SOUND MEDIA PRODUCTIONS
Poetry in Commotion
Extraordinary Life: Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog – poet, journalist and Truth activist - was born in 1952 in Kroonstad in the Free State. When she was 17 her first volume of poetry was published – one of the poems that had the line “Give me a land where black and white hand in hand/ Can bring peace and love to my beautiful land”, gave hope to political prisoners on Robben Island. In 1993 she edited a progressive Afrikaans publication before working as a radio journalist, covering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings. She has written a number of books, including the award-winning Country of My Skull – a moving personal account of her experience of the TRC. She is married to John Samuel, and they have four children.
Nominated by: Zolani Mahola
Zolani Mahola is one of the country’s most loved musicians and has been lead singer for Afro-fusion-pop band Freshly Ground since 2002. The pint-sized singer with the voice of gold was deeply moved by an essay Antjie wrote about Afrikaner identity in the wake of Nelson Mandela’s death. Zolani shares her views on reconciliation and music and talks about being raised by her father after her mother’s death
Expert: Professor Kopano Ratele
Kopano Ratele, a professor of psychology at the University of the Western Cape, is fascinated by identity. One day Antjie walked into his office to chat to him about a TRC testimony that troubled her. The chat turned into a two-year project (with third academic Nosisi Mpolweni) and produced a book called There was this Goat: Investigating the Truth Commission Testimony of Notrose Nobomvu Konile. The book untangles the “incoherent” testimony of Notrose, the mother of one of the Gugulethu 7 comrades, who were killed in a police ambush. Kopano talks about Antjie’s truth and what it was like working with the internationally-acclaimed poet.
