A WORKING LIFE, CRUEL BEYOND BELIEF

134pp., paperback, Second Edition, Johannesburg, (1989) 2017

New Edition of Alfred Temba Qabula's memoir includes a new introduction by the original translator, B.E. Nzimande, and a new foreword by Karin Pampallis and Eddie Webster from the Hidden Voices Project. "A Working Life, Cruel Beyond Belief" is the first book to be published in this series.

Qabula was born in 1942 in Pondoland. While working in a factory in Durban he joined the Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU). In 1984 he started performing "Izibongo zika Fosatu", a praise poem he had composed, at union meetings. His performances initiated a revival of "imbongi" poetry amongst workers throughout South Africa, who transformed this tradition into an expression of their struggles. After his poetry was published in the 1986 anthology, "Black Mamba Rising", he started working for the Culture and Working Life Project at the University of Natal. He died in 2002.