Author launches two new books to celebrate Mother Language Day
Motherwell literacy trainer and author Madoda Ndlakuse has written two books which he is launching today, in celebration of International Mother Language Day which was celebrated yesterday.
Ndlakuse has written a collection of poetry Iingcinga Zendoda (Thoughts of a Man) and a collection of short stories, Mhla latsh’iBhayi (When Port Elizabeth Went up in Smoke).
Passionate about language, education and sharing stories, Ndlakuse is programme co-ordinator at Nal’ibali — isiXhosa for “here’s the story ”— Eastern Cape in its partnership with the VW Community Trust.
“I have written about my lived experiences of PE between 1997 and 2020,” the Mdantsane-born author, who has already published a children’s book, said.
“In the short stories I wrote about different issues that ‘burn’ people from within.
“The aim is to help my readers heal, connect, relate and find more confidence to continue living, regardless of what they are going through,” he said.
“I am a part of the Life Righting Collective and they have helped me to see writing as a real way of healing.”
International Mother Language Day is an annual Unesco day which aims to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
One language disappears on average every two weeks, taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage, Unesco says. Ndlakuse wants to make sure isiXhosa is not one of them.
His work at Nal’ibali, a national reading-for-enjoyment campaign to spark children’s potential through storytelling and reading, is one way to keep the love of one’s mother tongue alive.
Creative writing in his home language is another.
He said living for four years in the Transkei helped shape his love of language.
He said both books reflected on “the beauty and tragedies of SA communities … to inspire and propel positivity and awareness of humanity”.
Poetry and prose are both rooted in his experiences, and he acknowledges the influence of Bay writing legend Mzi Mahola, who gave him by the nickname Dopla.
“He was one of the first writers to become interested in my poetry but in a strange way as he comes from that generation which had a more conventional approach to poetry, and I am from the generation of spoken word.
“He used to tell me ‘Dopla, this is not poetry, no, you can’t say this is poetry’ so we used to argue a lot but at the same time we ended up being friends and he edited my first poems.”
It has taken several years for Ndlakuse to collate all the poetry he has written and publish it in one volume.
The prose book has similar real life echoes.
“Before I went to university I worked as a petrol attendant in Govan Mbeki Avenue and on night shift I used to speak to the prostitutes who worked there then, asking why they had chosen that path.
“Their answers inspired me to write about those experiences, to share their stories.
“I have written a lot about crime, mental health issues, scams, love, prostitution and so on,” Ndlakuse said.
Ndlakuse will be in conversation with Malusi Ntoyapi today from 5.30pm to 6.30pm on his Facebook page.