KEY FREE STATE WRITERS

(Above) Kgang Abel Motheane, Teboho Masakala, Jah Rose, Hector Kunene, Flaxman Qoopane...

2011 LITERARY TRENDS: A Review

By Paul Lothane

Is it too early to reflect on how literature fared in the FS this year (2011)? Probably not. After all, those of us who like to claim we love the art of creative writing and all that goes with it can scent the trends quite distinctly.

And one thing is clear: 2011 can hardly hold a candle to 2010 (last year) which was an exciting year in the annals of the so-called renaissance of Black Writing in the Free State. Everything seemed to come together in 2010 – exciting new writers publishing their books, literary-critical articles of the highest order, reviews unlimited.

How many times do we have to say it that writers must ensure that their books are read by the right people, respected reviewers critics, even scholars if possible? In this way they (writers) are assured of some sort of immortality with their books being analysed, talked about, reviewed. As history has shown, those who do not go through this process are either wasting their time, writing only for themselves, or will never really be acknowledged as writers.

The same 2010 we saw two, three wonderful examples of this in the FS. Hector Kunene and Nthabiseng JahRose Jafta attained the type of literary fame most new writers can ever dream about. Their books were properly analysed and discussed in national publications, and on the internet for the whole world. A researcher or any interested reader anywhere in the world, in any country, can check their progress on the internet now, and be impressed.

That is what literature is all about, focusing on the books, ideas, criticism, comments etc. To a certain extent the same was also true for NMM Duman whose apparently reclusive nature has not stopped the world from appreciating her literary genius. Teboho Masakala also hit the scene with his first book in 2010 (short stories)

So, what about the pick of the books published in 2011? One can hardly do any better than first appreciate O Bolaji's Miscellaneous Writings. Whether his career as a writer of fiction is over or not, his book Miscellaneous Writings oozes quality with excellent short essays and stories. Not only does Bolaji write about international and African writers, he does a great service nearer home here by also focusing on the literary work of the likes of Sheila Khala, NMM Duman and Teboho Masakala

Teboho Masakala second book, Through it all also came out this year. A novella, the author has been clever enough from a very young age to realise the importance of reviewers and critics. Hence his book has received appreciable attention by some literary experts. Sechaba Marumo also published a motivational book.

After an absence of some years Thabo Mafike must also be commended for publishing two new books late this year, I have just learnt. It is a bit too early to comment on his works, as they are hardly in the market…the danger, as one has pointed out earlier is the fact that so many of these publications are never really reviewed or analysed by those who know their onions.

The most disappointing aspect of 2011 was the failure of the much advertised book on Flaxman Qoopane, supposed to be written by Hector Kunene, to come out. Thus far, no apology or explanation has been offered to the literary world to explain such a farce and embarrassment. Writers, even those from F.S must remember that the literary world is a very serious, responsible one where reputations can be made and tarnished quite easily. There are many scrupulous and focused people out there who frown on what the world would perceive as dishonesty or a lack of purpose.

One or two other positive items that ensured that 2011 will at least get a pass mark (apart from the few book publications). The celebrated international scholar and researcher, Achal Prabhala visited the Free State this year and his write-up on literary developments has now been published in the Chimurenga journal, and widely on the internet. A controversial piece, as one would expect from any genuine scholar, perhaps the main defect of it was the failure of Mr Prabhala to mention more than just a very few key FS writers.

Happily enough the other major general write-up of the year, “A harvest of Free State poetry” does not suffer from this defect. Written by O Bolaji, the article is a breathtaking, authoritative manner traces the genesis of poetry writing and publication at grassroots level in the FS, and mentions over 20 of such outstanding writers! It is no surprise that the article is now being reproduced on many international websites, and is being used for research and scholarly purposes around the world.

Let me end here by expressing the hope that the year 2012 will at least sustain the progress being made in the FS literary field, with an emphasis on quality books.

MY PEN!

By TIISETSO THIBA (Above)

I have spent lots of time with burden in my mind
I have lost so many times in the past
Words of riot seek space to escaped my oblongata
Blow of gusto kept me distance from the paper
Because I’ve lost my pen
Pen of mine was lost
I was envy to ink the paper with the pen
To make changes in the peoples life’s
Make change of the deleterious feeling, change of acuity, change of igloo to warm arms, change of dryness mind to wet mind
Change of aching to delight and change of infidelity to loyalty only with my pen
Love of literature instigate me to seek for my pen
My life is accomplished with the ink in the scraggy plastic and with the born of the wood ‘paper
I’m engaged to books and soon I’m going to walk down the aisle with nobody seems around
And only I mean only with the sustenance and advice of my tutors to keep me on going and going like jonny walker
With my pen and my paper in my hands I can change and save plenty from the demise course
I can spare your tears and combat them from flowing like dirty river water with no direction
Though you have wounds bleeding bloods of your lost love ones
With my pen I can brought adore in your temple to forgive and love your haters
I can have it all but without jotting down revolution words I’m like dead man breathing
My pen is like water to defy my thirsty, food to full my soul, love to ventilate glee
After found my pen I will exhale puff of joy and kick the air like a healthy toddler
Only after i found my pen

'LITERARY INTERVIEW OF THE YEAR'

(Above) Hector Kunene (left) and O Bolaji

The Phoenix Literary Club (Eastern Free State) has announced that "the literary interview of the year is the highly illuminating one between author Hector Kunene, and versatile writer O Bolaji". Also in book form, check out details of the interview in the link below:


http://kaganof.com/kagablog/2011/03/14/the-road-i-have-traversed%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D-special-interview-with-omoseye-bolaji-by-hector-kunene/