Literature and storytelling have gone beyond being a mere collection of art forms. Instead they have become teachings and expressions of historical backgrounds of diasporic movements within Africa. Imperatively, the storytelling within literature is a worldwide collection of its own that commit to the native descent and heritage of Africa. Zusakhe Zide is a young poet who thrives in seeing the development of poetry and how young Africans can embrace it not just as literary work but as a legendary embodiment of storytelling. We look into her poetic journey and what she aims to achieve within this stream of work.
Please share brief description of yourself and a historical background to introduce yourself to those who may not know you? ‘My name is Zusakhe Zide, I was named towards my destiny. I was meant to water the minds around me with knowledge or observations I’ve made. Rhasatsha is a name I got from my grandparents as they said I was good at whatever I did. I was also good at destroying something if I’m mischievous. I was born in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha). Whilst growing up, we moved to Gauteng and just as we were settling in, my mother passed away. Therefore, we had to go back to Umtata, where she comes from. “I grew up with a ‘timing’ from Gqeberha locations, as we stayed in Soweto, KwaZakhele and Booysens Park. I met different people while I was young and having moved and traveled the way we did, I experienced a lot. However, the environment I’d say molded me was the dusty red village Mpafane in Umtata. Nothing was ever convenient there so my life changed in so many ways. I lost touch in the ‘IsiXhosa’ spoken in Gqeberha and learnt high grade isiXhosa. My grandparents spoke in Xhosa riddles and I couldn’t help but wish to understand, so living with them made my vocabulary vast”.
What passionately drove you into poetry? “What drove me to poetry was the fact that my cousin used to take me to the library when I was a toddler. I adapted quickly to reading stories and soon enough it got easy to create them. Again, my mother was a writer that jotted down a few things in her diary every now and then. She had the most perfect way of saying things on paper. I think she might have had an influence on how I write. When I wrote essays, letters or any word assessments that required me to think, I aced them. They were always the epitome of good work”.
What has been your goal as far as literature is concerned? “I’d say I’m looking on compiling an anthology of my most iconic poems, to capture and archive the isiXhosa in them. I also want to venture in writing dramas and novels. I feel like I would produce great twists in a storyline”.
I see you also have a creative eye for fashion, what inspires your dressing? My fashion is inspired by Vintage. My grandmother from my father’s side used to wear highly expensive garments thrifted from white women where she was employed for work. She wore these clothes with such poise and belonging, which metaphorically taught me to wear in different perspectives. I wear berets, which symbolize the importance of wisdom from the elderly. I poise like my grandmother and paint stories around us in words”
Would you say you have met some of your accomplishments thus far? “This year alone, I became an award winning Poet in April 2022, defeating ten experienced poets of Izwi LeeMbongi Poetry Festival in Umtata. In May 2022, I performed with an international duo Ikati Esengxoweni at the Nelson Mandela Bay Theatre Complex. I was booked a lot by the Nelson Mandela University (NMU), Mandela Bay Theatre Complex, Nomhle Nkonyeni Legacy Foundation, Southern Sun Hotel, 3rd Annual Ekhaya Festival, and Mandela Bay Art Fesiival. In all these, I was reciting poems and showcasing poetry productions. I also screened Intsomi YalaCherry, a film I was featured on. There’s a lot. I recorded a song this year and released it on digital platforms like Tidal, Amazon, Apple Music and Spotify. I curated my own show and executed it on the 3rd of December 2022. It was very successful. Last week I performed at Isingqisethu Cultural Festival, held in Port St John’s along the likes of Big Zulu and Yolanda Notes. These are accomplishments I celebrate every now and then. I’ve come far and I continue to build my profile in unimaginable ways. This year I’d like to take my production to the National Arts Festival, Selective Live in Cape Town and State Theatre or Leano Restaurant in Johannesburg”.
As a young African that is deeply invested in poetry, what teaching is it that you ought to serve unto those looking up to you for inspiration? “I like to shine the light on things we know yet hide. I like to open the blinds. I aim to attack the elephant in the room. I attack toxicity by trying to change minds and sway them in the right direction, while reflecting back on how much damage we have encountered. I want to show that poetry can be entertaining yet realistic, it can be nation building or nation destroying. I’m for the building and the rising of development”.