Sounds of a Cowhide Drum / Imisindo Yesigubhu Sesikhumba Senkomo

Overview

Written from the perspective of working men in South Africa, this classic explores both the banality and the extremity of apartheid as it recalls the energy of the "ancestors," as the author calls them. Showing that poetry is much more than simply an artistic pastime, this collection acts as a medium for articulating feelings, opinions, ideas, thoughts, and beliefs. Making the set available for the first time in many years, this new edition includes English translations of the poems alongside the original Zulu versions.

Author Biography

Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali is the founder and deputy headmaster of Pace Community College in South Africa and a former professor at the New York City College of Technology. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the London Poetry International Award, the South African Lifetime Achievement Literary Award, and the Southern Africa English Academy Poetry Award. Nadine Gordimer is a Nobel Prize–winning author and a South African political activist.