Leaving a legacy: Cullen Mackenzie writes for his children and generations to come
Cullen Mackenzie wrote Impi yeHlathi because he wanted other children to experience the stories he had told his own children and isiZulu students. Mabhengwane of
Listening to her grandmother’s stories during childhood sparked Nolusindiso Dumezweni’s passion for crafting stories of her own.
Nolusindiso grew up in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape, one of a sizable family descended from the amaTshatshu clan. Along with her many siblings and cousins, she was largely raised by uGogo, a gifted storyteller whose yarns imbued the youngsters’ days with magic.
Inspired by uGogo’s narrative style, Nolusindiso began weaving her own tales at an early age, entertaining her family playmates and encouraging them to take part as they developed a mode of storytelling play that was collaborative and imaginative.
“That’s when my love of storytelling began,” Nolusindiso says.
A love further stoked by listening to the inimitable Gcina Mhlope recounting her stories on the radio. “When I listened to Gcina Mhlope,” Nolusindiso says, “I wanted to be like her. I even wanted to have a voice like hers!”
As one of the first beneficiaries of the Zazi Books Kubomntwana Author Development Programme, Nolusindiso will be given the opportunity to share her gifts far and wide. Xa kuTshon’ iLanga, a collection of three of Nolusindiso’s narratives, is one of three books for tweens piloting the NAC-supported programme run by local publisher Zazi Books.
The tales in Xa kuTshon’ iLanga are contemporary iintsomi (folktales) narrated in pairs of imiboniso (scenes), emulating the traditional storytelling style of Nolusindiso’s grandmother. Each story intertwines threads of the magical with real-world elements as it follows a young protagonist facing a series of challenges: talking fish and encounters with police, a mystical lizard and the daily struggles of hungry families.
“I wish to inspire other children in the way my grandmother did,” Nolusindiso says. “As a soft-spoken child, books and stories gave me a magical world to live in. I would like to do the same for others.”
Watch this space for more on Nolusindiso Dumezweni, Xa kuTshon’ iLanga, and Zazi Books!
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