Born in Claremont KwaZulu Natal and grew up in Lushington near Seymour, until he was twelve years old before he moved to stay with his parents in New Brighton Gqeberha, where he still resides in Zwide to be precise. Mzi Mahola - full name Mzikayise Winston Mahola spent a moment with us – speaking about his journey and his current memoir Heroes of The Struggle.
Firstly, let’s talk apartheid times – how did that era influenced your thinking as a leader? “I don’t see myself as a leader, but rather a community builder. Growing under apartheid was never easy but fortunately it did not destroy me, it made me strong. It built and galvanized my character. As the Bantu education was not designed to produce individuals of good sterling. But what it inculcated was a culture of literature reading, especially isiXhosa. So, I started reading from early as primary school and received encouragement from family members and peers, and that later on positively influenced my writing skill”.
"Also, apartheid destroyed many individuals physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It is unlikely that I could have reached this level of my writing under apartheid. The lid placed on blacks for our development would definitely have prevented my development. I only got a chance to grow and find opportunities during the period of national unrest and under our democracy".
When did you formally started writing and what made you decide to follow the poet and writing calling? “At first, it was just experimenting with poetry writing at school when I was doing matric at Healdtown. When I completed my matric, I joined the BCM because it was the most vocal and popular youth organization at the time".
"When I joined the Black Consciousness Movement, senior members encouraged everyone to write in English so that our oppressors could know about our suffering. Writing in the mother tongue was discouraged. Those in the front told us that there was no point in telling blacks that they were suffering because they knew. Later on, I joined a writers’ organization called the Congress of South African Writers (COSAW). Here we wrote what we liked. And that’s where my writing found platforms and exposure. I continued with poetry writing for many years, writing in English, and even won an award. After publishing four English volumes I decided to self-translate a selection of the most popular poems in my anthologies into isiXhosa. This after extracts of my work had been translated into German, Danish, Norwegian, Spanish, Turkish and Malayalam of India".
As an individual, what are positive traits that writing has taught you as you continued writing in your career? “Writing has many positive benefits but you have to go through setbacks, disappointments, rejection and solitude. Some people will encourage you but some will scoff at your talent. But if you know what you have, you will not be discouraged. You just soldier on. Your people are generally the ones who will attempt to trample over you, even when you’ve carved your name in the writer's world. But you must understand that we are not, of late, a reading nation. We do not know about books and writers and will seldom spend our money on books”.
“Writing gives me character. It refines me because I would not like to do or say Anything that will tarnish my name. I always strive to publish, under my name, material that I will be proud of for the rest of my life. Reading and writing give my mind continuous exercise and ability to analyze and deal with different kinds of situations that I come across with. It keeps my mind active and helps to delay my body’s ageing processes because of its therapeutic quality”.
Your current book - please tell us about it and why the tagline "Forgotten Bastards"? “Heroes of The Struggle is a sequel to “Dancing With Hyenas.” The sequel will show great improvement if the reader starts reading with the first novel. The sequel has interplay between drama, poetry, script and storytelling. This is the result of the four pillars that constitute my writing (poetry, drama, script and novel). They always combine in my writing, as a result this story can easily be made into a film. The initial title was “Forgotten Bastards.” My editor Jennie Els disapproved and advised me to call it “Heroes of The Struggle.” There was a lot of debating about the title from my children. They wanted me to retain the original name. We ultimately called for a truce. Forgotten Bastards was to become its subtitle”.
As a poet & writer, what has been your highlight/s throughout your journey? “My highlight as a writer was when he says, “The meaning of life is finding your gift. The purpose of life is giving it away.” I cried tears. I steal shed tears whenever I think of this. It struck me for the first time that writing was the meaning of my presence in this life and that I was on track. All I have to do is to thank Holy Spirit for the gift of writing. Mine is to ask Him to choose for me, among His people, those who will be a blessing in my life to make my task easy. By conducting creative writing projects for the community is my livelihood, meaning that I have been giving away this gift unawares”.
Lastly, when not writing, what do you do to unwind? “When I’m not writing I like to watch sport, wildlife, go to the beach to observe marine life and ships, visit friends to discuss national issues, read books, share writing experiences with other writers or conduct creative writing sessions with the youth”.