Seasoned journalist and author Sam Mathe will join 100 writers for the annual Time of the Writer Festival that will be presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Mathe, the author of the first music reference book in SA, titled From Kippie to Kippies and Beyond, will introduce his newly published work and share his expertise with other seasoned writers.
The 25th edition of the festival starts tomorrow and will be presented virtually until March 21.
It will be officially opened by writer, academic, producer and broadcaster Dr Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang.
Mathe, whose book is described as “a colossal achievement”, will chair a roundtable discussion about archiving SA’s rich cultural heritage with cultural legends Barbara Masekela, Marah Louw and Des Lindberg, who are each also authors of their own histories.
Masekela, the sister of the late trumpeter Hugh Masekela, recently released Poli Poli, while TV legend and musician Louw published her autobiography It’s Me, Marah five years ago.
Mathe said: “The discussion is about the importance of archiving SA Heritage which is what my book is about. I will tackle the topic with people like Des Lindburg, who recently released a book which he wrote with his late wife Dawn Lindburg. The book is titled Every Day Is An Opening Night, which is a deeply personal memoir of their journey as performers. It documents the joys and challenges of their legendary lifetime in South African theatre, with musicians, performers, songwriters, stage designers and managers.
“Marah Louw’s book traces her journey as a 10-year-old star singing with the Imilonji Choir to becoming an international star, while Barbara Masekela has written a remarkable history that speaks to African identity, close family bonds, belonging and women’s rights.”
Mathe’s book covers four generations of musicians from the 1920s to the contemporary era. The oldest is Peter Rezant who was born in the early 1890s while the youngest is Zoe Modiga, who was born in 1994. It took the seasoned scribe 15 years to research and put the book together. As someone who grew up listening to jazz music and later became a jazz music collector and music writer, the reference book did not come as a surprise.
“First it was the interest in music because I started out as a jazz music collector. Then, I will do research on the artists featured in the album – that is how I got to know many artists. In the 1970s radio stations played a lot of jazz music and that is how I was introduced to Kippie Moeketsi’s music. They played his album Tshona. Around 2005, I was still in the newsroom when I took the decision that I will compile this reference book. This is volume 1 because this is a work in progress.
“Some of these interviews were done over the phone while others I personally visited them – depending on distance and proximity. The book is inspired by Kippie who started performing in the 40s and I was introduced to his music at a young age. I had to compile this reference work because the desperation was glaring. I had realised that a reference book is crucial, especially if you write about music.”
The book documents about 300 local artists from jazz to mbaqanga.
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