“Back from the Dead” by Knox Mahlaba
The Rising of an African Spirit is a celebration of life, it’s different seasons, and the struggle to overcome. It is an anthology consisting of fifty poems; some poems are images of personal struggles, others visualize the celebration of love, and a few are odes to great leaders and historical reflections.
The single message this book intends to transfer to the reader is that a sense of self-love and appreciation does a world of good. Throughout the book, references are made to Africa with the sole intention of encouraging people, Africans on the continent, and across the Diaspora, to reflect on their rich identity, take responsibility for their self-concept, and to be proud of their heritage in order to inject a greater sense of self-worth and responsibility in their daily lives.
His poetry appears in the Kampala poetry anthology, which we’re launching during the Babishai Poetry Festival, August 26th to 28th at The Uganda Museum. Knox Mahlaba was born in Johannesburg, a proud Sowetan who has had the opportunity to live in different countries as a result of circumstance beyond his control and a desire to obtain an education. A copywriter by trade, he has worked for a multinational advertising company and with international brands. When writing wasn’t paying the bills, he supplemented his income with business initiatives and speaking engagements.
Moving from South Africa to Swaziland after the 1976 Soweto Riots and growing up in exile, he studied at a South African university and then overseas. Studying in America was an eye opener and afforded him the opportunity to interact with Africans from different countries. He had many Ugandan friends in the States and even visited the Ugandan embassy there. Writing about Kampala was like a home coming because as a child Uganda was in the news for the wrong reasons. Fortunately, his friends exposed him to another side of the story.
He has one published collection, Back From The Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, available via Amazon and various online bookstores. He is currently working on his next book and intends on setting up a program to encourage writing and reading among the youth. As a Pan Africanist, his passion is sowing unity among Africans on the continent and abroad.
Writing is a release and something that comes naturally. Writing was a hobby that became a copywriting job and ultimately he began writing for a greater purpose. Mahlaba writes poetry to highlight the numerous conundrums that life offers. He prefers to relay life’s questions to readers to provoke possible answers. He also writes because he thinks African people should take the lead in defining the African experience and shaping young minds toward positive behavior.
“Soweto is a big place, where people are known by their nicknames, names related to their specialty. You really have to stand out to be recognized. It’s a place that thrives on confidence and big dreams. 1976 Student Uprisings define Soweto, the people are resilient and forever seek creative ways to achieve the best results and be the best.”
He has always been fascinated by words. “As a kid I disliked reading fiction because the characters and the plot undermined the aspirations of black people by misrepresenting them; I started reading newspapers from the age of five. It was only after reading ‘I Write What I Like’ by Steve Biko and the African Writer’s Series that I realized that there was only one way to alter the literature landscape, writing and detailing the black experience from a sympathetic perspective without being patronizing.”
Being the cultural melting pot of Johannesburg, its multicultural environment encourages multilingualism and develops interest in other culture, breeding acceptance. Soweto teaches you to be universal by removing ethnocentrism {tribalism} from the mind-set.
“I write about everything, everything that touches and affects the African soul – politics, social issues, and love. The media often portrays Africans as an unloving people, pure because they define love from a western perspective.”
“Universal topics, love, romance, life challenges, and being an African, I also home in on the effects of slavery, colonialism, tribalism and apartheid. We no longer love ourselves and our ways because of systematic brainwashing!”
“Piece of the past, highlights the need for Africans to rediscover themselves and rebuild the family unit. I often say, poets take credit for the work of angels. The best poems won’t let you sleep, the words will wake you if you’re asleep, stop you from sleeping if awake, stop you from doing something else until the poem has form. My poems write themselves from my experiences first hand and second hand interactions.”
All the poems are inspired by Africa, half deal with the spirit, a quarter celebrates love in its various guises, and the another quarter focuses on Africa and the plight of her descendants wherever they may reside.
nature’s revenge.
Singing shosholoza……………….
……………………………………….
A ravaged ecosystem bears the blame
Drought the diagnosis
The men ascend the mountain
Unable to pray for rain
The boulders of culture excavated
Unable to pray in their own language
Pain passed from generation to generation
The mountain laughs
Excerpt from ‘nature’s revenge’
“Different strokes for different folks, I prefer to focus on the words, the words are meant to move you and not the costume or stage devices. History is written by the victor.”
“Poetry offers a balanced narrative of events. I would agree that the poet, more spiritually equipped to portray the truth, pity poets don’t have the resources given to historians. For example, a historian will toe the party line when dealing with ethnic violence, whereas the poet will focus on the loss of human life. The historian is only accountable to the government of the day; the poet is answerable to the ancestors and has to be accountable for an eternity.”
Some of his unpublished work is available on his blog Nativedrum. You can interact with him on various social media platforms, including Facebook and Google+.
Rutendo’s inspiration for writing the book was derived from a number of experiences. One of the key reasons, was her passion for African culture and the need to promote more positive views of Africa. She has always been passionate about celebrating and embracing her African heritage. During her years in secondary school, she was awarded the Jack Petchey Award for her 5 year contribution and commitment to the annual black history competitions. However, she encountered negative stereotypical views from friends and colleagues, who would innocently ask whether Africans lived amongst wild animals and in tiny huts. These views were a far cry from the fun and happy childhood she and her sister had experienced and the modern Africa that we know and love. It appeared to them that some people did not realize that Africa is a continent of many nations, languages, cultures and values. Thus they wanted to write a book that moved away from the stereotypes and showed African children having fun adventures.
Reines Des Temps Modernes (Queens Of Modern Times) is a Coffee Table Book reviving 10 African and Afro descendant heroins through women of our time, our century, thanks to poetry, photography, graphic and fashion design. Abla Pokou, Aminatou de Zaria, Anna Zingha, Seh Dong Hong Beh, Nandi, Makeda, La mûlatresse Solitude, Yaa Asantewa and Ndaté Yalah. All of these women made history but are still unknown by the majority. Each edition is translated in French, English, and Portuguese – three different ways to give birth to these heroines. More than a book, Reines Des Temps Modernes is a piece of art. Queens Of Modern Times is the mirror in which Black women realize their beauty and the power of their culture.
Powered by Wendie ZAHIBO, the project was born in Brasil and explores the definition of a #QMT. A #QMT is a woman who wears her culture, her origin and her history as a crown, with pride, love and respect. More than that, it’s a woman who chooses to fight for her dreams. “Live your dreams, don’t dream your life.” This illustrated book puts the spotlight on 10 heroines through 10 women of the modern times in a voluptuous combination of art, prose and style. The goal is to show another side of our history, a history full of great women, conquerors, exchanges, and kingdoms. By putting the spotlight on 10 sheroes, QTM reveals 10 charismatic women, 10 conceptions of the Black beauties to the future readers, in order to help them consider their own crowns. Do you know who you are?
The Veggie Connection is a network event where attendees are exposed to a host of vegetarian and vegan vendors, speakers, entertainment, and more. The Veggie Connection aims to not only create awareness regarding the plant based lifestyle, but to ensure that it is accessible, enjoyable and sustainable for all who are on this journey towards wellness and abundance.
Founder Lateefah Smith is a mother, entrepreneur, and change agent with the insight, vision, and enthusiasm necessary to inspire, and garner impressive results. With over 20 years of experience in retail/ merchandising, human resource, management, and promotions she has significant expertise in event coordination and planning, maximizing sales, and visual and verbal presentations.
Our children — all children, deserve high art and high quality literature. How important is it for children to see not only themselves but the world around them accurately in the stories they read and are read to them? At The English Schoolhouse we believe that so much of a child’s beliefs not only about the world, but themselves, is shaped by the imagery and stories they are exposed to from an early age and throughout childhood. We’re pleased to share our eighth title from our boutique publishing house, Fatou and the Kora.
Taji: How did you dive into the life insurance business?
client is my urban community for a very specific reason. I’m a huge proponent of building Black wealth because until we can build our own and learn to support each other’s entrepreneurial endeavors with our own dollars, our opposition will always be able to break us down. There’s a statistic on the length of time the Black dollar circulates around the black community vs. other communities. Jewish dollars stay within the Jewish community for months. Asian dollars stay within the Asian community for weeks. On average, the Black dollar stays within the Black community for FOUR HOURS. We must build wealth amongst our own and hold onto it. The easiest way to do that is to inherit it and continue to teach our children and grandchildren about true wealth so that they are able to maintain and further grow the legacies we leave behind… and the best part of it all is that it’s so much more affordable than people think.
On August 6, 2016, a nutritional icon transitioned from this world. Dr. Sebi was announced deceased and the holistic food community felt the toll of the loss. Dr. Sebi was widely know for his healing guides through alkaline diets, including the most horrific of ailments. From AIDS, to cancer, to herpes, to lupus, Dr. Sebi was sought after to reverse and prevent diseases using his “African Bio Mineral Balance.” He returned bodies to their natural state of homeostasis via his natural alkaline plant food diet and herbs. This diet consists of only natural alkaline vegetables, fruits, nuts, alkaline grains, and legumes, which alkalize and remove mucus from the body, as well as natural alkaline herbs to clean the body’s cells on the cellular and intra-cellular levels.