Sizakele Nkosi
THOSE UNQUENCHABLE SPIRITS
While South Africans are proud of having 11 official written languages, it is generally accepted that publishing books in indigenous languages is challenging, especially when it comes to poetry.
And so, as we celebrate International Mother Language Day on 21 February, the AVBOB Poetry Project is excited to showcase the vibrant, multilingual work of Sizakele Nkosi, poet, children’s writer and creative writing lecturer at Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley, who has facilitated poetry and jazz sessions through her House of Siza platform for many years. Her debut collection, u-Grand, Malume? was published by Botsotso (www.botsotso.org.za) in 2023.
Most of the poems in the collection are in English, but its title tells us that Nkosi has a fine ear for the gritty, cosmopolitan slang of Johannesburg’s city streets.
These are poems firmly rooted in our present moment, but Nkosi also looks backward, preserving what is in danger of being lost.
“’u-Grand, Malume?’ is used as a respectful greeting to men. It is a way of checking in on one’s uncles, the older men who play such a critical role in black families. But I grew up without an uncle. My uncle Mandla was killed by the police in the US, and my uncle Jabulani disappeared in exile, fighting for the liberation of black people in South Africa.
“The collection is inspired by the language, the everyday lives of my people. These poems are my way of preserving and celebrating the people in the township and bringing my uncles’ spirits back home.”
Several poems are first presented in isiZulu, her first language, and then translated into English. “I wanted to write in a language that is accessible to the people I’m writing about,” she says. As someone who moves between languages, it is perhaps not surprising that some poems presented themselves in isiZulu first and others in English. But even the English poems carry traces of isiZulu, both from KwaZulu-Natal and from Soweto. A helpful glossary has been added to make isiZulu words more accessible to an English-speaking audience.
The important thing, she says, is for languages to keep moving.
“I believe poets should use language that is true to them, that expresses them. If we write in English, it should be the English that we use every day. Our indigenous languages shouldn’t be stuck in some pure form either.”
In “Music Tour”, Nkosi memorably shows us what it feels like to keep moving forward while simultaneously looking back and honouring what went before. She takes the reader on a musical road trip through the streets of Soweto. Sometimes the tone is sad as she notices the absence of once vibrant voices. At other times, she joyously acknowledges what is vibrantly alive today. “So where to?” she asks, ruffing on the name of the township where she lives. She considers going to Avalon Cemetery, but decides against it. The poem ends:
“i will not bother the dead
their bones are resting
as for their spirits,
those unquenchable spirits
still dance in the airwaves”
She is optimistic about the future of poetry in indigenous languages.
“There is still this false belief that black people don’t read. This collection is proof that they do. These poems have already sparked conversation and critical discussions about our current social realities.”
In the next few days, write a poem featuring the different voices and languages in a place that you love. Are those voices in harmony or are they in conflict? Is your own voice clear when you are there or are you sometimes in conflict with yourself?
The AVBOB Poetry Competition will reopen its doors on 1 August 2024. Since the project’s inception, it has been committed to promoting poetry in all of South Africa’s official languages. Visit our extensive archive at www.avbobpoetry.co.za and share in our amazement at the range of experience represented there. Follow us on social media for news, announcements and opportunities.