Bluesology and Bofelosophy

Mphutlane Wa

Description

The poems, stories and essays of Mphutlane wa Bofelo operate within a framework of thinking that is an amalgam of philosophies: that of black consciousness, humanistic Islam and socialism. His voice is both lyrical and satirical, expressing anger and tenderness even as his barbs are sharp and his kisses tender. His beats are complex polyrhythms that roll on in incantatory style or achieve mystical brevity. Bofelo entered the world of sociopolitical and cultural activism in the early 1980s through the black consciousness movement in Zamdela Township in Sasolburg. He lives in Durban, where he has built up an audience as a performer of poetry, a speaker and a facilitator. He has self-published two poetry collections and is represented in journals, newspapers and on web sites.

Sujets

• Islam

Informations

• Publié par: Botsotso Publishing
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780994708199
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

B L U E S O L O G Y & B O F E L O S O P H Y

Mphutlane wa Bofelo

B L U E S O L O G Y & B O F E L O S O P H Y Poetry & Essays

Mphutlane wa Bofelo

BLUESOLOGY & BOFELOSOPHY

Poetry & Essays

Mphutlane wa Bofelo

Published by Botsotso Publishing 2008

Box 30952 Braamfontein 2017 South Africa email: [e-mail] website: www. botsotso.org.za

ISBN: 978-0-9814068-8-6

We thank the following funders for their support

Cover Design and Layout Vivienne Preston

Acknowledgement Dedicated to Dr Phillip Tabane for inspirational,life-giving, soulful and healing music, and to comrade Asha Moodley for her humility, simplicity, selflessness, undying love for people and unflinching passion for life and The Struggle"

CONTENTS

BOOK 1 BLUESOLOGY POETRY&PROSE

Page 1. 2The blues in her 2. Bluesology 3 3. 4Dance is… 4.  Me, Barry White? In your dreams 5 5. 6Sleeping beauty 6. I feel you 7 7. Response to a dying lover 8 8. The dance floor is sacred ground, and who am I to tell you this? 9 9. 10Durban doccies 10. Brian Habana scored and the boys partied 12 12. All power to some people 13

 Page 13. Hot Coals 15 14. 16Cool Types 15. 17Caring for Black Labour 16. 18Extra digit 17. 18She came and the boy became a man 18. 19Hot Types 19. The Aftermath 21 20. 22At the Barbershop 21. 23Dear parents 22. The story told 24 23. Verwoed is Black: Biko is on holiday 25 24. Wisdom lost 27 25. The Shopping mall Revolution: Press clippings 28 26. 32Poetry under spotlight 27. 32The killer within 28. The prophet’s cure for anger 33 29. 33Graffiti at the Bat 30. richness 34The poverty of 31. Man for all seasons 35 32. Soapie 37 33. Kasie News 2 October 1996 43 34. Tsunami 49 35. 52DJ Yoghurt 36. Gumba 55 37. Prophecy 58 38. 61Comrade Red Socks 39. The Reconfiguration of Comrade Slogan 64

40.

41. 42.

43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53.

CONTENTS BOOK 2 BOF B E O L O S K OP 2 HY ESSAYS & REVIEWS BOFELOSOPHY ESSAYS&REVIEWS

Hybridization and slang in South African poetry: A cursory look at Ike Muila’s “Gova” and Farouk Asvat’s “Bra Frooks” Brenda and Gender Gramsci and Biko on Hegemony and Counter-Hegemony and the Role of Intellectuals and mass participation Culture and Liberation: Steve and Strini sang from the same songbook as Fanon The myth of two economies Black consciousness unbundled On board the “’Scamtho train with Bra Ike” From Toni with love Book of love and meditation: “Avenues of my Soul” – Ayanda Billie Slam poetry in South Africa: Beyond the fad to poetry for social change Thina lomhlaba siugezile: The poetic voice of a South Africa in transition Against the tyranny of time and place: Review of Poetic Licence by Mike Alfred Review of Bella by Isabella Motadinyane Happy Birthday Saint Mandela; Long-live White privilege!

Page

75 88

90 99 104 106 110 113 115 116 122 137 140 142

Book1

BLUESOLOGY

PoetryandProse

the blues in her

she writes her anxiety with needle on wool lets embroidery sing blues no composer can give lyrical tapestry to

if one could live wishes the story would exit her heart to live forever on pieces of cloth decors eternally hanging on boardrooms dining lounges & bedroom suites no longer her poor belonging but stately property of proud collectors yet the children in the streets tell her son stories whispered in households on evening tables they say grandpa is also daddy & grandma chose marital bliss above the health of her daughter’s mind & the wellbeing of her soul the verdict is her(e) knitting is a neurotic compulsive dealing with repressed memories of daddy coming from behind

“mama, is it true grandpa was a monster? the things he did to you, ma is he in hell, ma? and grandma, was she chased from heaven, ma?”

2.

Bluesology

he whistles & hums his burdens into haunting tunes surrenders his heart to all ears his grief sinks in people’s minds a tapestry of the blues buried within everybody’ chests

scribes roll reams of paper PhD dissertations on the psycho-metaphysical dimensions and philosophical underpinnings of his tunes the anthropologist graduates cum laude as an expert in the phonetics and intricacies of the music of African language & a doctor in what-what on the meaning and origins  of Blues the psychiatry of the Spirituals the borderline between Jazz & Soul & the whys and whatevers of Rhythm and Poetry

his palms caressing an empty paraffin vessel he breathes his spirit in a forsaken hosepipe empties his lungs in a lonely bamboo cane feeds a deserted beer-bottle with his soul & passersby with his song-tales-their stories the musicologist drowns himself in the acoustics and poetics of his own voice & swims in sophistic (sem)antics in an effort to put a tag on the rhythms and blues in the jazzy dance of soulful lips wailing the pounding rap of rain drops on rooftops of mud-huts

3.

he welcomes the anguish of the people into his heart weaves their murmurs and groans into exhilarating sounds