Poet full of talent

Vincent Gono, Magazine Editor
WHEN one talks of poetry in the country names such as that of Albert Nyathi, Obert Dube, Lerato “Nqindi” Ndlovu who are regular award winners and of course close to home, South African dub poet Mzwakhe Mbuli quickly comes to mind, but wait until you have heard a young entrant from Gwanda delivering.

The man Ntuthuko Mabulala Nyathi who is just 30 has all that it takes to be counted among the great poets in the country that one can talk of as his booming voice, eloquence and the way he coheres his words as well as his confidence defines his prose and posits him well among the best in this region.

He is no novice to the spoken word art genre having begun his journey so many years ago but is little known outside Gwanda as the media had not discovered him and listened to his exploits and word carving craft.

He is one of the people who like so many others in the arts industry have lately managed to debunk the misnotion that the arts are for the less gifted academically as he has passed his Advanced level but due to an unfortunate background could not further his education beyond that.

He did relief teaching for two years at Manama High School after trying to apply for scholarships to further his education as his dream is to do a Law Degree before he got into the arts as a full timer.

Nyathi said he did not restrict himself to poetry but was also director of an arts group called Manama Kom Unite in Arts that was making waves in Gwanda South where they have undertaken various edutainment projects, sometimes after being contracted by various non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Sunday Leisure (SL) spoke to Ntuthuko Nyathi (NN) on his art and the various projects that he has carried out. Excerpts of the interview are below.

SL: Can you briefly tell us about yourself?

NN: I am a young man born and bred in Manama area of Gwanda South. I am 30 years old. I did my primary education at Manama Primary School, my secondary education at Njube High School and my high school at Manama High School. I am the last born in a family of five.

SL: What inspired you to do arts, particularly poetry?

NN: To be honest it was bottled up emotions due to what I was experiencing when I was growing up. I was orphaned at an early age so when l wrote poems I was kind of offloading those emotions. I developed the passion for poetry when I was in Grade Five. From there I never looked back. But let me hasten to say poetry has always opened doors for me when all locks had failed. First as a child I wasn’t good in singing so was chased away from the school choir but wanted to go to those trips so I manoeuvred my way through poetry. I got a scholarship to do my Advanced Level after Agnetta Jurisoo director of an NGO saw me performing when I was stuck after passing my Ordinary Level exams with flying colours.

SL: Sad but interesting indeed. What is your poetry all about?

NN: As a poet I follow the traditional roles of poets in our society. So I touch all aspects of society’s socio-economic life where I do commentaries, eulogise and lambast where there is a need to do so. I also touch so much on gender issues baring some of the challenges that society is seized with in trying to achieve the much touted gender balance.

SL: How many poems do you have so far and do think of maybe putting them together into an anthology?

NN: I have about 80 English poems and more than 250 Ndebele ones. It’s my dream to see my poems put together into an anthology like Njabulo Moyo’s works but the truth is I don’t know how to go about it. I’m tired of writing for the cupboard.

SL: Do you do CDs of your poetry? And how have you benefited from your art?

NN: No I don’t have CDs at the moment. As I have said before I write scripts for stage drama. I have written few plays and with my group we have toured schools in our district and here in Mat South. I can safely say content and presentation of our plays have made us the kings of theatre in this province. We have worked with NGOs on commissioned scripts and Government organs like Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Childcare. That is where I can say we have been paid fairly for our services. There are no monetary benefits to talk about but there is that deep self satisfaction when you see people talking about your production using it as a referral point. It shows you have done something that fostered behaviour change for the betterment of our society which at least according to me should be the main objective of the arts.

SL: You said you talk about gender and the general understanding of that term is in reference to women oppression. Do you also touch on abuse of men by women in the homes?

NN: Yes, I do. I have Ndebele poems that question the meaning of the 50-50 “theory” but when both men and women commit similar offences warranting death penalty only men can be hanged. So it doesn’t start at homes, it starts with wrong legislation. So yes I do, I do so much. Just that at times there will be no ears listening.

SL: Nice one. Any other arts project that you are or you wish to involve yourself in?

NN: I’m not only a poet but I am the director of an arts group called Manama Kom Unite in Arts (MAKUA) based in Manama, Gwanda South. We have worked with a number of NGOs in the province providing edutainment services. We are currently working with a group called Victory Siyanqoba on their Constitutional Theatre Cafes in our district. We played supporting role on another film by former students of Amakhosi entitled Umsebenzi, watch out for that one, it’s a dope hey. I’m part of the Rainbow Province Arts Festival Committee. I just hope soon I might bump on a production house that is willing to help us tell the story of the rural folks.

SL: Who is your role poet?

NN: I love Lerato “Nqindi” Ndlovu’s delivering technique. The man has a million dollar voice. The Voice Of Reason by Mzwakhe Mbuli and the deep, bold and firm voice behind it is unrivalled while Albert Nyathi’s legacy is incomparable but my style of writing is unique. I don’t want to be a copycat. I am only inspired by them as my seniors.

SL: I see. What is your advice to up-and-coming poets?

NN: I would just advise them to listen to other poets’ works and read extensively but they shouldn’t fall in the deadly trap of being caricatures of their role models. One should try to find his or her own unique style while staying relevant to today’s art consumers’ needs.

SL: What are the challenges that you have come across in your poetry journey and how have you overcome them?

NN: The old guard don’t want to show upcoming poets and artistes the way. You have to make it on your own, to curve your own path. Poetry and theatre art consumption and appreciation is dwindling at an alarming rate. I think it’s because of shoddy material that some among the artistes produce and try to force to the public. My geographic location is a challenge.

Rural folks are stereotyped, nothing worthy can come out of them. When one approaches me or my group for services charges “must” obscenely be low. The unwritten rule seems to be that we can’t charge like our counterparts in urban areas.