RESILIENCE AND COURAGE OF THE OPPRESSED
© Tyrone August
The noted literary critic Farouk Asvat has at long last published his own long-awaited collection of poems. Called The Time of Our Lives, it is a powerful collection of protest poetry. It is a selection of his work written between 1970 and 1982, much of it probably during the five years he was banned. The overtly political tone of his poems strikes one immediately.
Massacre at Sharpeville;
At Sea Point; and
Cries and Whispers are forceful examples.
Some of his poems are outrightly bitter. In one of his early poems he admits boldly:
For I am now of that breed
That feeds on bitterness
Speaks with venom.
The Journey of a Slave is another example of his bitterness. He cannot be otherwise. The systematic economic and political oppression in South Africa does that to people.
He sums up life in South Africa poignantly in one poem:
Life is sweet like a lehmon,
he writes.
In another he says,
We live to die.
In those simple phrases he captures accurately the pain and frustration of being black in this part of Africa.
But Asvat also has the courage to look beyond that. He is still able to laugh and mock some of the ludicrous laws of South Africa. In Part of Afrika, he says:
My tahnie wil hê ek moet leik na 'n whiteman
Kanti, ek is amper-boeshie.
Maar ek sal pass vir 'n koelie
Al blom ek met die darkie boys van Soweto ...
{My mother wants me to look like a whiteman
Instead, I'm almost-coloured;
But I will pass for a coolie
Tho' I mix with the darkie boys from Soweto} *
It is a hilarious comment on the race classification laws.
In Suite he pokes fun at the Immorality Act:
My toppie meen ek makeer gebliksem word
As ek so rond neek met 'n boeshiemeid.
Maa' strues god! my ma hoor my
Ek nca die show
En ek kannie gebother wies met snaakse morality
{My father means I need to be beaten up
If I mess around with a coloured chick
But strues god! my mother hears me
I fancy the show
An' I couldn't be bothered with strange morality} *
At the same time these poems also demonstrate how familiar Asvat is with the language spoken in the ghettoes. The reason is simple. He is part of these ghettoes. He knows what life is like in a Chatsworth, an Athlone, or a Soweto. And not only because they are bound by their common oppression, but because he has lived in Natal, the Cape and the Transvaal. A great love for South Africa and its people is reflected in his poetry.
To Azania is a moving example:
My love, you took everything,
Sapped my soul
Sucked my mind with your kisses
Left dust in the marrow
Acacia-thorn in the heart
And yet,
I do not leave.
And Asvat knows what he is talking about. He has been a constant victim of State harassment and intimidation for the past decade. In 1973 he was banned for five years.
Possibilities for a Man Hunted by SBs;
Bra Frooks en die John Vorster Span {Bro' Frooks an' the John Vorster Team}, and
The Silenced Years give us glimpses of what he has gone through.
It bears testimony to the resilience and courage of the oppressed in South Africa. And it is easy to see why Asvat has been harassed. His poetry is devastatingly forthright and hard-hitting.
Our lives are not our own
Here in the land of the mielieboer
For cattle are easily bound and slaughtered
he writes in Mosaic.
Fearless and uncompromising.
In I Remember he draws attention to two separate incidents - the death of a detainee falling from a police building and a police van hastily catching brakes to avoid bumping a cat. A simple yet eloquent poem. This is an appealing feature of Asvat's poetry - so simple, and yet saying so much.
Another intriguing aspect of his work is the anti-intellectualism stance he adopts in his poetry. In Ou China en die Amper-Intellectual {Ol' China an' the Almost-Intellectual} he hits out at an intellectual spouting about socialism and existentialism. Asvat's message is loud and clear. The masses may not know the "highbrow lingo" about these high-flown philosophies, but they will liberate themselves. They do not depend on the intelligentsia to free them. As he says in Die Kamma-Intellectuals {The Pseudo-Intellectuals}, children are already starting to riot, workers to go on strike, and there is already fighting on the country's borders, but still the intellectuals waver. It is interesting that a man of his academic background - he has a doctorate in medicine - feels so strongly about this.
Another feature of this collection is its theme about love. Perhaps it is because he regards it as the only refuge from loneliness. To him, love is the touching of souls.
Songs of Love;
I Want You;
Whiteflower; and
A Love for All Seasons are examples of the poems about love. After all love is the most important emotion a human being can experience. And the struggle in South Africa is essentially one of love against hatred, selfishness and greed. It is illustrated powerfully in Do Not Ask Forever, Love:
Bombs falling in the night
Rape screams
Bodies falling in the morning
Hunger, sometimes
Fragrant paper by the bedside
Rifle-fear in the village youngster
Rat-ki-rani wilting on the table
Cold bullets in my hand
Is all I have my love
he cries in despair.
He brilliantly fuses two concepts of love - that for another person, and that for one's society. But his collection ends on a sad and painful note. The last poem, The Gathering of the Storm points to the bloodshed and violence which might explode in South Africa. A confrontation seems unavoidable. He sees South Africa at this point in its history as follows:
Quiet, tired, afraid,
We fumble in the dark
For the gathering of the fire
Before the dawn comes:
Cold, the colour of blood
That is the frightening vision of Farouk Asvat. It is not a new vision. But Asvat's voice, added to that of so many others, makes the warning all the more urgent.
© Tyrone August
published as: Bitter Experiences In Verse in The Star, Argus, Johannesburg, p-, 1983.
* {} Farouk Asvat's translation of the original slang poems into English.
_____________________________________________________________________________
<> blog link: https://faroukasvat-reviews.blogspot.com
<> blog archive: 14 february 2020
_____________________________________________________________________________
[§] Books by Farouk Asvat:
● Sadness In The House Of Love (novel)
● The Gathering Of The Storm (novel)
● I Dream In Long Sentences (poetry)
● The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (poetry)
● A Celebration Of Flames (poetry)
● The Time Of Our Lives (poetry)
● This Masquerade (short stories)
● Bra Frooks … (poetry)*
● The Paanies Are Coming (short stories)*
● In The House Of Love (novel)*
● Weapons Of Words (comparative literature & literary criticism)
¨ all my books are now available on amazon: in paperback & kindle
___________________________________________________________________________
[] please check out my blogs @:
weapons of words: https://faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com
piquante: https://faroukasvat-piquant.blogspot.com
quran lectures: https://faroukasvat-quran.blogspot.com
streetwise: https://faroukasvat-lingo.blogspot.com
biography: https://faroukasvat-bio.blogspot.com
books by farouk asvat: https://faroukasvat-books.blogspot.com
[] please join me on:
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faroukasvat
twitter: https://twitter.com/faroukasvat
___________________________________________________________________________
© farouk asvat. All rights reserved.
Farouk Asvat asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or transmitted in any form or any means whatsoever, mechanical or electronic, including recording, printing, photocopying, or via any computerised means or media, including the internet. This publication shall also not be stored in a retrieval system. And the writing shall not be sold, lent, hired, resold or circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published,
without the prior permission of the author in writing.
Permission to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the author.
Reproduction of this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,
is liable to a payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.
farouk asvat can be contacted at: farouk.asvat@gmail.com
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the NOVEL Sadness In The House Of Love by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: in paperback @ $15 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
#love #literature #fiction #novel #poetry #southafrica #apartheid #books #classics
#faroukasvat #weapons #of #words #comparative #literature #literary #criticism
#the #time #of #our #lives #farouk #asvat
#reviews #tyrone #august #tyroneaugust #courage #and// #resilience #of #the #oppressed
