| Ingoapele Madingoane |
| Posthumous Literary Award |
| Poet and social activist, Ingoapele Madingoane, is considered the doyen of modern, politically conscious oral poetry. The late Madingoane was a formidable member of the 1976 Black Consciousness Sowetan poets.He wrote the famous, evocative, mini-epic poem, Africa my Beginning, which was published by Ravan Press in Johannesburg in 1979 and banned by the apartheid authorities two months later. Madingoane performed the poem widely in Soweto, accompanied by Mihloti Black Theatre’s flutes and drums. It became a regular feature during the protest rallies and funerals of anti-apartheid activists.
He has had an indelible impact and influence on the post-apartheid generations of poets, including world-renowned poets Lesego Rampolokeng, Siphiwe ka Ngwenya and Kgafela oa Magogodi. Madingoane was honored with a SALA Literary Posthumous Award in 2007, nine years after his death, owing to a long illness. |
