Bøger af Jabulani Mzinyathi

In the Inferno is part of the continuum starting from the poetry collection Under the Steel Yoke right through to the collection entitled Along the Way. The out of control veld fire is raging in homes and threatens to devour whole nations. The simple yet incisive poems address issues such as corruption, misrule, tyranny and despotism. Some of the poems address the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. The turmoil in the DRC also receives attention. The poems would be a damp squib if the writer did not address the Mugabe legacy and its impact on this country, Zimbabwe, which the late President of Tanzania Julius Mwalimu Nyerere called 'a jewel? The poet takes a keen interest in world events but does not allow this to overshadow what he observes daily in his country of birth, Zimbabwe.

This work from the mind of Jabulani Mzinyathi deals with the themes that are dealt with in the collections of poems entitled Under the Steel Yoke and Righteous Indignation. The poems deal with among other themes oppression, corruption, despair, liberation and hope. Zimbabwe was torn to shreds under the misrule of Mugabe. A dangerous personality reigned supreme. There was a deification of Mugabe who drove millions into exile through draconian rule. Corruption ran riot. These poems under the title In The Steel Talons capture those issues and the inability now of the country's non existent health system to cope with a whole host of diseases including the scything covid 19. The poet has a fascination with steel due to the Stalinist methods employed by the ruling elite to suppress any dissenting voices. Mugabe duped the world and masqueraded as a nationalist. Heidi Holland called him ' the freedom fighter who became a tyrant.' The poems are an insider's view that seeks to show the resilience of Zimbabweans under despotism. Hope refuses to die!

The collection is made up of poems composed from 1992 to late 2022. The poet sees his writing as a journey and that gives rise to the title Along The Way. Most of the poems were previously published by several magazines and online publications. The poems are organic in the sense that they draw from the poet's experiences and those of fellow human beings. The poet delves into issues in the social, political, economic environment he finds himself in and some poems address issues such as African spirituality, apostasy and other global issues in so far as they affect him and fellow human beings. He does not shy away from speaking truth to power for the betterment of the lives of the ruled. The poet invites you tojoin him on this self-discovery journey.Jabulani Mzinyathi is a poet-thinker born in Gweru, Zimbabwe in September 1965. He is a former teacher, ex-magistrate and is presently a lawyer in private practice. He calls himself a triple P man: poet, prophet and philosopher. Several of his literary works appear in Zimbolicious volumes, BNAP publications, magazines and ezines. Jabulani's past poetry collections are Under The Steel Yoke, Righteous Indignation (Mwanaka Media and Publishing), In The Steel Talons (Footprints Publishing House, Malawi) and a chiShona novel Mumambure (Progressive Publishers, Zimbabwe).

"When I vision through the seas of oppression and the grinding poverty I write not out anger but righteous indignation." Jabulani Mzinyathi was born of isiNdebele and ChiShona speaking parents in the Midlands Province of the then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He has published pieces in various journals and anthologies over the years and his maiden collection of poetry Under The Steel Yoke, was published in 2018.