Keorapetse Kgositsile

Keorapetse William Kgositsile OIS (19 September 1938 – 3 January 2018), also known by his pen name Bra Willie, was a South African Tswana poet, journalist and political activist. An influential member of the African National Congress in the 1960s and 1970s, he was inaugurated as South Africa's National Poet Laureate in 2006. Kgositsile lived in exile in the United States from 1962 until 1975, the peak of his literary career. Quotes In a situation of oppression, there are no choices beyond didactic writing: either you are a tool of oppression or an instrument of liberation. You can’t blame the classroom for your inadequacies because the classroom isn’t there to produce artists If you decide you want to become a poet then it’s your duty to be knowledgeable and to hone your skills. Does being in a certain position give you wisdom? If you went there without wisdom you will remain there without it. https://mg.co.za/friday/2009-07-31-the-weight-of-the-word/] The task of transforming South Africa should not be the sole responsibility of the government but that of everyone who lives here. The role of the poet has never changed ever since there was poetry The poet has been there to affirm life as a creative activity, to criticize, to entertain I am intensely allergic to bullies. The production of poetry is, like everything else produced by a people, rooted in and informed by human action and interaction. I didn’t have to sound like an English poet… I could tame that English to speak my language External links Category:Poets from South Africa Category:Activists from South Africa Category:Journalists from South Africa Category:African National Congress politicians Category:1938 births Category:2018 deaths