Donato Francisco Mattera (29 December 1935 – 18 July 2022), better known as Don Mattera, was a South African poet and author.

Overview

Born in 1935 in Western Native Township (now Westbury),

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

, Mattera grew up in

Sophiatown Sophiatown , also known as Sof'town or Kofifi, is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Sophiatown was a black cultural hub that was destroyed under apartheid, It produced some of South Africa's most famous writers, musicians, politicians a ...

, at that time a vibrant centre of South African culture. His diverse heritage was derived from his Italian grandfather, Xhosa grandmother and Tswana mother."Donato Franscesco Mattera"
Honorary Degree Citation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2009. In his autobiography, ''Memory Is the Weapon'', he writes: "Sophiatown also had its beauty; picturesque and intimate like most ghettoes.... Mansions and quaint cottages ... stood side by side with rusty wood-and-iron shacks, locked in a fraternal embrace of filth and felony.... The rich and the poor, the exploiters and the exploited, all knitted together in a colourful fabric that ignored race or class structures." This "multiracial fabric" did not conform to the separatist policies of apartheid and so the suburb was destroyed and the people forcibly removed. Mattera's grandfather, Paolo Mattera, was an Italian immigrant who married a

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

woman from the eastern Cape. They moved to Johannesburg, where Mattera's father was born. At the time, he was classified as an Italian. Under the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

system, Mattera was classified as a "Coloured". This group was the last to be forcibly evicted from Sophiatown; they were taken to the nearby suburbs of Westbury, Newclare and Bosmont. He was proud of his heritage and considered himself to be Italian. Mattera was adopted by his grandparents and sent to a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. He returned to Johannesburg when he was 14 and then continued his education in

Pageview In web analytics and Website governance, website management, a pageview or page view, abbreviated in business to PV and occasionally called page impression, is a request to load a single HTML file (web page) of an Internet site. On the World Wide W ...

, another suburb that suffered under apartheid when the residents were again forcibly removed during the 1960s. He then became politically active. As a result of these activities, he was banned from 1973 to 1982 and spent three years under house arrest. He was detained, his house was raided, and he was tortured more than once. During this time, he became a founding member of the

Black Consciousness The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid Activism, activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the power vacuum, political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African Nationa ...

movement and joined the

ANC Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

. He helped form the Union of Black Journalists as well as the

Congress of South African Writers The Congress of South African Writers (COSAW) is a South African grassroots writer’s organisation. Launched in July 1987, its initial aims were to promote literature and redress the imbalances of apartheid education. It organises literary events ...

. He also joined the National Forum, which was against what it referred to as the "racial exclusivity" of the United Democratic Front."Don Mattera"
South African History Online. He then worked as a journalist on ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', ''

The Sowetan ''The Sowetan'' is an English-language South African daily newspaper that started in 1981 as a liberation struggle newspaper and was freely distributed to households in the then apartheid-segregated township of Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng ...

'', and the ''

Weekly Mail The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cultu ...

'' (now known as the ''Mail and Guardian''). He was also a director of the black consciousness publishing imprint Skotaville. In 2009, he was part of the ''Beyond Words'' tour of the UK that also featured South African poets

Keorapetse Kgositsile Keorapetse William Kgositsile (19 September 1938 – 3 January 2018), also known by his pen name Bra Willie, was a South African Tswana poet, journalist and political activist. An influential member of the African National Congress in the 1960 ...

Lesego Rampolokeng Lesego Rampolokeng (born 7 July 1965) is a South African writer, playwright and performance poet. Early life and education Lesego Rampolokeng was born in 1965 in Orlando West, Soweto, Johannesburg. He studied law at the University of the North ...

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers Phillippa Yaa de Villiers (born 17 February 1966)Phillippa Yaa de Vill ...

and Lebogang Mashile (presented by

Apples and Snakes Apples and Snakes, based at the Albany Theatre in Deptford, south-east London, is an organisation for performance poetry and the spoken word in England. It has been described as the main organisation promoting performance poetry in Britain. ...

in association with Sustained Theatre, funded by the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

South Africa,

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

and the South African government)."Vibrancy & Urgency – New South African Poetry"
, Sustained Theatre. Mattera, who converted to the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

faith in the 1970s, was deeply involved in the community, with a special interest in young people and the rehabilitation of ex-prisoners. Mattera died at his home at Protea Glen, Soweto, on 18 July 2022. He was buried that day at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, and an online memorial service was held for him on 22 July.

Legacy

In January 2020, the Don Mattera Legacy Foundation was launched in Eldorado Park, in order "to ensure that Mattera's legacy remains relevant to the current as well as future generations to recognise and appreciate the immense sacrifice and contribution he made on behalf of the classified 'coloureds' in the realm of literature arts, journalism and the liberation of SA."

Bibliography

* ''Memory is the Weapon'',

Ravan Press Ravan Press, established in 1972 by Peter Ralph Randall, Danie van Zyl, and Beyers Naudé, was a South African anti-apartheid publishing house.

, 1987, * ''Gone with the Twilight: A Story of Sophiatown'',

Zed Books Zed Books is an independent non-fiction publishing company based in London, UK. It was founded in 1977 under the name Zed Press by Roger van Zwanenberg. Zed publishes books for an international audience of both general and academic readers, co ...

(1987), (published in the US as ''Sophiatown: Coming of Age in South Africa''). * ''The Storyteller'', Justified Press, 1989, * ''The Five Magic Pebbles'' (illustrated by Erica & Andries Maritz), Skotaville, 1992

Plays

* ''Streetkids'', "Kagiso Sechaba", ''Apartheid in the Court of History'', and ''One Time Brother'', which was banned in 1984.

Poems

* ''Azanian Love Song'', Justified Press, 1994, . (Originally published by Skotaville Publishers, 1983, .) * "Four Poems", ''African Writing Online'', 2008. * with

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers Phillippa Yaa de Villiers (born 17 February 1966)Phillippa Yaa de Vill ...

and Lebogang Mashile, ''Beyond Words: South African Poetics''; foreword by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let' ...

(an

Apples & Snakes Apples and Snakes, based at the Albany Theatre in Deptford, south-east London, is an organisation for performance poetry and the spoken word in England. It has been described as the main organisation promoting performance poetry in Britain. Se ...

project; flipped eye, 2009, ).

Short stories

* "Afrika Road"

Awards and honours

* 1983: PEN Award for ''Azanian Love Song'' (1983) * 1993: Noma Children's Book Award for ''The Five Magic Pebbles'' (1992) * Steve Biko Prize for his autobiography, ''Memory is the Weapon'' * Honorary PhD in Literature from the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

, Durban * 1997:

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

's Peace Award from the Centre of Violence and Injury Prevention * 1999:

honorary doctorate.Sitoto (2018
"On Africana/Islamica Existential Thought
2018, p. 26. * 2006: South African

Order of the Baobab The Order of the Baobab is a South African civilian national honour, awarded to those for service in business and the economy; science, medicine, and for technological innovation; and community service. It was instituted on 6 December 2002, and i ...

in Gold for "Excellent contribution to literature, achievement in the field of journalism and striving for democracy and justice in South Africa." * 2009:

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

(Wits) honorary doctorate * 2011:

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

(UNISA) honorary doctorate * 2016: Mazisi Kunene Poetry Award at the Poetry Africa International Festival, Durban * 2020: Don Mattera Legacy Foundation was established in his honour"Dr Don Mattera on the launch of his foundation"
SABC, 17 January 2020.

References

External links

"Donato Francisco Mattera... Born 30-11-1934"
Who's Who South Africa.
"Don Mattera"
South African History Online. * Matthew Mokoena
"Conversations With Yesterday: An Evening With Don Mattera"
''Consciousness Magazine'', 4 April 2011.
"Don Mattera: poet of compassion"
, official Johannesburg website, 15 October 2002. * Fred Khumalo
"Tribute , Don Mattera, poet extraordinaire, we salute you!"
''City Press'', 18 July 2022. * Bongisipho Magcaba
"Remembering Don Mattera through his books, awards and accolades"
''SABC News'', 18 July 2022. * J Brooks Spector
"Don Mattera’s voice has been stilled, but his powerful words linger on in memory"
''

Daily Maverick ''Daily Maverick'' is a South African daily online publication and weekly print newspaper, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Its readership is spread across South Africa and the world, with approximately 8 million readers per month. I ...

'', 19 July 2022. * Frank Meintjies
"Don Mattera constantly shuffled the deck between anger and compassion"
Times Live, ''Sunday Times'', 22 July 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mattera, Don 1935 births 2022 deaths Anti-apartheid activists Converts to Islam Order of the Baobab People from Johannesburg South African dramatists and playwrights South African Muslims South African people of Italian descent South African people of Xhosa descent South African poets