THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE ORAL AND THE WRITTEN: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF SELECTED POEMS BY MQHAYI AND JOLOBE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/1016-8427/711Abstract
This article sets out to examine the relationship between oral and written isiXhosa poetry, and the extent of the interface between the two forms of poetry. Little attention has been paid to this interesting phenomenon. The scope of the article is limited to selected oral and written poems by Mqhayi and Jolobe. The methodology is an interdisciplinary approach that contextualises the poetry and locates it within the social and political reality of South Africa during the period under review. The article argues that the selected poems of Mqhayi and Jolobe demonstrate the dynamism of the oral and written literature, and the interface between the two forms. Mqhayi and Jolobe played the role of organic intellectuals, whose poetry, during the period 1932-1952, diffused the ideology of Africanism. The poetry of the above-mentioned artists, written or oral, directly or indirectly, influenced oral performances (music and oratory) of revolutionary musicians and orators of the following generations.
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OTHER REFERENCES
Bennie’s correspondence with Mqhayi on 23 October 1931 is at the Cory Library of Rhodes University and the National Heritage and Cultural Studies Centre at the University of Fort Hare.
Mandela’s encounter with Mqhayi is narrated by Mandela during the ten-day special broadcast after the death of Mandela. The SABC, on Thursday December 4, 2014, handed over the archive material to the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF). See https://www.nelsonmandela.org
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Accepted 2015-12-07
Published 2016-04-18
