems written by Walter Saunders and published by . This book was released on 2020-07-28 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Making of Servant and Other Poems was first published in the early 1970's when Zithobile Qangule and Walter Saunders were fellow lecturers at the University of South Africa in Pretoria - the spiritual heart of Apartheid but with a growing 'verligte' or 'enlightened' element. One day Zithobile sent him a Xhosa poem he had translated into English for publication in Ophir, a radical independent anti-apartheid poetry magazine, which Saunders co-edited with Peter Horn and Michael Macnamara. The poem was The Making of a Servant by J.J.R. Jolobe. What a stunning poem! Ophir immediately decided to publish it with a selection of other newly-translated Xhosa poems as a small book. Qangule selected six more poems by six other - St J. Page Yako, S.W. Nkuhlu, M.E. Nyoka, Samuel Edward Krune Loliwe Ngxekengxeke Mqhayi, Alfred Zwelinzima Ngani and R.M Tshaka. All the poems Qangule wanted to work on had already been published in Xhosa and some of them translated. But those were the days of apartheid. The publishers included core Afrikaner Nationalist companies, who were making their money producing books for Bantu Education schools. Qangule felt that all the poems were deeply subversive but they had never been translated in English so as to reveal their satire and political commentary. The brief therefore of the translators, Qangule himself and Robert Mshengu Kavanagh, was to translate or re-translate the poems so as to bring this out.
Download or read book The Nation s Bounty written by Nontsizi Mgqwetho and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Nation's Bounty contains the original poems alongside English translations by Jeff Opland. It was the first of a number of new titles planned for release in the African Treasury Series, a premier collection of texts by South Africa's pioneers of African literature and written in indigenous languages.
Download or read book The Bones of the Ancestors are Shaking written by Russell Kaschula and published by Juta and Company Ltd. This book was released on 2002 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘In The Bones of The Ancestors Are Shaking, Russell Kaschula provides an ample introduction to the subject of oral poetry, both drawing on earlier accounts and presenting his own material, much of which has hitherto been unavailable in book form. Kaschula presents rich texts and translations of the Xhosa praise poetry for which southern Africa has long been famous, not only in the context of studies of African oral literature, but also among comparative scholars of world literature. The texts and translations in this book are a valuable and attractive addition to the record, ranging as they do from nineteenth-century examples to late twentieth-century praises for Joe Slovo, F.W. de Klerk, the South African soccer squad or Nelson Mandela, the latter being a special focus of the volume.’ — Professor Ruth Finnegan, The Open University, UK
Download or read book D L P Yali Manisi Imbongi Entsha written by D. L. P. Yali-Manisi and published by University of Kwazulu Natal Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Livingstone Phakamile Yali-Manisi (1926-99) was a Thembu imbongi, the most powerful exponent of the art of praise poetry in the Xhosa language, in the second half of the twentieth century. His literary career, however, was blighted by circumstances beyond his control, and he died in total obscurity. A supporter of the African National Congress, he was the author of the earliest poem in praise of Nelson Mandela (1954).
Download or read book Skinned written by Antjie Krog and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of South Africa’s greatest living poets selects from her most recent poems and also from the poems and the themes that best represent her from across her long career. Part One of Skinned contains poems about writing, family and love poems. The poems in second part were chosen from a volume featuring a long epic poem based on the life of Lady Anne Barnard from Scotland, who accompanied her husband to Cape Town and lived in the castle there from 1797 until 1802. This volume was written during the height of apartheid and the poet chose Lady Anne as representative of the colonial vision. Part Three contains extracts from several speakers who lived in the land before the likes of lady Anne arrived. Krog includes here interviews with inhabitants of the stone desert, three re-workings of Bushmen or Xam narratives, as well as a translation of an oral Xhosa praise poem. Part Four represents the political turmoil of South Africa and the divisions within Africa. The poems come from volumes that explored how blacks and whites identifying with the oppressed were removed from official history. The present volume as a whole explores the necessity of "a change of tongue" in order to be.
Download or read book John Solilo written by John Solilo and published by University of Kwazulu Natal Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For 40 years, between 1900 and 1939, John Solilo (1864-1940) was a prolific contributor to Xhosa-language newspapers under his own name and under the pseudonyms Mde-ngelimi (Master Wordsmith) and Kwanguye (It's Still Him). He submitted letters and articles on a variety of issues, local news reports from Cradock and Uitenhage, and a considerable body of poetry. Solilo's major literary contribution was his collection of poems entitled Izala, published in 1925, the earliest volume of poetry by a single author in the history of Xhosa literature. His poetry was inspired by umoya wembongi, the spirit of the imbongi, the praise poet whose stirring declamations roused his audiences to action or contemplation. Solilo's literary reputation today, however, is at variance with his prominence as a major author in the first four decades of the twentieth century: he is hardly mentioned, if at all, by literary historians. That neglect is perhaps not surprising: Izala has long been out of print, and copies can no longer be located. The present volume is therefore an exercise in reclamation and restitution. In restoring to the public domain the 65 poems that made up Izala and adding an additional 28 that were published in newspapers both before and after the appearance of Izala, the editors hope to revive John Solilo's reputation as a poet, and to establish his status as a pre-eminent Xhosa author. Jeff Opland commenced his academic career as a medievalist, but for the past 40 years he has assembled a collection of oral and printed poetry and has devoted himself to defining and restoring the heritage of literature in the Xhosa language. Amongst other works, with Peter Mtuze he edited two anthologies of Xhosa literature, Isigodlo sikaPhalo (1983) and Izwi labantu (1994). Opland is currently Visiting Professor in the School of Languages: African Language Studies at Rhodes University. Peter T. Mtuze is the most prolific living isiXhosa writer. He has authored and co-authored no fewer than 30 books. His main contribution is in creative writing: he has produced novels, short stories, essays, drama, poetry, autobiography and language books. Mtuze's first book, UDingezweni, which appeared as far back as 1966, is regarded as a classic novel. One of his singular achievements was his translation of former President Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, into isiXhosa. He worked on the University of Fort Hare Xhosa Dictionary Project, at the University of South Africa and at Rhodes University, where he retired as Professor Emeritus. (Series: Publications of the Opland Collection of Xhosa Literature, Vol. 3) [Subject: Poetry, African Studies]
Download or read book I Am An African written by Wayne Visser and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This creative collection brings together Africa poems by South African poet and writer, Wayne Visser, including the ever popular "I Am An African", as well as old favourites like "Women of Africa", "I Know A Place in Africa", "Prayer for Africa" and "African Dream". The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like "Africa Untamed" and "Land of the Sun".
Download or read book Collective Amnesia written by Koleka Putuma and published by Koleka Putuma. This book was released on 2020-12-17 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since its publication in April 2017, Collective Amnesia has taken the South African literary scene by storm. The book is in its twelfth print run and is prescribed for study at tertiary level in South African Universities and abroad. The collection is the recipient of the 2018 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, named 2017 book of the year by the City Press and one of the best books of 2017 by The Sunday Times and Quartz Africa. It is translated into Spanish (Flores Rara, 2019), German (Wunderhorn Publishing House, 2019), Danish (Rebel with a Cause, 2019), Dutch (Poeziecentrum, 2020), Swedish (Rámus förlag). Forthcoming translations: Portuguese (Editora Trinta Zero Nove), Italian (Arcipelago itaca) and French (éditions Lanskine). Collective Amnesia examines the intersection of politics, race, religion, relationships, sexuality, feminism, memory and more. The poems provoke institutions and systems of learning and interrogates what must be unlearned in society, academia, relationships, religion, and spaces of memory and forgetting.
Download or read book Iziganeko zesizwe written by S. E. K. Mqhayi and published by University of Kwazulu Natal Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Samuel Edward Krune Mqhayi (1875-1945) was the most prominent South African imbongi of his day, a Xhosa oral poet who declaimed his impromptu poetry on occasions of significance to his people. The author of numerous works of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, biography, autobiography, and translation, Mqhayi's contributions to Xhosa-language newspapers remains unparalleled in scope and volume. This book reclaims and assembles a chronological sequence of Mqhayi's occasional poems, for the most part now unknown. Sixty poems celebrate significant events in the calendar, on occasions of national or international importance. They constitute Iziganeko zesizwe, a chronicle of the nation, between 1900 and 1943: poetic responses to events from the perspective of the greatest figure in Xhosa literature. Wars feature prominently in these occasional poems-the Boer War, the First World War, the invasion of Abyssinia, and the Second World War-as do political deputations to England, visits from British princes and the death of British kings, the appearance of Halley's Comet, and meetings with Ministers of State. Running through the collection is Mqhayi's proud and fierce determination to maintain an identity rooted in custom and history in the face of territorial dispossession, the loss of title deeds and the vote, and the steady erosion of human rights. Throughout these years, Mqhayi remained constant in offering praise and encouragement to his people, in celebrating their achievements, and in expressing Christian consolation and an unflinching faith in the future liberation of South Africa's black population from foreign control. (Series: Publications of the Opland Collection of Xhosa Literature, Vol. 4) [Subject: African Studies, Poetry]
Download or read book Our Words Our Worlds written by Makhosazana Xaba and published by Ukzn Press Women's Imprint. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking, multi-genre anthology answers the question: what did the literary landscape look like in South Africa at the start of the twenty-first century? It documents a slice of this landscape by bringing together the writings of over twenty contributors through literary critique, personal essays and interviews. The book tells the story of the seismic shift that transformed national culture through poetry and is the first of its kind to explore the history and impact of poetry by Black women, in their own voices. It straddles disciplines: literary theory, feminism, history of the book and politics - thus decolonising literary culture. Our Words, Our Worlds covers expansive reflections: from the international diplomacy-transforming poem, 'I Have Come to Take You Home' by Diana Ferrus, to the pioneering publisher duduzile zamantungwa mabaso; from the self-confessed closeted poet Sedica Davids, to the fiery unapologetic feminist Bandile Gumbi; from the world-renowned Malika Ndlovu, to the engineer and award-winning Nosipho Gumede; from the formidable foursome Feela Sistah, to feminist literary scholars V.M. Sisi Maqagi and Barbara Boswell. The collective contributions are a testimony to the power of creativity and centrality of poetry in a changing society. This book is an assertion of Black women's intellectual prowess and - as Gabeba Baderoon puts it - black women's visions of 'a world made whole by their presence'. Contributors: Gabeba Baderoon, Barbara Boswell, Sedica Davids, Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, Diana Ferrus, Vangi Gantsho, Bandile Gumbi, Nosipho Gumede, Myesha Jenkins, Ronelda Sonnet Kamfer, duduzile zamantungwa mabaso, Makgano Mamabolo, Napo Masheane, Lebogang Mashile, V.M. Sisi Maqagi, Mthunzikazi Mbungwana, Natalia Molebatsi, Qhakazambalikayise Thato Mthembu, Tereska Muishond, Malika Ndlovu, Maganthrie Pillay, Toni Stuart, Makhosazana Xaba.
Download or read book Zulu Poems written by Mazisi Kunene and published by Africana Pub.. This book was released on 1970 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
