On Photographs

It is your picture
placed by magnet
on my fridge door
that pulls me to you
I have to believe now
That you are my ghost
Granny dearest

Speaking to me in other people's voices
But only the special ones
How can science ever prove our feelings?

I was talking on the phone with Ayeola, a special friend
mother and sister i just met through her politically incorrect
but amazing husband, writer Carlos Moore.

Moore is the writer of Fela: This bitch of a life, and we were fotunate
enough that he our paths crossed.
More so, his wife, Ayeola, who looks like my grandmother in her ealy days

There i was with Ayeola on the phone
and the picture on the fridge just magnetted my heart
so that while i was talking, i had to watch it, and give it a few kisses.

And there, on the other side of the phone, without knowing that i am
watching my grandmother's picture she starts to talk "You must know
That whereever i am, i am thinking about you, my family"
This is a woman i had met merely three days ago.

i believe these were my grandmother's words.
Deep.
Personal.
Eternal.
Love.

Philos means love

Philos means love
that philosophy of thando, lerato
liebe, luvhuno, 爱,
glarring out of songs
waiting a nod of meaning
what does it mean to meet
a mother with her daughter at the supermarket
picking groceries and dreams
happy summer child besides her mother's flare dress

She calls out, i turn, she speaks beauty
and that philosophy is growing in our eye balls
she loves my hair, i love hers, natural
"can i take a picture of your hair ?"
I have taken one already beautiful one with the open shutter of my heart
So rarely do we give our selves words we belong to, emotions
we deserve, here we are woman and your child whose name means love
sharing a philosophy we did'nt invent but are discovering now
forget the hurry and rush of washing powder and rice and home and dinner
now here is the time, "nice to meet you," likewise
love is born

This morning

This morning i put aside the frills of life
in search of light inside this bag of dreams
Beyond belief, it is me and all my mortal selves
Alone again though i have love growing around me like
flowers blossoming beyond the space the eye can travel
I am alone again though i still itch to see the world
and drink its teachings savour its ways and words
I am alone and naked inside left with pieces called facts
but standing at an unknown corner of the mystery called truth
It is only here, inside that the story can begin again
or end i am lost this morning
I have all the language to cipher my walkings
but my prayers can not reach meaning
How do i teach anyone how to handle me
when i do not hear the language of my house
how can i make a home anywhere when the home
of my veins and blood is strange to itself?
This morning i wait under the knowing gaze of nature
under street lamps for the coming of transcending light...

Makeba remembered at UNISA

Images by Izabelle Jacobs


At an event to remember and honour the life and times of Miriam Zenzile Makeba on 9 November (the date of her death on stage in Italy two years ago) family and friends and well as colleagues gathered at the Dr Miriam Makeba concert Hall at the University of South Africa to listen to revolutionary and love songs coming from the hearts and voices of internationally acclaimed artists and friends of Makeba, Zenzile Lee (granddaughter of Mama Afrika), Mara Louw, Abigail Khubeka and Dorothy Masuka. This intense evening was laced with poetry from yours truly as well as poet and producer Duma Ka Ndlovu. With Style and grace, stage man and actor Sello Maake ka Ncube carried the audience into song, some jokes and anecdotes from the life of legendary Mama Afrika, as the simple Azanian child and singer came to be known. The outgoing principal of Unisa Prof N Barney Pitayna gave a message of welcome before the evening got down to song - accompanied by the talented Afrika Mkhize on piano - and reflections from the ladies of song themselves were shared to much memory and laughs. Khubeka, Masuka, Louw and Lee brought three generations of voices together in song and celebration with household and nostalgic tunes such as Masakhane, Pata Pata, Bandi Jongile, Into yam and Uya memeza umgoma. A video showing the life of Makeba as well as the legacy she has poured into the music of young South African artists was shown. Among organisers for this commemoration are Makeba's grandson Lumumba Nelson Lee, as well as friend Aubrey Sekhabi of the State Theatre Tshwane.

Fela! musical is sued by biographer

Show based on life of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti faces $5m lawsuit

Share71 Amelia Hill guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 9 November 2010 17.59 GMT Article history
Scene from the National Theatre production of Fela! opening later this month. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Hailed as the Muhammad Ali, James Brown and Bob Dylan of Africa all wrapped into one, modern hip-hop wouldn't exist without Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the late Afrobeat star.

But Kuti, an African revolutionary, musical visionary and polygamist who married 27 women on the same day in 1978, is turning out to be as controversial in death as he was in life. An award-winning American musical based on his life – lavishly praised by a string of American celebrities, including Madonna, Spike Lee, Toni Morrison, Oprah Winfrey and co-producer Jay-Z – has been hit with a $5m lawsuit. Carlos Moore, the musician's only official biographer, claims the producers of Fela! breached his copyright by failing to credit his book, Fela: This Bitch Of A Life, as a source for the production.

"I felt hurt and humiliated. It was a slap in the face," Moore, a highly respected African-Cuban scholar with a track record of advocating international black causes, told The-Latest.com. In his federal court filing, Moore says he was approached in 2007 and offered a "grossly insufficient" offer of $4,000 for the rights to his authorised biography, which was published in 1982 during Kuti's lifetime and reissued last year. Rejecting the offer, Moore demanded "an advance and participation in the royalty pool". But, he says, no further offer was ever made. Moore's Manhattan writ says that after his refusal, the playwright Jim Lewis and director Bill T Jones went on to use his book to develop their musical without the author's "knowledge, authorisation or consent", he claims.

Fela!, which opened on Broadway less than a year ago to ecstatic reviews – the New York Times wrote: "there should be dancing in the streets" – has won three 2010 Tony awards. By the time it closes later this year, over 400,000 people will have bought tickets. It is a success the producers hope to repeat later this month when the show opens on London's South Bank: the first time that the National Theatre has run a show simultaneously with a Broadway production. Moore's writ is a surprise to those involved with the show. Richard Kornberg, a spokesman for Fela!, told the New York Post he was "shocked" by the suit, pointing out that Moore took part in publicity efforts for the show, including a film clip on YouTube during which he praises the musical for its "tremendous accuracy". "[The show has] really understood the spirit of Fela," Moore is shown saying.

Born in 1938, Fela Ransome-Kuti studied classical music at Trinity College in London in the early 1960s. Returning to Lagos after his studies, Kuti's reputation spread. When Paul McCartney saw him play in Lagos in 1972, he said: "They were the best band I've ever seen live … I couldn't stop weeping with joy."

The influence of the musician has continued to grow after his death. Fela's co-producer, actor Will Smith, said: "His life inspired a nation and his soulful Afrobeat rhythms ignited a generation."

In the UK, bands such as Franz Ferdinand and Vampire Weekend credit him as an inspiration. The Turner prize-winning artist Steve McQueen is making a biopic about Kuti for release next year. Damon Albarn pronounced his song Zombie from 1976 the "sexiest track ever recorded".

The show has already attracted some controversy. Rikki Stein, Kuti's manager and friend, says it sets up the musician – who called himself "Adami Edo" – the strange one – as a "humanitarian, a courageous fighter against injustice and master musician". But others have accused it of underplaying Kuti's misogyny and homophobia, and for failing to mention Aids, from which Kuti died.

The London show is rumoured to be edgier than the Broadway production, with the addition of an anti-Islamic passage

Urban Voices International Poetry and Theatre Festival 2010

Website: www.urbanvoices.co.za; Face Book Groups: Urban Voices Festival; Email: info@artsexchange.co.za; Bookings : Computicket/the Door

Joburg Sat 23 Oct @ Bassline , Newtown 8pm

Cape Town Wed 27 Oct @ Baxter Theatre, Rondebosch, 8pm

Urban Voice Poetry Festival once again features performers who are entertaining, inspiring and original from South African and overseas. From New York , African – American, Patricia Smith, is an established writer , performer and academic who has received several international literary awards including being a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award for her ground breaking ‘Blood Dazzler’ which chronicles the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina, Patricia Smith, is lauded by critics as “a testament to the power of words to change lives,” is the author of acclaimed poetry volumes and several other books. She is also a four-time individual champion on the National Poetry Slam — the most successful slammer in the competition’s history and regarded as one of the best performance poets in the world!

Tony award winning poets featured include Lemon Andersen as well as Asian- American poet, Beau Sia , who featured in 2005, will once again grace the Urban Voices stage with new work, which is both humorous and hard hitting as he poetically engages on issues which affect the personal and the social landscape.

South African performers will include dynamic and powerful women poets and writers such as Lisa Combrinck, Natalia Molebatsi, MC Likwidskillz and various others on the Joburg and Cape Town stage.

Workshop Programme

Several poetry and theatre workshops will be held involving local and international artists. The workshops will take place in Joburg for members of the cultural community, students at Wits University and high school students. Urban Voices Prison Programme will also host workshops at the Joburg Correctional Centre (Sun City Prison) for both male and female offenders.

An Evening with Alice Walker & Company

State Theatre, South Africa

Author: Natalia Molebatsi
Photographer: Gail Smith

It is the evening of 7 September 2010, and i am on my toes at the backstage of the State Theatre. I am reading the names placed on each dressing rooms in a row. The bigger one, for the six member band Ladies in Jazz and then the room that is closer to the eye right now is that of: Professor Alice Walker. Next to that, Sibogile Khumalo, then Simphiwe Dana

I am honoured and aware that these are big shoes to fill but will not let nerves on edge take me over. It is a spiritual evening this here, a celebration of love and Word, and music. It is 7pm and the event is about to begin. The traditional Healers association is standing by to open the stage with a cleansing for the the evening, and then i shall take over to ride the night, and invite the audience to travel with me, with us, on this journey on the crafting of this page of history.

Natalia Molebatsi as MC of the evening.

The first thing i do once under the spotlight and the curtain behind me has dropped to take over the visibility of the healers who were actually sustaining my calm and clear energy - Now i am on my own - is a poem.

The audience is gazing at this woman (me) who is standing on their stage, not knowing her whereabouts beyond the flesh. I had to break into poem in order to feel the people before me, and to feed off the energy they come bearing in pockets of their hearts, and the lines between what they know as well as what they have come to fetch.

"Hello, hello"
"Hellooo" says the audience
"Hello Journey people, hello," I go on.
"Hello, welcome to these pages
These are the stages in our journey, hello...
Goodbye, i will meet you at the corner
I will find you at the fringes
At the crossroads of our prayers
I will see you at the centre of our forming
Hello Traveler woman tired
Warrior man trying into the limitless
Sky in pursuit of roots
Journey woman what are you formulations
I am searching for my foundations
I am searching for truth, i am searching
And if any of you journey traveller people
ever get to the other side
Tell them we were made of flesh and blues
Tell them we were twisted into flesh
and lust and lies
Tell them we were woven into long
tapestries who hold us up till we
can uphold ourselves
Tell them we were made of flesh and love so
Hello"

My feet are beginning to feel grounded. This is going to be a great evening. I begin

"Good evening, Sisters and Brothers, Ladies and Gentlemen
Welcome to the evening with Alice Walker, courtesy of the Steve Biko Foundation, The state Theatre and the Department of Arts and Culture".

I go on: "The women you are about to experience tonight have created a mark on our collective memory in all spheres
From the USA one of the most acclaimed women writers to come out
of our time meets South Africa's and Africa's top songstresses and instrumentalists
These women are at the top of their game, or should i rather say at the forefront of their struggle?

First I call Nkosinathi Biko, the son of Steve Biko and CEO of the Steve Biko Foundation to set the pace and context for the evening. He speaks well, acknowledges the generosity of Sister Alice, reads an excerpt from her Color Purple, and then presents the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mam' Lulu Xingwana. After the Minister's speech of promises, the night everyone came for is about to begin "kuzoshuba," i say to Nkosinathi.

Then i am back on the light, i thank both the Minister and Mr Biko for their affirming words. I am on that train again

"She has brought us Zandisile and has been soaring ever since. Her reflective repertoire has brought us The One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street where she haunts us with the political, the spiritual and the human vision of Bantu Biko, and his people before him. this album is an important landmark on our cultural and artistic discourse. And hot off the press is her latest release Kulture Noir, a critically acclaimed offering of cultural revolution will lull your blues. Tonight live at the State Theatre, she is joined by the Ladies in Jazz

Each of these ladies is an adept instrumentalist and singer. Formed in 1998 by Anikki Maswanganye (drums) and Thandi Mahlangu (lead vocals and percussion), today Ladies in Jazz has grown to include Zodwa Mabena (bass), Sankie Motsei (piano), Lesego Nkonyane (saxophone) and Thope Diniso (guitar).

Ladies in Jazz

These ladies get down to the business of entertaining but also haunting the audience. When Simphiwe has left the audience with a nostalgic feeling of getting back the lives of Biko and all other fallen sheroes and heroes, it is time to introduce Alice Walker, a woman who will always stand out as an unforgettable memory in history. This acclaimed writer, critic (and criticised too for her honesty), thinker, womanist and strong mother of words will for the next 30 minutes travel through us on a journey she has been for the past 40 years and also what she has been writing recently. A journey of word, reflection and sheer creative excellence.

In an attempt to introduce her to my audience - to be brought by the traditional healers association members who are performing a traditional blessing and cleansing for her personally. Before this, i say "Multi award winning author, poet, essayist, political activist, womanist and scholar. The first black woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for her outstanding work in the Color Purple a book later turned into an acclaimed big screen release. Her first book, a collection of poetry named Once was published when she was only 24. Since then she has carved a place in our cultural, political and literary history, Some of her touching, both revealing and affirming works include in no particular order Temple of My familiar, You cant keep a good woman down, Now is the time to open your heart, Meridian and The Secret to possessing Joy. Her poetry collections following Once, include Revolutionary Petunias and Horses make a landscape look more beautiful. Her work has been taught at universities all over the world and translated into over a dozen languages. Sisters and brothers, for the first time on South African soil, I am proud to announce that she will deliver the annual Steve Biko Memorial lecture at the University of Cape Town in two days, ladies and Gentlemen it is my honour and privilege to present (ka megolokwane tu!) Prof Alice Walker."

She reads some poems, and speaks to us about love and equality. She is appealing to men to come out and take their responsibility and their place on this journey. She is giving sisters strength and love to share with these brothers. She is appealing to brothers to open up to the innocence and inner sense of children. She is calling the grandmothers to bring it all back into our hearts, into our hands - the religion of love. Her engaging with the audience is strong and sociopolitical but also humorous, this comes out in her poem "you confide in me" In the poem "The World has changed" - an open letter to Barak Obama - the audience doesn't seem to clap or cheer as much.

Traditional blessing and cleansing ceremony for Alice Walker.

Have they gotten tired of politrics? Anyway i am back again and i thank my sister Professor, activist... for her meaningful and affirming words. And it is time for the divine Diva Sibongile Khumalo to bless the stage. This evening is really sacred. I begin again:

"Her voice and talent will always be remembered on stages such as these all over the world and in critically acclaimed recordings such as Ancient Evenings, Live at the Market Theatre, Quest, and Immortal Secrets among others. Ladies and Gentlemen, this lover of jazz and words is with no doubt, the best in her game, her music is reflection, it is a breeze of calm, and a sense of roots. with a strong affirmation of self and of spirit and of ancestry. Dubbed the "Divine Diva", her voice is said to be and I believe, “one of the greatest natural instruments on display anywhere in the world” today. Ladies and gentlemen, the highly celebrated singer and maestro, Sibongile Khumalo

The divine Diva Sibongile Khumalo.

And it is a dazzle, she is performing with a piano player and later on is joined by all the outstanding women who were part of the show. Even Professor Walker is called in to come and dance. She looks a bit fragile, a bit tired and a bit old, but more beautiful than anything i have ever seen before. It is 10pm and the evening ends, or rather we all take wholes and pieces of it, to unwrap as we travel along.

Hello journey people: I am searching for my truth

Recently i read a blog article by a friend who was writing about honesty, and how hurt she was at the discovery that a close friend had been lying to her. Not knowing the reasons for why my friend had been lied to, i tried to be in both hers and her friend's shoes too. While naturally sympathizing with the one who has been betrayed by dishonesty, because no one deserves lies as we understand the wounds these and secrets inflict on the inner self. I also tried to explore reasons why people lie - endless. Excuses covered in "protection of others' feelings" - but in actual fact top on the list of selfish reactions. I started thinking about how many times i had withheld my emotions and truth in order to please others, or lied for fear of taking responsibility for my actions, as well as perceived judgment from others. Most people want to belong, to be loved, and to feel the warmth of others and therefore try and not disappoint perceived and actual expectations from their relations. Hence most people lie to their closest and most delicate relations with excuses ranging from fear of rejection, "what is not known doesn't hurt", awaiting the "right" moment, denial, and, an inability to take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.

I felt for my friend and the kind of betrayal she might have felt when her own friend could not come clean and confide in her. How was she supposed to support her friend if the latter was hiding information from her, and how can this person be trusted again? Many times though, we lie or withhold the truth because of fear of rejection, or because we want to protect the ones we love. How many times have we heard the saying "The truth hurts"? where we hide our feelings as they might hurt our loved ones? We therefore bear the heavy weight of knowing that we are not honest. And what about the saying "the truth shall set you free"? These statements sound cliche but think about the many times a heavy load was lifted off your shoulders or an empty existence filled with purpose after disclosing a disturbing or haunting truth. Suddenly your journey smoothing by the relief of having no need to constantly keep secrets, omit facts from experiences, guilt and shame or even boiling up (or freezing) alone within.

Secrets are kept by us or from us in order to protect someone or something, in order to keep an illusion or blurred vision unexamined. After reading my friend's post, i looked back to trace any truth that i might have covered somewhere or some lie i told in order to protect me or someone i love. These reflections send me thinking of how people can be damaging to their lives while in the illusion or attempt to "correcting" them. It is this same act of "correction" that if unexamined might turn one's journey into the search for "purity" and "perfection" - which any progressive person knows are yet another lie. The truth is often unsettling but real, and people are able to receive support in order to overcome their predicament or the strength to face their mistake. How can we learn lessons from our encounters and our mistakes if we are unable to share them? Once one gets used to the facts, the correct story, laid with emotion - whether confused or not - the more one becomes comfortable and closer to their center. I have lied, and have held truth from people i love more than life itself in order to protect myself from consequences (meanwhile believing that i am protecting them). During my examination and reflections, i find it apparent that the act of lying is rooted in self loathing, anger, denial, and inferiority complex - insecurities best combated by living life on a path that keeps ones from reacting with fear but rather with love.

WOMEN'S WORDS: AFRICAN WORLDS

In the quest to renew dialogue between African women and those of African discent from other parts of the world, the Department of Arts and Culture in collaboration with the Windybrow theatre organised the Women's Words: African Worlds symposium.

On 25 and 26 August, the Windybrow theatre was abuzz with new and old voices paving a way ahead, addressing issues prominent in the world of an African woman witer, listening to one another's story (which represent the social dynamic from where they arise) as well as reaping new inspirations from one another's imaginations. South African writer Zukiswa Wanner chaired one of the panels on the programme where legendary writer Lauretta Ngcobo (SA), Lola Shoneyin (Nigeria) and Shailja Patel (USA/Kenya) among others spoke on Dreams Dialogues and Realities: Fictional Voices. Other sessions included " Writing the self and others" where acclaimed journalist Masechaba Moshoeshoe was facilitator and panelists included Botswana's Seathlolo Tumedi and Leloba Molema as well as South Africa's Liesl Jobson

As much as most of us in the writing community i heard much late about the symposium, the invitation did reach me and was honoured to share the stage with these giants on the evening of 25 August. Right there a little feather stroke me hoping that the ministry of Arts and Culture will see the need for its continued support within women writers worlds, especially Black women, as opposed to creaming our intellectual curiosities and needs in August as that is designated for "women issues" and then leaving us to the normal corners we travel in during the rest of the year.

I commended them for a lovely evening of readings and the quality of writers on the programme. The evening was laid back and reflective. I am sure we all needed that after the symposium's long listening sessions on the first day. The cultural evening included readings by some of my most favourite writers and performers. Jayne Cortez (USA) sparked the evening to a great flow. The trees, moon and stars were given new descriptions and meaning. Other readers and performers for the evening included Nosipho Kota (South Africa), Arja Salafranca (South Africa) Adaobi Nwaubani (Nigeria), Sindiswa Seakhoa (South Africa, Samira Negrouche (Algeria), Mamaati herself, as well as the evening's favourites, Lola and Shailja. The evening ended with hips moving to the groves of the pan African band.
Well done Lisa Combrink (head of Communication at the DAC). We hope this was not a once off event, that more will take place, even at the corners and fringes of our existense and that fellow writers will hear and heed the call in time.

URBAN BLUES PERFORMANCE