Thursday, July 2, 2009

T'SOLO "BLACK CANDLE" MAT'SABA


Hope for Africa rises from the Mountain Kingdom

Poetry Farm’s Urban Poetry Buffet in June last year, saw many new poets and artists come to surface. Among the many phenomenal poets of the night was one Tšolo Matšaba, who did one poem raising some political awakening from the audience. Today he is more than just a poet who made it to the Poetry Buffet stage, but is a resident poet on Miss P’s Unplugged on Ultimate FM. Poets’ Blog stole a moment with this poet to find out more about him.

Q: Who is Tšolo Matšaba, and how do you define yourself in poetry?
A: I go by the name, Black Candle, just a new kid on the trying to make it to the best! Where I wanna go, I don’t know, but I wanna achieve something that many people haven’t achieved yet.

Q: Can you say more about, Black Candle? Actually what does the name mean?
A: Black represents Africa – the darkness; the candle represents hope, hence that is to say, I’m going to be the hope of Africa.

Q: When did start writing poetry, and what inspired you?
A: I started in 1998, inspired by Mzwakhe Mbuli.

Q: Have you ever performed live before, and if yes, which is most memorable performance and why?
A: Yah, I have performed live before, and the most memorable performance should be the the Poetry Farm’s Urban Poetry Buffet, in June last year, since

Q: What have been your experiences since you started poetry?
A: I’ve since learned that, not everyone can be a poet – it takes creativity! Even though there is poetry in everyone of us, to express it is difficult!

Q: Who are your international top poet(s) and your local top three local poets?
A: International would be, Sean Williams, and my local top three, in hierarchical order would be, Mpho Sefali, Black Diamond, and Drizzle.

Q: So, what is your personal definition of poetry?
A: Poetry is the Cinderella of all arts, since in it there everything!

Q: What do you think of the state of poetry in the country and what do you think can be done to enhance it?
A: We need sponsors, and once we get these, even those in the dark will come out, and at the same time avoid exploitation of poets, which happens usually when poets go to shows, perform, and come back empty handed!

Q: So where do we see Black candle two to three years from now?
A: Like I said earlier, I don’t know where it’s taking me, but I’m enjoying it. So, I don’t know where I will be two years from now, but I definitely am moving along!

Q: Last words…
A: Let’s just work together as a unit, and we’ll reach our horizon.

[ADTED FROM WEEKLY MAIL POETS BLOG]