Mafika Pascal Gwala (5 October 1946 – 5 September 2014) was a contemporary
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
, writing in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Zulu.
Early life and education
Mafika Gwala was born and grew up in
Verulam, north of
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 ...
,
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
. He completed an M.Phil. in Politics 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 ...
and was a researcher at
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
.
[Far from forgotten](_blank)
by Niren Tolsi (ZA@PLAY) October 6, 2006
Work and activism
Gwala spent most of his adult life in Mpumalanga Township, west of Durban. He worked in a factory as a clerk, an industrial relations officer, a high school teacher, and a guest university lecturer, aside from writing and editing.
Gwala was active in the struggle against
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 ...
and a leading light of the 1970s
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, of which he says:
Writing
In 1982, Gwala published a book of Black Consciousness poetry in a collection called ''No More Lullabies''. His work is characterised by a rhythmic musicality he attributes to the Zulu language. In 1991, he edited and translated into English a collection of Zulu writing entitled ''Musho! Zulu Popular Praises''.
Works
Poetry
*''Jol'iinkomo'' (1977)
*''No More Lullabies'' (1982)
Edited
*''Black Review'' (1973)
*''Musho! Zulu Popular Praises'', with
Liz Gunner (Michigan State University, 1991)
External links
The jivepoem
Interviewat Chimurenga Online
at Mail & Guardian Online
References
1946 births
Living people
People from KwaZulu-Natal
Zulu people
20th-century South African poets
South African male poets
20th-century South African male writers
Zulu-language poets
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