Ten flapping elbows, mama is a poem series composed of several different elements, styles and voices, and its concern is mainly (though not solely) with being black in South Africa in the 10 years of transition since the 1994 elections. Nxumalo writes: ‘I have tried to be […] aware of style and form all the time, especially when trying to make language do new things. In what I call psycho-narration, I try to write beyond the understanding that the “inside of one’s head” and “the objective world” are really distinct worlds. This is a form I have grown to love more since I started preferring the long poem format that sits on a conversational tone. It’s a multi-vocal way of writing or telling stories in a less authoritative way, a kinda voice democracy in the poem.’
Khulile Nxumalo is a poet and film-maker who lives in Diepkloof, Soweto. His documentary films have been shown mainly on SABC channels, and he has been a commissioning editor on a number of SABC programmes. He currently works under the umbrella of Creative Soweto, which includes working with young people at Funda Centre on creativity and innovation. His documentary series The Life and Times of Credo Mutwa is part of a broader project on heritage and traditional knowledge in Soweto, covering the sites of memory, sacred practices and political identity.
Nxumalo’s poetry draws on several different forms, experimenting with multiple voices, musical improvisation, and variations of English and African languages. His poems have appeared in journals in South Africa, the UK, USA and Canada. His two poetry collections are ten flapping elbows, mama (2004), and fhedzi (2013).
