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Sinenkosi Msomj
Sinenkosi Msomj, born in Eswatini, has an Associate degree in business management from Limkokwing and is studying towards a Bachelors of Commerce at UNESWA. He is founder of Swag syndroam, a photography movement which uses conceptual photography to narrate stories, and has three years experience in the photography industry. He is a self-taught creative director.
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They Call me Shangaan, but I’m Hlengwe
You “original Swatis” as you call yourselves what poor ignorant creatures you are! The verge of foolishness has covered your faces you call me Shangaan because you think you are insulting me Don’t you know that the Shangaans are an ethnic group of Africans just as you too are an African with your own ethnic group? I know where I come from, and it is not from the Shangaans I am a descendent of Chauke the seed of Bhangwana, the father of my clan I am one with the blood that runs in the Mabaso and Xahumba, the Hakwana, Muhlengwe and Xinyori I come from the Hasani and…
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The Identity Politics of Swaziland & Eswatini
On April 19 2018 King Mswati III made an announced that the country previously known as “Swaziland shall henceforth be renamed to Eswatini”or was it eSwatin? The name change obviously took everyone by surprise considering that we had not received the memo, but the fact that it was dressed in the cloaks of “self-determination” meant that we could saturate the aftermath with identity decolonization lingo. Identity politics have always been a rallying subject for Africans which is understandable considering the extent to which our identity has been erased. But I often ask myself if we will ever be vigilant enough to equally denounce the history of internal colonization? On the…
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Charcoal Nsibande
Fine Art —Charcoal Nsibande is an Eswatini visual artist and writer.
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Mapping Eswatini
1 Mountains Speak Our plane flies Over the Makhonjwa Mountains, Which formed the valleys and gorges of Swaziland. I marvel at how they carry age, Billions of years, stratified layers Beneath the green-hued rock. And I think of home Over eight thousand miles away, The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Lush green in summer, Waiting for this new day to arrive. These misty African mountains, Cradling humanity, confound speech. We have come to bring words, But I can hardly untie my tongue In the presence of their majesty. 2 Minerva Lab Theater, Mbabane We had come to bring words To the center of Swazi culture,…
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The Unbearable Blackness of Being
Nietzsche saysit has alreadyhappenedthat it willhappen againad infinitumin factthis heavinesshe says isunbearably unavoidable but the sophistknows i ammade of stardustthere willonly, ever beone of memy life isnot cheap i am beautiful and i am black i know whyi frighten youwhen i steponto the elevatorso from timeto time imust remind myselfthat my blacknessis too brightto gazedirectly into ask the greeksabout the unbearableblacknessof my beingthey thoughti was a godas plato andherodotus walkedamong us, theythought myskin was otherworldymy head, wondrouslywoolly or smoothas the faceof the sunmust have beencrowned in celestial glorythat as my handstretchedto the sky, itheld the whatand the whyas i circumscribedthe heavens inthe palm ofmy hand, thatmy fingerpointed to wherewe came…
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Roadside Memorials
Roadside memorials mark geographical points of departure in a landscape that is generally devoid of real human interaction or activity. They are almost always built in the no man’s land bordering our country roads, interstates and highways. We pass them at 60 miles an hour, sometimes glancing back but are never afforded the time to actually see them. This project is about slowing down. Polaroid was a natural choice. Early in its development, Polaroid film was widely used by police officers and other law enforcement, because it produced an unalterable instant photo – irrefutable evidence of a particular event. These photographs are evidence of something greater – an unspoken need…
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Moletsane Mzwandile
Moletsane Mzwandile is a self-taught artist who does realistic drawings using different mediums like pencils, colored pencil, and ballpoint pen. He started drawing in November 2017; since then, he has sold over 100 pieces of art to people in Eswatini on commission. For more information, contact him at moletsanemzwandilem@gmail.com or visit him on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
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Black Hoodie (for Trayvon Martin)
Trayvon, the week the jury foundGeorge Zimmerman “Not guilty”for killing you, I had traveled to Oregonall the way from Catskills. The morningof the verdict I hiked into redwood forestwith a man I first met when I was notmuch older than you the night you died.I wanted to walk up to the mountain laurel trailbecause I love wild laurel even when it’s notblossoming. Perhaps you had heard ofenchanted forests when you were a little boy …the redwood forest was like that,a greening deepness shawled with moss,the great-girthed trees seeming to touch sky.The immense agate of forest shimmeredwith blues among leaves lit to emerald,roots rising up like runes over the trail.Near a…
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Joan Little
Joan Little The wind in Washington County carries.No one keeps to themselves. Rumorssoil. A caterpillar looks like a worm, and a worm, like a snake; fact is everything that crawls ain’t looking to be a butterfly. But, whytake a garden rake to a bird? It’s no secret, cops welcome a reason to kill anything. Ask the people they cage. Only crows bred in captivity collectthings. Corvids, they say – nature’scompulsive hoarders. Whatis a jeweled ring in the beakof a thief? A confession. Whatthey come to call a hoard of crows? A murder. We are not the only ones to speak over our dead. How she carried on…
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Friends Who Just Met
“We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s business. We are each other’s magnitude and bond” -From “Paul Robeson” by Gwendolyn Brooks From the beginning, everything seemed so familiar. Joanne and I had arrived at the theater early Monday morning to meet with local poets who had signed up for this two-day workshop. Joanne was the highly-touted teacher from the far-away United States, and the Eswatini poets came expecting to receive from this prolific scholar furious flower-like nuggets that would enhance their craft. Except for a janitor and a couple of poets who were in the theater when we arrived, the building was desolate. Within half an…
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Dispatches from 2019 Furious Flower Summer Legacy Seminars
Interview with Prof. Lauren K. Alleyne Why did Furious Flower select Giovanni for this particular honor? The Summer Legacy Seminars are designed to recognize distinguished Black poets who have contributed to American letters by producing a substantial body of work, and Nikki is a highly decorated Black literary and cultural icon with over 30 books, so her qualification in that way made her an easy choice. More importantly, though, the goal of the seminar is to ensure that these writers’ literary legacy is continued through curricular inclusion and critical consideration. There is a dearth of scholarly work on Nikki Giovanni—in the words of Maryemma Graham, Nikki is a poet who…
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Deeper Than Double: Nikki Giovanni and her Appalachian Elders
Reflections by Affrilachian Poet Asha French on a talk given by Nikki Giovanni at the 2019 Furious Flower Summer Legacy Seminars honoring the life and work of Giovanni. “Right now, if you were driving… Well, nobody has flat tires anymore. But if you had a flat tire in the old days when people had flat tires, the best place to be was in Appalachia.” The world-renowned Nikki Giovanni is “caping” for Appalachia, and her “you” is me—a Black woman who, before talking with Giovanni, might have been afraid to stop alone in any Appalachian “old day” with four good tires. My “really?” betrayed the conditioning Giovanni works to undo. “Oh,…
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Interview with Prof. Amy Alvarez
What inspired you to attend the 2019 Furious Flower Summer Legacy Seminars? I attended Furious Flower’s summer seminar on Nikki Giovanni to deepen my understanding of what it means to be a black Appalachian poet. I have read Nikki’s work since girlhood, starting with Spin A Soft Black Song, a book gifted to me by my aunt. Did the experience meet your expectations? My experience at the seminar went beyond what I could have expected. I knew I would learn and grow as a poet and educator. I knew I would meet incredibly talented writers and educators from all over the nation. I knew I would get to speak with Giovanni herself. The…