Poet advocates for poor, marginalised

By The Independent | Aug. 15, 2022

Khumalo, the author of Who Killed Grandfather — a book that got him the 2022 National Arts Merit Awards nomination in the poetry genre, said in his latest offering, the poor and the marginalised people from different communities were represented by a vendor lady who sold tomatoes.

BY SILISIWE MABALEKA PLUMTREE author and poet Kwanele “Mntungwa kaMbulazi” Khumalo has penned VendorLogs, a book that advocates against name-calling of the poor and the marginalised who work tirelessly to make ends meet.

“The struggling poor society is always on its toes, but no one appreciates its efforts. The lady represents the poor and the marginalised as she spends the whole day chanting trying to advertise her tomatoes and only a few are bought,” he said.

“She does not give up and after some days they are stale. She borrows some money and buys another bucket to show that she believes that it will work out at the end.

“This is a true representation of the struggling poor society, on how their hustle goes unsung and people think they are lazy just because they are poor.”

Khumalo said the book also talked about how poets were struggling to be the voices of the voiceless.

“Poets of nowadays are like vendors who sell tomatoes. The struggle to find an audience is real, yet they are the eyes and the soul of the community.

“In the book there is also a poem titled The Land of My Fathers which addresses under-population in Matabeleland and its causes,” he said.

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Khumalo lamented the rampant name-calling that the poor people are subjected to.

“Poor people have no ground in their communities. They are sometimes viewed as witches, most of them are termed as thieves yet the known ones hide behind the flag and suits.

“People should learn to appreciate one another as individuals cannot be the same. If society has equal people, it means some will be free and others not,” he added.