Sam Mathe | Remembering James Matthews: The unyielding voice of South African struggle literature
Renowned poet, writer and political activist James Matthews, whose work was banned during apartheid, has passed away in Cape TownJames Matthews was a chronicler of his times and a bard who chose to heed his conscience rather than the dictates of society. A poet who used his pen to challenge authority, he was unwavering in his stance against injustice and inhumanity.
Raised in a family of modest means, books were not part of his upbringing. His father could hardly read and write while his mother read, in his own words, ‘two thin paperbacks from the UK which could hardly be considered as literature’. There were no libraries at his schools and in the community. The only public libraries in town were reserved for whites, a situation that was not encouraging for an aspirant writer.
These ranged from western writers such as Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, Doris Lessing and George Orwell to Russian masters like Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. It’s a cruel irony that he couldn’t read his first book. It was published in Swedish, a language that was Greek to him. The local publishers wouldn’t touch his works and that’s how they eventually found an outlet in Malmo, Sweden where a local publisher, Cavefores translated and published themwas also translated and published into Swedish in 1963. This meant that his first two important literary ventures in book form were of no consequence for the local publishing industry, critics and readers.
A trailblazer throughout his long and illustrious career, in 1972 Matthews established the first gallery founded by a black person, Gallery Afrique. Against all odds he also founded and and was director of BLAC – short for Black Literature Arts and Culture, a publishing house and another first by a black person
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
James Matthews: The rebel writer who was South Africa's voice of resistanceJames Matthews: The rebel writer who was South Africa's voice of resistance
Read more »
Poet and writer James Matthews dies at 95Matthews was a member of the National Order of Ikamanga, who received the honour in 2004 for his excellent achievements in literature
Read more »
Ramaphosa leads tributes for James MatthewsPresident Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to Cape Town poet and author James Matthews as an impassioned but elegant chronicler of the struggle against aparthei
Read more »
Lauded SA poet and writer James Matthews, whose poetry was banned during apartheid, has diedLauded SA poet and writer James Matthews, whose poetry was banned during apartheid, has died
Read more »
Two years later, Zwai Bala still feels the emptiness of Tokollo's passingRemembering Magesh | Two years later, Zwai Bala still feels the emptiness of Tokollo's passing
Read more »
Remembering Beyers Naudé: A champion of justice and equalityOPINION | Remembering Beyers Naudé: A champion of justice and equality
Read more »