…promises, remembered tortures others have endured, had visions of youthful corpses in Soweto’s dust…
Dennis Brutus (1924–2009) was a South African poet, educator, and anti-apartheid activist, renowned for his passionate resistance to racial injustice and his captivating poetry. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, and raised in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Brutus was fueled by the circumstances surrounding his nativity and became a leading voice in the fight against apartheid during his time. His activism led to his arrest and imprisonment on Robben Island, where he was held alongside Nelson Mandela.
His activism extended beyond the borders of South Africa as he campaigned for the expulsion of apartheid South Africa from international sporting events, playing a pivotal role in the country’s exclusion from the Olympics from 1964 to 1988.
Brutus’ poetry, deeply intertwined with his activism, reflects both personal suffering and broader political struggles. His collections, such as Sirens, Knuckles, Boots (1963) and Letters to Martha, encapsulate themes of all the emotions and passions associated with discrimination, as well as hope amidst oppression.
After being exiled from South Africa in the 1960s, Brutus moved to the United States where he wrote poetry until his death. His legacy endures as a symbol of the power of literature to challenge injustice and inspire change, and as a paragon for South Africa’s antithetical knack for suppressing its heroes.
Happy Birthday ANC by Dennis Brutus
January 8
Luthuli, Moroka, Kotane Nokwe, Tambo, Hutchinson Slovo, Wolpe, Bernstein, First Mandela, Sisulu, Govan Mbeki they were people, colleagues, friends encounters on the long hard road
Over the decades we defined our goals, nature of our struggle, ideas, influences, helped articulate: that some have strayed, lost direction, some subverted goals, even while others clung grimly to pledges,
promises, remembered tortures others have endured, had visions of youthful corpses in Soweto's dust
Over long years, arguments, debates we phrased our aims, changed language settled on ambiguities heeded distant barked instructions somehow a Front with many parts:
Morogoro, Lusaka, London, Dakar, Sebokeng, Sharpeville, Kwazakele
Well, of course, we cannot despair must renew, stubbornly, our hopes and our resolve for social justice:
A New World Waits to be Born.
- Black Poets: Dennis Brutus. - October 28, 2024
- Black Poets: Safia Elhillo - October 22, 2024
