Matshidiso Taleng - from South Africa
- is both a novelist and poet, published in both genres. She has a work of
poetry out, titled Secrets, and a novel titled Unfolding the Documentary.
Q. How do you feel having published two books...will you say it is a dream come true?
TALENG: I can't say it is a dream come true because at first all I wanted to do was just write. Until my mother made me realise my potential that I too could write a book. And then after I published my first book, Secrets, all I wanted to do was just publish some more.
Q. How do you feel having published two books...will you say it is a dream come true?
TALENG: I can't say it is a dream come true because at first all I wanted to do was just write. Until my mother made me realise my potential that I too could write a book. And then after I published my first book, Secrets, all I wanted to do was just publish some more.
Q. It is rare for a writer - never
mind female writer - to be equally talented in the genre of poetry,
and also fiction. How did you do it? Where did you get the confidence from?
TALENG: The confidence came from my mother,
and reading a lot of fiction which I love doing. .. Also helped with me wanting
to pursue writing fiction.
Q: In Africa relatively, female
novelists are very rare indeed. Why do you think this is so, as women are more
inventive and imaginative than men?
TALENG: I think some of them are just too
scared to be criticised; they are sceptical to get out of the box. Others we
can say they probably do not have enough motivation and do not fully believe in
themselves
This great, talented young lady certainly believes in herself. Kudos.
ReplyDeleteI have seen many poets and other writers feeling demoralized while walking in the avenue of literature. They complain about lack of support and how costly it is to self publish their works.
ReplyDeleteBut I can assure you that Matshidiso has been brave enough to pursue her dream and today she has published in poetry and fiction. And she is continuing to make waves in the in the literature fraternity. Beautiful interview my sister in literature.
It is heartening to see female writers in fine fettle on this blog. I myself have always believed that female writers are among the best in Africa and the world. We salute our great African female writers: Miriam Tlali, Sindiwe Magona,Bessie Head, Flora Nwapa, Adichie, Ama Ata Aidoo, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Grace Ogot, Zulu Sofola…
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ReplyDeleteThanks, Mr Mokoena. There are so many African female greats from our 50 countries or so; over the decades. Apart from those you have mentioned, we can also add Yvonne Vera, Efua Sutherland, Tess Onwueme, Laureta Ngcobo. NMM Duman has also been celebrated in recent times
Some of us grew up worshipping the world of books and writers. It was not uncommon to hear in the past that "blacks can hardly write". But one soon knew this was a great lie, with the eminence of Achebe and Soyinka in my country, and worldwide. One began to dream of writing and publishing too, with diffidence, one might say. And one learns a lot from works written by female writers, and we should always respect them. I am delighted to be featured on the blog too.
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