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Aluta Continua…

October 31, 2008 By Leave a Comment

If Truth be Told
Then let me be Bold
Step forward and free my vocal cord
For this story, has to be Known

If Truth be Known
Then Let me be Bold
Step forward and free my vocal cords
For this story, MUST be Told.

My roots are nourished with blood
From fallen comrades who died
So I can stand here today
And freely take the stand
As I speak them, my thoughts
Uncut
Unedited
Uncensored

Foreign pens distort Afrikan histories
Learnt from my Grandmother’s memories
Unwritten
Unrecorded
Unknown
And therefore dismissed
As tales of the superstitious Natives
Who like me believe
That our Truth, MUST be told

As I grow old I relearn my history
And go cold at how I was led
To believe the deceptive lies I was fed
Through foreign pens that distort my history
Then lay claim to my land stolen by ‘signatures’
And in their well known literatures
Label my ancestors as savages

Well, this great grand ‘savage’ is tired
Of beating around the bush
Shying from the truth
Aroused by sugar coated lies
That tell me Van Riebecks’s son, Jan
‘Discovered’ my land and brought me religion
And a white God on a heavenly throne I should pray to
In times of my grief when I should turn the other cheek
When they bring me death with their rifles
And ‘new life’ with their bibles

Hallelujah Praise the white God
For my black sins are now white as the snow
And I’m sanctified and realize that
We are all children of the same God after all
Even though once upon a time
We would not even piss in the same toilet

That’s all in the past I am told
By the Tell-A-Lie-Vision
That reminds me that ‘Simunye’ – We are one
But then forgets to tell me the Truth ya Mampela Fo Sho
As the media strokes me up with sweet sounding talk
Like B.E. E and Affirmative Action for the PDI
And as I’m about to cum to this rhythms
Of the politically Correct seduction
Reality brings me back to an anti-climax
As a white man drives’ past
His dog in the passenger seat and the ‘kaffir’
At the back of the bakkie.

If Truth be Told
Then let me be Bold
Step forward and free my vocal cord
For this story, Must be Told
It’s got to be Known It must be Told.

Amen.

Reamogetse (Rea) Jacqueline (Jacqui) Dichabe

**********************************************

I was raised on Afrikan folklores and tales told by my late grandmother around a fire long before I knew what Poetry was. I would then retell the tales to my mother when she came to visit from Cape Town where she worked (where I now live and work) and that was to be the birth of my love, respect and appreciation for the spoken word. As far back as I can remember I have always written. Writing has become my expression, my heartbeat – all else is secondary.

At a recent poetry session I asked one of the local poets, Qhama, why she writes. She took the pen and paper from me and wrote “I write because I live!”
At the same poetry session, Khadija Heeger posed the question? “Can you ask why 20% controls 80% and why your mother can’t pay rent?” It is questions like these that spur me to write the poetry I write. Injustice and Inequality has never made any sense to me, we can not get used to it and shrug our shoulders at the status quo. We know from our past, that change is possible, we also know that the kind of change that was fought for in apartheid times is not the same change we seek today.

Like a 4 person relay team running one race – we need to not only take the baton from the previous runner – in our case as Young South African this baton is a great gift in the form of democracy – but we need to acknowledge the runners who came before us – we also have a responsibility to not drop the baton and to pass it on to the next runner in a better condition that when we received it – Our purpose as poets is to remind the runners WHY we are running the race in the first place – and when weariness and doubts sets in we need to encourage the runners by constantly reciting the bigger bigger picture – and where we notice inequality and injustice in the race – we MUST speak out against it. We are from a strong lineage of ebony queens and kings and we cannot afford to be cowards and not play our roles.

I still believe as I did years ago when I wrote “on this land, I don’t doubt, the foundations of paradise will be found” that we will win this race.

One of my favourite authors, Paulo Coelho writes in The Manual of The Warrior of Light
“The warrior remembers the past. He knows about man’s Spiritual Quest, he knows that this Quest has been responsible for some of history’s finest pages.
But also some of history’s worst chapters: massacres, sacrifices, obscurantism. It was used for personal ends and has seen its ideas used to defend the most terrible of intentions.
The warrior has heard people ask: ‘How am I to know that the path I am on is the right path?” And he has seen many people abandon their quest because they could not answer that question.
The warrior has no doubts; he follows one infallible saying:
‘By their fruits ye shall know them,’ said Jesus. That is the rule he follows, and he never goes wrong.”

Let’s recognize “white lies” for what they are… fibs… and not let them deter us from the Quest.

One Love.
Rea.

Filed Under: -African Traditions Tagged With:

What is freedom? Speak 2B Free asks the people

October 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Speak 2B Free is conducting a series of video interviews. Over the weekend we interviewed a range of people about freedom. I gatecrashed a few parties but i believe it was for a good cause. In the interview we asked interesting questions such as:
If freedom was a place what place would it be?
If freedom were a color what color would it be?
If freedom were an animal what animal would it be?
If freedom were a food what food would it be?
At what point in your life were you most free?
Do you feel free now? Why or why not?
Do you know spoken word poetry?
What role do you think spoken word poetry or poets should play in society?
Do you think there is a link between freedom and personal power?

We thought it would be interesting to share some of the videos on the blog. We also purposely chose not to edit the videos because we wanted it to be as honest as possible. The rest are available at: www.youtube.com/speak2bfree

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Pain in the Making of Identity

October 29, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Van and I have been discussing the creation of SPEAK 2B FREE, where poets can upload content and connect with people from different parts of the world. As we meet, speak, and seek poets from different countries, the human life emerges as a universal concept, where each individual is fighting to create their identity in the midst of their respective environments. By featuring poets from different countries, we can awaken to the human condition, universally speaking, and validate their respective experience, unique to their homes, town, cities, and countries.

I truly have been relishing in the scope, brilliance and profundity of the spoken word movement in South Africa. As shown by this past week of poetry native to South Africa, the means and road traveled on the trajectory of the soul reflects unique life experience. Thank you, South Africa. I have learned so much.
Going with the theme of life being universal, I have been thinking a lot about the circumstances surrounding the creative process. In light of a recent conversation with a poet who admits they must be miserable to write anything of value, I have been thinking about the presence of pain in creation.
Elaine Scarry (using art to encourage empathy), the most sought out Harvard graduate professor in the English Department writes:
“The merest school girl when she falls in love has Shakespeare or Keats to speak to her mind for her but let a suffered try to describe a pain in his head to a doctor and at once does language run dry…Physical pain does not simply resist language but destroys it, bringing about an immediate reversion to a state anterior to language to the sounds and cries a human being makes before language is learned.”
Being exposed to the theory of pain has made me understand pain as a source of constant inspiration. Spoken word poetry overcomes the void that is inability to express pain  by illuminating the subject and the inexplicable space between, where the poet can pluck at the string of the audience’s heart, because pain is not appropriately addressed in the context of their everyday lives. This is where art can heal.
The culture of art becomes crucial for reconciliation. As Van so gracefully noted, “There seems to be recurring themes of identity; exploring the impact that the past has had on the country and the people whilst also exploring what means to be African.”
Scarry also writes about the role of language in laws. Which is both a preview to next week’s country, China; resounding with the current country of focus, it can also be applied universally. Scarry states that laws continually ask the questions: What kind of arrangement will produce a noble and generous people? And why does a noble and generous people inflict harm? That is why laws are needed,” says Scarry, “to complete the work begun by stories.”
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Post apartheid: We speak therefore we are

October 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Africa is an interesting place for poets to be right now because it is undergoing a metamorphosis and redefining itself as a country. There is a lot going on in the arts in Johannesburg and Cape Town, but I do feel that Cape Town is the best place (probably in the world) to be if you are a poet. I feel more comfortable writing about the poetry scene and the themes that I notice coming out after apartheid because I have grown up in that scene.

One of the things that I notice about the spoken word scene in South Africa is that people are exploring their identities. Now that apartheid is over there is still this need to revolt and write about freedom because change is slow in coming. People are learning that the law cannot change the social structure and they are frustrated and poets seem compelled to write about this frustration. I think South African poets understand that freedom means different things and has different connotations for everyone. Yes it is important to be free mentally and legally but can we truly be free without economic freedom? Does poverty limit our choices? If freedom is choice and poverty limits our choices, then are the poor free at all? Is there are link between personal power and freedom? Are we free if we are powerless to impact change on a large scale? I feel as though most South Africans poets get that freedom is a complex thing and this is reflected in the country’s music and poetry. For example Letta Mbulu sings (one of my favorite songs) – Not yet uhuru, akukho mehluko kulelizwe bo. Translated this means, we are not yet free, there is no change in this land.

The last generation spent years trying to understand oppression and this generation is writing to understand freedom and its illusions. There seem to be recurring themes of identity; exploring the impact that the past has had on the country and the people whilst also exploring what it means to be African. Cass says that she writes to validate her existence; I sometimes feel that South African poets write to validate their sense of “Africanness” and to validate Africa. I remember watching Odidi (video posted below) perform his poem “the Afro is African” and being blown away.

Of course, poets write about society because environment plays a role in shaping identity. As a result, a lot of the poets talk about current issues as well – gang violence, love, hope in the face of futility etc. What I love most about South African poetry right now is that poets are writing in all the official languages and mixing these languages together – this is most obvious in Kwaito music and South African Hip Hop. There is a movement to preserve the old languages and leave something to our children, but it’s also a very deep understanding that poetry is written for the people and if the people cannot understand it and draw lessons from it then it has no purpose. As John Kani says, “Art has to reflect society” http://www.speak2bfree.com/blog/?p=73

There is also an interesting theme/ genre that underlies South African poetry at the moment and that is an undying optimism that in the end everything will be alright and Africa will prosper. I have a friend (the poet who will blog on South Africa) who has written a poem that is very reflective of this optimism and I would like to close with a quote from it:
“On this land the foundations of paradise will be found…” http://www.speak2bfree.com/blog/?p=78

I heard this poem 4 years ago at A Touch of Madness, a restaurant in Cape Town, and the words have stayed with me ever since, especially in bad times. Sometimes speech or words from others is what frees us and gives us the courage to carry on in the worst of times.

Odidi – The afro is African

Blaq Pearl – Ignorance (this video is in Afrikaans but the poem is brilliant)

Some of the optimistic poems I was talking about:
Napo Masheane – Let the sun rise

A new dawn for African women – Gcina Mholphe (yes storytellers are really spoken word performers)

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Exploring Freedom: Why do we write?

October 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I recently met with Van and Gina (one of our advisors) to discuss the development of SPEAK 2B FREE. Our goal was to find creative ways to capture what freedom represents to multiple people, while simultaneously conveying the purpose of spoken word poetry. This has consumed our thoughts day & night. I willingly have yielded myself to this unique journey that I share with Van. It has inspired discovery, with the hope that SPEAK 2B FREE will inspire each of you to make discoveries within the global community of poets.


In the pursuit of a deeper understanding of freedom, we began to question what freedom is within the context of the abstract, asking people to relate freedom to objects, places, and things. Thinking of freedom within this context allowed us to go beyond the technological concept of SPEAK 2B FREE and straight to the human desire for connection. As poet and philosopher, Khalil Gibran writes, “The means of reviving language lie in the heart of the poet and upon his lips and between his fingers. The poet is the mediator between the creative power and the people. He is the wire that transmits the news of the world of spirit to the world of research. The poet is the father and mother of the language, which goes wherever he goes. When he dies, it remains a prostrate over his grave, weeping and forlorn, until another poet comes to uplift it.”

When seeking these answers to what is freedom, Van and I sat down with each other addressing the questions we had about freedom, spoken word, and the purpose of the creative process. When Van asked, “Why do you write?” my response summarized my relationship with my mind and my circumstance. I replied, “To validate my own experience.” We felt as though we were getting closer to something…. we were beginning to define the poetic experience within the context of what it is to be and feel free.

It is impossible to look within ones brain to see that is exists. Poetry, however, can fill those transcendental space. “Art arises when the secret vision of the artist and the manifestation of nature agree to find new shapes,” says Khalil. In order to validate our existence, we must use something outside of ourselves as a tool to produce an effect within this world. Whether is be a pen on paper, or the lips of a poet near the booming mic, within the interaction of self and the environment, freedom can live.

If the written word has the power to validate our lives, it is the echo of our voices that can validate our existence. In closing, Khalil expressed the relationship between freedom and freeing another persons: “They tell me, “If you find a slave asleep, don’t wake him up; he may be dreaming about freedom.” And I reply, “If you find a slave asleep, wake him and talk to him about freedom.” Write something down today with the hope that you will start SPEAKING 2B FREE with others.

*Khalil Gibran was born January 6, 1882, a Lebanese-American artist, poet, writer, philosopher and theologian (click here: 2008 critics’ review expanding on his work and life). He is the third best selling poet in history after William Shakespeare and Lao-tzu. So why we collectively know so little? Forty-three years after his death, there was no proper biography of this writer.

Below is a chapter on freedom from The Prophet @ http://leb.net/~mira/works/prophet/prophet.html

And an orator said, “Speak to us of Freedom.”
And he answered:
At the city gate by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,
Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.
Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.
And my heart bled within me; for you can only be when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment.
you shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care not your nights without a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet your rise above them naked and unbound.
And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?
In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though it links glitter in the sun and dazzle the eyes.
And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?
If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your hand upon your own forehead.
You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them.
And if it is a depot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.
For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and shame in the won pride?
And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you.
And if it is fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.
Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape.
These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.
And when the shadow fades and is not more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light.
And thus your freedom when it loses its fetter becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.




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