Samuel Edward Krune Mqhayi, born on 1 December 1875 and died on 29 July 1945, occupies a foundational place in isiXhosa literature and in the intellectual history of South Africa. Poet, novelist, journalist, teacher, editor, translator, cultural historian, and public orator, he was much more than a writer in the narrow modern sense. He belonged to the lineage of the imbongi, the Xhosa praise poet whose task was to re…
“In those six years I learned much respecting Xhosa life, including the refinements of Xhosa language. If I had not been at Kentani for those six years, it seems to me as if I would not have been any help to my nation.”
Neighbourhood:
African American Poets, Mystical & Spiritual Poets, Political Poets, Social Justice Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Despair, Longing
In the annals of Spanish literature, few figures burn as brightly or cast as haunting a shadow as Federico García Lorca (1898-1936). A poet, playwright, and theatrical director whose life was cut tragically short at the age of 38, Lorca embodied the creative ferment of early 20th-century Spain while giving voice to the deepest currents of human passion, death, and desire. His work, saturated with the rhythms of Andal…
“All that has black sounds has duende.”
Neighbourhood:
Dramatic Poets, LGBTQ+ Poets, Modernist Poets, Poet-Musicians
Emotional landscape: Longing, Despair, Sorrow
