A writer of substance

THE destruction of the melting pot that was Sophiatown was a blow to many South Africans who called it home, but while the physical structures were destroyed and relationships affected, what the apartheid government failed to destroy were the souls of those who lived in that vibrant early Johannesburg era.

Out of the ashes of that residential area arose men and women who have contributed greatly to South Africa’s arts and literary world, among them novelist Mirriam Tlali, who sadly breathed her last on Sunday.

Tlali was the first black woman to have a book, Muriel at Metropolitan, published in this country, but sadly that book was banned by the apartheid government – not surprising as it was a mirror with which they saw their evil deeds and injustices against blacks exposed.

But what those who tried to silence her didn’t realise was that the book would later be translated to several languages, including Japanese, Polish, German and Dutch, and that Tlali was not one to back down easily. She continued to write her people’s stories, became an award-winning novelist and writer, and got recognised with the Literary Lifetime Achievement Award and the Ikhamanga Silver Presidential Award.

Her death is an enormous loss to South Africa, but it is hoped the life she lived will inspire those left behind to speak up against unjust systems and be exemplary to those after them.

Youngsters should also take a leaf out of Tlali’s book – a woman who was prevented from studying at Wits University due to her skin colour, who could not study at a university in Lesotho due to financial constraints, but who still made a name for herself regardless.

May her soul rest in eternal peace and her family be comforted.