Book review: "Black mamba rising"

Abstract

Sitas, A (ed) (1986) Black Mamba Rising: South African Worker Poets in Struggle

Durban: Worker Resistance & Culture Publications.

One of the most important things to remember when reading Black Mamba Rising, a collection of worker poetry by Qabula, Hlatshwayo and Malange, all members of the Durban workers' Cultural Local, is that the poems by and large are intended for public performance as opposed to private, leisurely reading. Studying the poems quietly in one's study, one is therefore not receiving them as they were intended to be received. Furthermore, in the case of Qabula's and Hlatshwayo's poems, one is reading them in translation as they were originally written in vernacular and therefore some of the resonances and layers of meaning have probably been lost in the transition. Despite these two drawbacks, however, this anthology is well worth reading and it marks an exciting step forward in worker poetry.