Tiisetso Thiba is a South African
poet, short story writer, novelist and essayist. Aside from his two published
books, his works have appeared in many other books and journals, including
EBEDI REVIEW. His Setswana book is now part of the education system in the Free
State. An excited Thiba vouchsafed more details in this interview:
Q: Pls tell readers more about the
creative work which you wrote in an African language...
THIBA: My
book is a novel written in an African language, Setswana. And the title of my
book is "Tlhabane Ya Makgowa".
This book it talks about the things that happened in the past tense, present
tense and even future present tense. It further reveals how many people went to
big cities to look for the job, and eventually those people got blinded by city
lights and forgot their families back home and that most of the time hurts the
families at home and it allows poverty to strike as they no longer provide or
maintain as they are supposed to.
Q: And now your book has been
prescribed for schools in SA?...
THIBA: This
book is on the Catalogue list of the books listed to be used by high schools starting
next year in the Free State Province in South Africa. Learners will benefit
from this book by knowing of what is happening in the big cities and to their
family members. They will learn how to avoid those incidents and they must
always know where are they coming from, because they will know where they are
going to in the life.
Q: You have also published an important work of
poetry, in English...
THIBA: Yes,
that is my debut book, titled Let's take
a walk Mama. I am happy with its reception thus far. Many reviews of the book are available on the
internet...I really do love poetry so much!!
