James Matthews: From Cry Rage to the New South African Nation

Abstract

ABSTRACTLegendary South African poet, fiction writer, and activist, James Matthews exemplifies the path from “dissident” writing to contemporary engagement with community issues in Cape Town. Author of numerous works of poetry, including Cry Rage (1972), Black Voices Shout (1974), Flames and Flowers (2000), Poems from a Prison Cell (2002), and Age Is a Beautiful Phase (2008), Matthews engaged political concerns in South Africa, much of which can be understood through historical and cultural lenses. Especially focusing on the collected works found in the republished version of Cry Rage, this paper examines poetic language and themes as they move from a vigorously articulated anti-apartheid sentiment to a community interest based on political issues of the twenty-first century in the “New South Africa.”A primary goal of this paper is to assess the transition from apartheid to liberation through Matthews's creative works and also through his retrospective thoughts on the early years and the development of his career in relation to twenty-first century realities in Cape Town and the nation more broadly. To what extent have the ideas of the Black Consciousness period been maintained in the collective memory of twenty-first century Cape Town residents? In this regard, the social history of District Six can be unearthed through the literary works of Matthews and through his memory of events, personalities, and struggles.