| Intro | Contemporary South African poet and editor |
| Is | Poet |
| From | South Africa |
| Type | Literature |
| Gender | male |
| Birth |
Mpumalanga |
Mafika Pascal Gwala (5 October 1946-5 September 2014) was a contemporary South African poet and editor, writing in English and Zulu.
Mafika Gwala was born and grew up in [Verulam] North of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. He spent most of his adult life in Mpumalanga Township, west of Durban. He worked in a factory as a clerk, an industrial relations officer, a high school teacher and a guest university lecturer aside from writing and editing. He completed an MPhil in Politics from the University of Natal and was a researcher at Manchester University.
Gwala was active in the struggle against Apartheid and a leading light of the 1970s Black Consciousness movement of which he says:
In 1982, Gwala published a book of Black Consciousness poetry in a collection called No More Lullabies.
His work is characterised by a rhythmic musicality he attributes to the Zulu language. In 1991 he edited and translated into English a collection of Zulu writing entitled Musho! Zulu Popular Praises.
Works
Poetry
- Jol’iinkomo. (1977)
- No More Lullabies. (1982)
Edited
- Black Review. (1973)
- Musho! Zulu Popular Praises. With Liz Gunner (Michigan State University, 1991) ISBN 0-87013-306-3