Mafika Gwala

(1946-2014) South African poet and editor.

Biography

Born Mafika Pascal Gwala on 5 October 1946 in Verulam, north of Durban, Natal and spent most of his adult life in Mpumalanga Township, west of Durban.

Training

He has an M.Phil in Politics from the University of Natal and was a researcher at Manchester University.

Career

Besides writing poetry in English and Zulu, and editing books on outh African literature and culture, he has worked as a factory clerk, been an industrial relations officer, taught at high school and guest university lecturer. He was also an active member of the Black Consciousness Movement in the 1970s.

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

Besides many articles on culture and the cultural struggle in South Africa, he and Liz Gunner also co-edited Musho! Zulu Popular Praises, an important collection of Zulu praise songs, which had he translated into English. (Published in 1991).