Amal'ezulu / B.W. Vilakazi

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vilakazi, B. Wallet (Benedict Wallet), 1906-1947, author.

Series:

African treasury series ; 8.

African treasury series ; no. 8

Language:

English

Zulu

Subjects (All):

Zulu poetry--20th century.

Zulu poetry.

Zulu language--Texts.

Zulu language.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxxiii, 83 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Johannesburg : Wits University Press, 2021.

Summary:

<i>Amal'ezulu</i> (<i>Zulu Horizons</i>), first published in 1945, was the second volume of poetry produced by the renowned Zulu author B. W. Vilakazi. It was written during the ten years he spent living in Johannesburg, in 'exile' from his birthplace, KwaZulu-Natal. The poems in this collection represent a turning point in Vilakazi's life; they express yearnings for the beloved land, animals and ancestral spirits of his rural home, as well as expressions of deep disillusionment with the urban life he encountered in the 'City of Gold', and in particular the suffering of the black miners who brought this gold to the surface but never experienced the benefits of the wealth it produced for the mine owners. <br><br>Renowned as the father of Nguni literature, Vilakazi was both a traditional imbongi (bard) and a forward-looking poet who could fuse Western poetic forms with Zulu izibongo (praise poetry). In these poems he assumes the role of the voice of the voiceless, and gives poignant expression to the stoic endurance of those caught up in the brutalities of capitalist exploitation of African labour, and the appalling injustices of the migrant labour system.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 01 Sep 2022).

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781776141104

1776141105

OCLC:

1288210786