REVIEW

Don Mattera Wields A Pen Of Caution
Bra Don, as Mattera is affectionately known was in town over the weekend, here in sunny Mpumalanga. Poet Ezrom Maromo wa Sekgobela went along for the ride of a lifetime. And here is his story;
If there is one person in South African worthy of the title ‘literary genius’, then Don Mattera should ascend the pedestal with ease. From Sophiatown, his pen defied adversity, incarceration and injustice to still be celebrated in the democratic order. Mattera has a compelling aura around him; his veins bloated with visible anger to the knowledge of a people suffering in silence, a dream deferred, dreams pulverized. He speaks of liberators with chubby cheeks conveniently forgotten about the revolutionary covenant entered into with the people.

I met him recently at Exclusive Books, Nelspruit during the in-store signing ceremony of his compelling anthology: Azanian Love songs. Initially published in 1983, the book resonates relevance as if penned yesterday, an assertion that not much has changed since.
Excuses advanced of a ‘nascent democracy’, while a few enjoy self-aggrandizement crusades at the expense of the populace.

With sheer excellence Mattera weaves wickers of words to describe an epoch that still lives in the shadow of its ghastly past. In the poem: They think us happy, one might think it's déjà vu or we’ve been silently whiskered into the old order.

Mattera writes: “They think us happy, because we hide our anguish in song, stamp our shackled feet until red drips from the cracks. They smile and we smile, we only smile because they smile and they think us happy. Let us remove our masks of artificial merriment, reveal the wrinkles of our quiet anger, wash the clay from our bodies and let them see the scars. Perhaps they know, perhaps not, but dammit they must be told, we have had enough”.

The veteran scribe also pens about the nostalgia of the transcended, who still pine to see the freedom they dearly sacrificed for. “Remember to call my grave when freedom finally walks the land, then I may rise to tread familiar paths…do not run away for fright if I crumble to dust again, it will only be the bliss of a long awaited dream, that bids me rest, when freedom finally walks the land”.

Mattera’s poetry is not a call for a bloody revolution, but rather a revelation to the compelling truths around us. The question is; do we choose to let sleeping dogs lie, or do we give them a rude and rumpus awakening? It’s demo-cracy anyway (“demonstration-of-craze), as eruditely captured by the late Afro-beat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Ezrom Maromo wa Sekgobela is a published poet-author of Traces of My Thoughts, a poetry collection. He resides in Nelspruit. If you want to contact him about any literary event or to purchase his book he can be reached at 082 394 7059 or ez@ananzi.co.za

REVIEW

Book: Traces of My Thoughts
Author: Ezrom Maromo wa Sekgobela
Reviewer: Goodenough Mashego
Rating: 8/10

The Voices of Africa film project two years ago unveiled a buried truth that has always dodged this province; that there are very consistent and conscious poets hidden behind the rising sun. Poets such as Cebisile Hlambo, Naledi Dlamini, Selby Mogane, the late Olgivit Gumede and Lucky Khoza. They carried this province's flag higher during the 21 episodes screened on SABC1.

Two years later another truth surfaces; there are poets with their own books in the province. The latest revelation is Ezrom Maromo wa Sekgobela whose poetry collection Traces of My Thoughts has just been unleashed. It's a portable 54 pages long interrogation of society and self by this prolific 34-years old-wordsmith, which comes to your in black and red. The glossy covered book, dedicated to so many people including '... the people of Mpumalanga Province' is made up of four chapters and thirty two poems.

On the chapter of Silent Thoughts I liked the poem In Foreign Lands which comes handy in our current socio-political dispensation. "in foreign lands/ we died clinch-fisted in protest/'we shall overcome'/ a conviction held till we transcended/ into the silent world of the dead'. It's relevant at a time when the memories of those who never saw the sought-after liberation have to be appeased by those who made it through. At a time when our loyalities are twisted and we are focused on material accumulation than creating marbles of rememberance.

Taiwa is a poem dedicated to the late jazz pianist Moses Taiwa Molelekwa. Sekgobela first published it in Sowetan-Sundayworld where it made such an impact that today the lines, 'Taiwa! I am incessantly haunted by the idea of how it would have been like had I known you' still ring gorier. 'Taiwa' it appears is also the name of one of his sons.

The two more chapters are Tears of Love and Inspiration of Nature which is where this Marketing Manager at the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) pays homage to the province, its natural resources and its diverse people. Here you find poems like Mpumalanga My Home, The Long Tailed Widow, Bridal Veil Waterfalls, The Caracal Attack, Lydenburg Heads and two others.

From this Mashishing native who now lives in Nelspruit Traces of my Thoughts is a book every Mpumalanga resident should aspire to own. 'Your cushioned womb begot luminaries and visionaries/ Dikwankwetla Bo Makwetla, Phosa, Masekela, Chikapa, Sekoto/ your children innumerable warm hearted and humble/ emulating your maternal love and embrace', he writes.

Not only because it's one of few coming out of poets from this province but also because its relevance to the daily reality of this population is gory.

I said to Sekgobela that this province deserves its own poetry Festival to celebrate its bards, he said we should discuss it with Arts and Culture. For now, his brilliantly written book should be available at Exclusive Books with a glittering cover designed by Nicholas P Hauser. I don't give 10 out of 10 to any book, and it's no different with this one.

REVIEW

Ezrom shares his inner voice

Traces of My Thoughts is an anthology of verse that will do more than provide a distraction from the rush of life, it will open your eyes to the world around you.
Nelspruit poet, Ezrom Maromo wa Sekgobela chooses his words with the delight of a child let loose in a sweet shop, and leads one into a fresh appreciation of how blessed we are to be living in God's own province. He also pulls no punches when it comes to the things our province is doing wrong.
"My father was as teacher where I grew up in Lydenburg, and he insisted we learned five news words a day. I never became a teacher as he had hoped, but it was his passion that has allowed me to make a living as a writer"

Ezrom began writing poetry as therapy after a difficult time in his life. "Lowvelder was first to give me a platform to speak to a wider audience. I was hooked"
He's a natural brand ambassador for Mpumalanga and, appropriately, works as communications manager for national tourism at the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA)
'Diversions' is a powerful poem lamenting the divide that has crept into his and all of our busy lives, separating us from the real world around us, in the scramble to keep up with a society out of control.
Combined with with pieces celebrating the beauty of Mpumalanga, one comes away feeling like the banished Adam and Eve, determined to make amends with God and to regain a sense of wonder at the Paradise we inhabit.
Ezrom studied journalism in Johannesburg, and became a news correspondent in his home town. "You can imagine how my life changed forever, when people in Lydenburg saw my name in big national newspapers - my dad's dedication has paid off."
Having gained some experience, he started his own community newspaper with the backing of a publisher. It would not be the last publication he would launch.
In 2004 his brainchild, Sunrise Magazine, was launched by the MTPA t promote the province. "I wanted to create a platform for the province's stories to be told. There's a wealth of amazing people, places, trees, rocks, art - you name it. But the majority of these stories are going untold"
Traces of My Thoughts will be available later this month at Exclusive Books.

This review first appeared in Mpumalanga Post on 13 February 2008 and is wholly written by Sheldon Vos. Kasiekulture will post TAKE TWO of the same review soon.