E-Lounge Session: Poli Poli by Barbara Masikela - 06 December 2022
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e-Lounge Session - Poli Poli by Barbara Masikela 06 December 2022
In this e-Lounge book review session, we have the honour of hosting Barbara Masekela for a discussion on her book, Poli Poli – a memoir.
Poli Poli is a remarkable history that speaks to African identity, close family bonds, belonging, struggle and sacrifice, women’s rights, and femininity.
Barbara is a South African poet, educator, politician and activist. Masekela served as ambassador to the United States and France, and has held various executive and non-executive directorships, including director of the Standard Bank of South Africa, the South African Broadcasting Corporation and De Beers.
In the book, Barbara Masekela powerfully conveys the realities of life under apartheid and illustrates the features and characteristics of life in a coal mining location like KwaGuqa in the forties, Alexandra township in the fifties, and one of the oldest girls-only schools in KwaZulu-Natal, Inanda Seminary.
The memoir follows her grandmother, a beer brewer and seller who lived through the immediate aftermath of the South African War; her professional parents’ hard work and determination at a time when the state worked to shut doors to black people, and their efforts to secure opportunities and safety for their children; Barbara’s short university stint in Lesotho, and her going into exile to Ghana in 1963.
Poli Poli tells the story of an extraordinary South African and the lesser-known social history of people, families, communities, and places.
Fun fact: Barbara Masekela’s older brother is the late Hugh Masekela, an accomplished jazz musician.
In this e-Lounge book review session, we have the honour of hosting Barbara Masekela for a discussion on her book, Poli Poli – a memoir.
Poli Poli is a remarkable history that speaks to African identity, close family bonds, belonging, struggle and sacrifice, women’s rights, and femininity.
Barbara is a South African poet, educator, politician and activist. Masekela served as ambassador to the United States and France, and has held various executive and non-executive directorships, including director of the Standard Bank of South Africa, the South African Broadcasting Corporation and De Beers.
In the book, Barbara Masekela powerfully conveys the realities of life under apartheid and illustrates the features and characteristics of life in a coal mining location like KwaGuqa in the forties, Alexandra township in the fifties, and one of the oldest girls-only schools in KwaZulu-Natal, Inanda Seminary.
The memoir follows her grandmother, a beer brewer and seller who lived through the immediate aftermath of the South African War; her professional parents’ hard work and determination at a time when the state worked to shut doors to black people, and their efforts to secure opportunities and safety for their children; Barbara’s short university stint in Lesotho, and her going into exile to Ghana in 1963.
Poli Poli tells the story of an extraordinary South African and the lesser-known social history of people, families, communities, and places.
Fun fact: Barbara Masekela’s older brother is the late Hugh Masekela, an accomplished jazz musician.