Invictus for the Rest of Us

Happy Christmas Eve friends!! I just finished watching the new movie Invictus and wow. I loved it!! I'm usually not a fan of sports films, but this was so much more. It was a great historical account of the first few months of Mandela's presidency and his work to heal the still raw wounds of apartheid South Africa. In honor of this awesome movie, I've decided to post the poem that inspired the title in this Fifth installment of African Poets Week.

According to the all knowing Wikipedia -
The title comes from the fact that Mandela had the poem written on a scrap of paper on his prison cell while he was incarcerated. In the movie, Mandela gives the "Invictus" poem to Springbok captain, Francois Pienaar, before the start of the Rugby World Cup. In reality, Mandela actually provided Pienaar with an extract from Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man in the Arena" speech from 1910.

Enjoy!! and be sure to check out the film! You wont regret it:-)

Invictus
BY William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

So Far. But So Much Farther to Go

I decided to go back to the continent for the Fourth installment of our African Poets Week feature. Today, I want to celebrate rapper, poet, and spoken word artist Ian Gregory Robinson. He goes by the stage name of Ewok hails from beautiful South Africa. According to the Poetry Africa 2009 Festival website, Ewok has "spat Shakespeare for school kids, slammed poetry for students, kicked lyrics for teachers, performed for politicians and poor people, jammed with jazz bands, traveled to other lands with nothing but a pen and pad and a can in his hands, and when he's alone he generally talks to his damn self." He is also a two-time Poetry Africa SlamJam champion and a top-five placer at the World Slampionship in Rotterdam in 2005. What's not to love?!?!

I found this video of him performing his poem "That's Joburg" at this year's poesiefestival in Berlin, organized by Literaturwerkstatt .


In this piece, Ewok draws on the history and present day realities of Johannesburg to paint a picture of how far we still have to go in the fight for equality. It's pretty gritty and raw, but has a hip-hop type of rhythm that really keeps you on your toes. This is a long one, but very worth it. Be sure to listen carefully.

Enjoy!

I've included a bit of text below.

That's Joberg
BY Ewok

"Backs cracking for a few rands
lacking the privilege of a future plan
with this day to day
pay to pay
way to stay significant
continue feeding the system
while locked deep inside it
people will never settle
while they keep the labor migrant


back back and forth and forth
and back back and forth and forth
that's Joberg

1996
110 years
decades of dedicated struggling
nation bombing to nation building
hatred calming
raising children
stand together
one hope
one home
every poem
every speech
every song
every lyric
a call to all colors like spiritual acrylics
paints a picture of possibility
for all the world watchers to see
to see how forgiveness arouses a peoples pride"