First edition published September 2010; layout and design by Barbara Mueller; Printing by MegaDigital, Cape Town.

About the Book:

Omoseye Bolaji has garnered kudos for his contributions to grassroots literacy and literature in Africa. Recognition for his sterling efforts has been growing by leaps and bounds – including a lifetime achievement award, the Chancellor’s Medal from the University Of Free State, and an authentic Chieftaincy title Conferment. Yet the life of this enigmatic writer seems to be shrouded in a cloak of mystery as virtually nothing is known about his background and private life.

In this outstanding work, literary activist, columnist and Poet Hector Kunene lifts the lid on Omoseye Bolaji. An exploratory and critical work, Hector provides a fascinating story into the life, work, and mortality of an intriguing Author. Hector combines a humane approach allied to re-producing many critical works on the protagonist. “Hector Kunene is a breath of fresh air in the literary sphere,” Pule Lechesa, literary critic says. “In this work, he has managed to shed the spotlight not only on the literary work of Omoseye Bolaji, but also on his private life; and the result is a gem for readers, scholars and aficionados of literature all over the world.”

“I enjoyed my journey with Bolaji and I am glad that the world will get to know a little bit more of the man who has engraved his name upon literature. Within my search to find Bolaji, I have garnered layers which were not easily obtainable before. I salute Bolaji for his ‘voice’ that broke the decades of his silence.” – Hector Kunene

Poem by Hector Kunene dedicated to Omoseye Bolaji

I shall not praise you!
For effortlessly taking your own time to write for your own benefits
Why should you be thanked for your own free will working for your own black skin?
For your own toils that led to your own achievements and your own blood that you sweated for your own glory
The very mystery still persists for explanation as to why you wrote your well known pieces yet nothing much is known about you
I shall not praise you!

Who cares about your ability to transfer thoughts into paper?
When anybody can speak their minds even if it they are improper?
This world is but a stage for expressions
Where individuals walk as they please to satisfy their feet for journeys
I shall not praise you!

I shall not take off my hat for you
I shall neither salute thee nor permit thee to be saluted for honour!
For honour is meant for giants who step into the ring and be felt of their being!
Those who march and sweat blood whilst we sting them with their bees
They flee and get rewarded with fruitful crowns that end up rusting of their fingerprints!
I shall not praise thee!

For exile fed with thy presence at its peak
It was not for me to gain acknowledgements but for your own foot toils!
So why shall I praise thee!
This has never been about you so why shall I praise thee!
I shall not praise you!

About the Author:
Hector Kunene is a South African young and aspiring poet. He was born in Hammarsdale in 1982.A place where the politics reigned with bloodshed and the burning of houses for the fight of dominance between the ANC and the IFP in general around 1989. He is a first born in the family with 2 other siblings. He worked in his life just after completing his matric and the love of art and poetry continued from there on after it all began in high school. His work is yet to be published, one of the Poems he wrote called Bloody Corpuscles appeared on Sunday World and from there on he continued to complete his first offering, an anthology called Through The Tunnel. The poem Bloody Corpuscles is about alarming the use of the specific words when talking especially to the young ones. He emphasizes on calling a spade a spade to get the message across. His performance include places called Caprivi in Tembisa North Johannesburg where he would normally attend weekly poetry sessions and perform with artist from all spheres who would come and showcase their gifts. As he hails from Kwazulu Natal he is a Zulu who still speaks a breasted language thou he spent the rest of his high school life in Johannesburg from 1996 to 2001.

His poems are mainly in English but he throws in Zulu poems like Izinkomo Zobaba and Maye Kufa which are normally shared at occasionally. He has worked with several artists in the Free State in compilation of an African language book called Dikarabo tsa Bophelo which features 2 of his poems. This book promotes the writing in indigenous languages and to preserve the mother tongue in writings. The African language book is yet to be published.

hectorpoet@gmail.com

Also by the Author:

Through the Tunnel

NEW VOICES PUBLISHING WEBSITE

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