On Monday 8 September, South Africa lost one of its famous poets, Mafika Pascal Gwala.
On Monday 8 September, South Africa lost one of its famous poets, Mafika Pascal Gwala.
By coincidence, Monday was also International Literacy Day, a cause to which Gwala dedicated much of his life. As a founding member of the Black Consciousness-inspired South African Students Organisation alongside Steve Biko, Gwala led by example in showing how culture could be used as an integral part of the liberation movement.
Several decades later as a writer, editor and teacher, Gwala continued to inspire readers and writers, as a means to empowerment and social upliftment.
Gwala was recently in Grahamstown, hosted by Wordfest during the National Arts Festival. A small but fitting tribute to him was held at Eden Grove where students of the Rhodes MA in Creative Writing and their lecturers read their favourite poems of his. Despite being frail, Gwala was visibly moved, especially when he was given a standing ovation by an appreciative audience.
As a poet, Gwala will long be remembered for his two iconic volumes of poetry, Jol’iinkomo (1977) and No More Lullabies (1982).
Published at the height of the apartheid era, these volumes show the power of poetry as a form of protest.
Many of his poems have been published in journals and anthologies, both local and foreign. Gwala also published numerous short stories as well as articles and essays on Black Consciousness and cultural matters.
He also co-edited, with Liz Gunner, a volume of Zulu praise poems, Musho! Zulu Popular Praises (1995).
Born in Verulam in 1946, Gwala died aged 67. Mafika Gwala’s books, many of his contributions to journals and anthologies, press clippings and secondary works are held at NELM and are available to the public for use on the premises.
