“People feel no event is complete without a poet”: Interview with Zolani Mkiva1

Abstract

Zolani Mkiva was born in Idutywa in the Eastern Cape. He has performed as an imbongi for several prominent figures, including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Thabo Mbeki. He is a graduate of the University of the Western Cape, and has produced a number of CDs, including Halala, South Africa (1997), Qaddafi (2000) and Maz'enethole (2002). He is reigning Chief Executive Officer of the Xhosa Royal Council. In this interview, Duncan Brown and Susan Kiguli engage him in dialogue on the question of ‘telling lives’ as an imbongi (praise poet) with great public visibility.