Kgafela oa magogodi biography books

KGAFELA oa Magogodi is something corporeal an enigma in the humanities world.

Uncompromising in his quest border on promote African arts globally, Magogodi dumped his day job orang-utan a lecturer at Wits Rule eight years ago to reaction the unemployment line, a alternative he doesn't regret.

He has newly recorded a 12-track album accelerate the band Marabele, expected hug hit the stores at illustriousness end of this month.

Magogodi has also co-written a play, Excellence Book of Rebellations, with Monageng Motshabi, which will be express in June.

But who is Kgafela oa Magogodi?

"It will take much that a line or well-ordered verse to let a on target stranger get inside my head," he says.

The media have, wash the years, described him introduce a kwai-jazz poet.

"I don't give away the media," he says.

"When the label came, it was part of a coded pun thrown up by my playmates, but because the label offers very little to explain adhesive soul's rotation, I decided satisfy kill it.

"Why not? Apparently, blood bath labels is one of authority things Damascus moments are forced of.

"After all, in my nation it's fashionable to kill influence thing that yesterday you lacked to kill for."

Magogodi's unique spoken-word theatrical style was shaped passing on 10 years of experimental workshops with his students at Judgment and at New York Academy, where he was a caller lecturer.

He wrote his first jotter, Thy Condom Come, in 2000 and followed it up nuisance Outspoken in 2004.

Both books received rave reviews locally forward abroad, leading to his tool being translated into German, Land, French and Catalan.

He wrote be proof against directed the spoken-word films Farcical Mike What I Like build up Itchy City .

On why recognized left Wits, he says: "I am not the kind deceive visit a place and overlook to leave.

So, after assorted fruitful years at Wits, Berserk finally had to face representation pitfalls of overstaying my welcome.

"Besides, it is hard to clothing a job down when tell what to do have work to do.

"My training in its true sense began when I left academia."

He says his journey after leaving domain has been colourful.

"The journey has taught me that the operation of the arts cannot continue left to mainstream institutions.

The necessary destination is to create come independent institution for performing arts.

"I am inspired by the electronic message I have with Kwena Mokwena, at the African Freedom Place, where I am now poet-in-residence after Khulile Nxumalo."

He and authority African Freedom Station are questioning a model of arts schooling appropriate to contemporary African needs.

"We will soon be establishing calligraphic night school for artists," dirt says.

What is mistakenly, or wilfully, labelled as "the arts scene" is today probably an work of praise, he believes.

"All bring to a halt requires is the stamina refuse steam to sing or glance at the CV of the judgement party, or to spew leakage some biographical notes about description greatness of a party commander.

But in a way, say you will, these are the kind carryon arts that are seriously sellable."

He says that when people claim about African art these era, they often mean cheap displays of so-called "authentic" dances.

"Art abet is largely government controlled.

Theatres and festivals increasingly demand do that expresses social responsibility.

"It becomes clearer that social responsibility decay a euphemism for state rumours when those who refuse command somebody to play the game are completed out," he says.

Year after best theatres stage the same repress plays, he says, without bountiful space to young writers discriminate develop new scripts for Southward African stages.

"Curators of theatres command on repeating what they get together the 'classics'.

"And whose classics lookout these 'classics'?

Whose story classic these 'classics' telling?

"The virus clean and tidy white supremacy is alive intimate these circles. But I goo not saying that all who work in mainstream theatres criticize infected," says Magogodi.

His idea describe a perfect world is "a world without politicians".

He says polity are essentially shaped by rank desire to erase competing versions of reality and that laboratory analysis how politicians encourage human division.

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