Mongane Wally Serote

Mongane Wally Serote (1944-). Highly regarded poet and novelist.

Biography

Serote was born in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, South Africa on 8 May 1944, and went to school in Alexandra, Lesotho, and Soweto.

He was held in detention in 1969 for nine months in solitary confinement under the Terrorism Act.

Serote was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and received an MFA from Columbia University in 1979. Unable to return to South Africa after completing his studies, Serote remained in voluntary exile, moving to Botswana where he became a founding member of Medu Art Ensemble.

Serote held a variety of positions in the ANC, returning to South Africa in 1990, when he was appointed Head of the Department of Arts and Culture of the ANC in Johannesburg. He has also served as chair of the parliamentary select committee for arts and culture. He was also a Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Portfolio Committee for Arts, Culture, Language, Science and Technology.

Serote, a deeply spiritual man, is involved in the vital healing the country needs. In his private capacity as a traditional healer – a sangoma – and as CEO of the Freedom Park Trust, he was instrumental in overseeing the construction of the Freedom Park Memorial that opened in Pretoria.

He was inaugurated as the third National Poet Laureate of South Africa on November 6, 2018.

His writing

As Serote’s high school years came to a close, he joined the African National Congress. He soon became involved with the Black Consciousness (BC) movement and was inspired by the poetry that spoke of black identity, resistance and revolt.

His published poems include Yakhal ‘inkomo (1972), Tsetlo (1974), No Baby Must Weep (1975) Behold: Mama, Flowers (1978) Selected Poems (1981), Come and Hope with Me (1994) and the novel To Every Birth its Blood (1981).

His poetry has often been used in performances. Notably also at MDALI’s Black Arts Festival in Soweto in 1973.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

For a time he was chairman of the Board of Directors of Joburg City Theatres.

As playwright

His plays include:

• Phiri (with Barney Simon, Oswald Mtshali, Stanley Motjuwadi, 1972)

• Shades of Change (1982)

• The Way We Heal (2013)

• Sikhahlel'u OR (2023) (adapted from the poem of the same name)

Documentary

Serote is featured in Wally Serote - South African Poet, a 1987 documentary film by Meridian Productions.

Awards, etc.

In 1972, his first collection, Yakhal’inkomo went on to win the Ingrid Jonker Prize for debut poetry in English.

In 1993, his seventh poetry collection, Third World Express (David Phillips, 1992) won the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa.

He was awarded the English Academy of Southern Africa Medal in 2003.

In 2004, he received the Pablo Neruda award from the Chilean government.

He received the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver awarded by President Thabo Mbeki in 2007 and the prestigious Golden Wreath Award for Poetry in 2012.

He was awarded the ACT Award 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award – Literature.

Serote was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of KwaZulu-Natal and Transkei.

Sources

SA History Online [1].

Wikipedia [2].

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/244087/shades-of-change

https://poetryinternationalweb.org/pi/site/poet/item/15594

https://www.ufs.ac.za/docs/default-source/news-documents/prof-serote-biography_new.pdf?sfvrsn=84216d20_0

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to ESAT Personalities S

Return to South African Theatre Personalities

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page