Blog
A strong voice for the vulnerable
Thu, 23 November 2023
There is an epidemic of gender-based violence in South Africa, and it shows no sign of abating.
As we prepare to celebrate International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November, the AVBOB Poetry Project lauds groundbreaking new work by award-winning poet Phelelani Makhanya. In an, as yet unpublished manuscript, called The Village Watch Makhanya (who already has two collections under his belt) explores the beauty and sorrow of village life, lending a voice to marginalised rural women.
He did not really intend to write this collection, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to spend more time in his home village.
“I think that afforded me more time and space to observe what was going on around me: on the pathways, on the gravel roads, in the homesteads… Almost before I knew it, I had written more than 25 poems that shared a similar structure, and I could feel that there was more coming. That’s how The Village Watch was born.”
There are beautiful evocations of village life here, but Makhanya never romanticises his rural setting. In ‘Nomathemba Is Not Dead’, a group of strong women “who know / how to balance a bucket full of water / with their necks, hands-free” are overwhelmed by the murder of one of their own. They carry her corpse on a makeshift stretcher to the main square of the city, so that her death can be properly witnessed and recorded:
“The dead Nomathemba is not dead
until her name is hashtagged,
unless her corpse can be displayed
in ink and pixels.”
Makhanya comments, “I hope this work will complicate the tourist-bus-window perspective on the daily lives of people in these villages. I hope it brings readers to a tangible sense of lives lived there.”
His concern for voiceless people, and particularly for women, is palpable throughout. It is not surprising, then, that these characters have resonated so strongly with audiences.
In one particularly strong poem, an oracle appears in the village in the form of a young woman with a message from a distant constellation. She summons the elders and informs them:
“I have seen lands where men make bonfires with skeletons of women.”
She instructs them to send young men to the river, where they must soak in the water and cry for seven nights and seven days. But the elders threaten her with violence and chase her away, saying:
“A crying man brings shame
and darkness to his people.”
Makhanya explains, “In ‘The Oracle’, I was trying to highlight the toxic societal expectation that men are not supposed to show their weakness and vulnerability. That forced suppression of emotions creates a pileup, which can eventually explode into gender-based violence.”
“These so-called traditions are failing to catch up or cope with the world of ambitious and dynamic women. Many men still believe that a powerful, independent woman means a weak, useless man.”
Does he believe that poetry can inspire us to tell new, more creative stories about the roles of men and women?
“If poetry cannot shed light on the ills of its time, then I don’t know what can. Violence may have physical manifestations, but its sources go much deeper, in places only poetry can drill into. My intention is to amplify the voices of the voiceless, which I regard as particularly urgent. These are voices that hardly find space on the mainstream media platforms. There are no eloquent journalists with microphones and cameras on village pathways.”
Both of his previous poetry collections are available from Minimal Press.
Remember that the AVBOB Poetry Competition reopened on 1 August 2023. Visit our website regularly at https://www.avbobpoetry.co.za/ for editing tips and advice as well as updates about upcoming workshops.
As we prepare to celebrate International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November, the AVBOB Poetry Project lauds groundbreaking new work by award-winning poet Phelelani Makhanya. In an, as yet unpublished manuscript, called The Village Watch Makhanya (who already has two collections under his belt) explores the beauty and sorrow of village life, lending a voice to marginalised rural women.
He did not really intend to write this collection, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to spend more time in his home village.
“I think that afforded me more time and space to observe what was going on around me: on the pathways, on the gravel roads, in the homesteads… Almost before I knew it, I had written more than 25 poems that shared a similar structure, and I could feel that there was more coming. That’s how The Village Watch was born.”
There are beautiful evocations of village life here, but Makhanya never romanticises his rural setting. In ‘Nomathemba Is Not Dead’, a group of strong women “who know / how to balance a bucket full of water / with their necks, hands-free” are overwhelmed by the murder of one of their own. They carry her corpse on a makeshift stretcher to the main square of the city, so that her death can be properly witnessed and recorded:
“The dead Nomathemba is not dead
until her name is hashtagged,
unless her corpse can be displayed
in ink and pixels.”
Makhanya comments, “I hope this work will complicate the tourist-bus-window perspective on the daily lives of people in these villages. I hope it brings readers to a tangible sense of lives lived there.”
His concern for voiceless people, and particularly for women, is palpable throughout. It is not surprising, then, that these characters have resonated so strongly with audiences.
In one particularly strong poem, an oracle appears in the village in the form of a young woman with a message from a distant constellation. She summons the elders and informs them:
“I have seen lands where men make bonfires with skeletons of women.”
She instructs them to send young men to the river, where they must soak in the water and cry for seven nights and seven days. But the elders threaten her with violence and chase her away, saying:
“A crying man brings shame
and darkness to his people.”
Makhanya explains, “In ‘The Oracle’, I was trying to highlight the toxic societal expectation that men are not supposed to show their weakness and vulnerability. That forced suppression of emotions creates a pileup, which can eventually explode into gender-based violence.”
“These so-called traditions are failing to catch up or cope with the world of ambitious and dynamic women. Many men still believe that a powerful, independent woman means a weak, useless man.”
Does he believe that poetry can inspire us to tell new, more creative stories about the roles of men and women?
“If poetry cannot shed light on the ills of its time, then I don’t know what can. Violence may have physical manifestations, but its sources go much deeper, in places only poetry can drill into. My intention is to amplify the voices of the voiceless, which I regard as particularly urgent. These are voices that hardly find space on the mainstream media platforms. There are no eloquent journalists with microphones and cameras on village pathways.”
Both of his previous poetry collections are available from Minimal Press.
Remember that the AVBOB Poetry Competition reopened on 1 August 2023. Visit our website regularly at https://www.avbobpoetry.co.za/ for editing tips and advice as well as updates about upcoming workshops.
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