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Bird-Monk Seding
"This place is called SEDING, short for Leseding, place of light. Quite ironic given the darkness throbbing at its core and spilling out bubbling in the blackest rage when least expected. Surrounded by farmland in all directions, it is a settlement of about 700 households crammed in tiny structures. There are an average 7 souls per hovel. It used to be made up of ramshackle corrugated iron shacks that seemed tossed down regardless of aesthetics. Then the new administration's housing program kicked in. Man in the bush in quest of Bosman's ghost. Finding AWB rabidity. Tranquillity so deep it kills. Hate-hounds. Beneath the surface quiet, such racist rotten-heartedness. & children dying. Starvation abounds. Raw sewage in the water supply. Crap in the taps. Skin matters. Ancient white beards sexing black teens for tins, food exchange. The soul's impoverishment. The starved get their humanity halved. And weekends of sex-tourism. Alcoholic stares everywhere. Deep fear too." ***Lesego Rampolokeng is a poet and performance maestro, and the author of 12 books, including two plays and three novels. He has collaborated with visual artists, playwrights, film-makers, theatre and opera producers, poets and musicians. His no-holds-barred style, radical political-aesthetic perspective and instantly recognizable voice have brought him a unique place in South African literature. His third novel, Bird-Monk Seding, is a stark picture of life in a rural township two decades into South Africa's democracy. Listening and observing in the streets and taverns-narrator Bavino Sekete, often feeling desperate himself-is thrown back to his own violent childhood in Soweto. To get through, he turns to his pantheon of jazz innovators and radical writers. [Subject: Fiction, South African Literature, African Studies]
- GenresFictionSouth Africa
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 9, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 20, 2022
BIRD-MONK SEDING – LESEGO RAMPOLOKENG
I never knew Lesego Rampolokeng to write prose until I fell upon his novel Bird-Monk Seding. From the blurb I learn that this is his third novel. In my ignorance or negligence, I had lost out on three of his novels until I got hold of Bird-Monk Seding.
From here I take it one novel after another until I have read all three and everything else.
I have a longstanding acquaintance with Rampolokeng’s unpleasant and acerbic poetry that is not for the faint hearted. I see a lot of similarities between him and Dambudzo Marechera, their writings are disruptive to the establishment.
I didn’t know what to expect or what lay in store for me in Bird-Monk Seding! Starting from the title of the book – Bird-Monk Seding, my mountain scaling started in earnest. Deciphered, the title is made up of three names – two jazz musicians Charlie Parker nicknamed Bird and Thelonious Monk, Seding is the contraction of Leseding a township in Groot Marico in Bokone Bophirima if you like it,
Groot Marico and her people featured prominently in the stories of Herman Charles Bosman. Rampolokeng, a fan of Bosman reportedly migrated to Groot Marico and stayed at Leseding township. This is where the Seding part of the title emanates.
With the mystery of the title unraveled, I pursued the story through the maze of its telling. Bird-Monk Seding has no straight forward plot with a beginning, middle and end. An unwary reader is likely to get lost in the maze of Rampolokeng narratives that invoke jazz music greats, local and abroad.
Mafia Pascal Gwala, prominent Black Consciousness poet in his time, gets a honourable mention in the book.
Back to the book, the main character is Bavino Sekete who escapes the violent Soweto for the rural and poverty-stricken Leseding township in Groot Marico. Seding is the confluence of all imaginable social ills – racism, violence, rape, poverty and overcrowding are there in abundance.
Bavino is the fish, or is it the tadpole, in this cesspool.
I went thus far before I collapsed into a bundle of nerves, delivered by Rampolokeng’s writing. The way out of this conundrum is to immerse myself in his writing and see whether there is an umbilical cord that binds to the meaning of his writng.
My starting pointing, continuation if you include Bird-Monk Seding, is this and that anthology of his poetry. I will throw in Mafika Pascal Gwala and Dambudzo Marechera to establish the connection in their writings.
I never knew Lesego Rampolokeng to write prose until I fell upon his novel Bird-Monk Seding. From the blurb I learn that this is his third novel. In my ignorance or negligence, I had lost out on three of his novels until I got hold of Bird-Monk Seding.
From here I take it one novel after another until I have read all three and everything else.
I have a longstanding acquaintance with Rampolokeng’s unpleasant and acerbic poetry that is not for the faint hearted. I see a lot of similarities between him and Dambudzo Marechera, their writings are disruptive to the establishment.
I didn’t know what to expect or what lay in store for me in Bird-Monk Seding! Starting from the title of the book – Bird-Monk Seding, my mountain scaling started in earnest. Deciphered, the title is made up of three names – two jazz musicians Charlie Parker nicknamed Bird and Thelonious Monk, Seding is the contraction of Leseding a township in Groot Marico in Bokone Bophirima if you like it,
Groot Marico and her people featured prominently in the stories of Herman Charles Bosman. Rampolokeng, a fan of Bosman reportedly migrated to Groot Marico and stayed at Leseding township. This is where the Seding part of the title emanates.
With the mystery of the title unraveled, I pursued the story through the maze of its telling. Bird-Monk Seding has no straight forward plot with a beginning, middle and end. An unwary reader is likely to get lost in the maze of Rampolokeng narratives that invoke jazz music greats, local and abroad.
Mafia Pascal Gwala, prominent Black Consciousness poet in his time, gets a honourable mention in the book.
Back to the book, the main character is Bavino Sekete who escapes the violent Soweto for the rural and poverty-stricken Leseding township in Groot Marico. Seding is the confluence of all imaginable social ills – racism, violence, rape, poverty and overcrowding are there in abundance.
Bavino is the fish, or is it the tadpole, in this cesspool.
I went thus far before I collapsed into a bundle of nerves, delivered by Rampolokeng’s writing. The way out of this conundrum is to immerse myself in his writing and see whether there is an umbilical cord that binds to the meaning of his writng.
My starting pointing, continuation if you include Bird-Monk Seding, is this and that anthology of his poetry. I will throw in Mafika Pascal Gwala and Dambudzo Marechera to establish the connection in their writings.
September 14, 2018
About the title . Bird is renowned saxophonist Charlie Parker's nick name. Monk refers to talented pianist Thelonious Monk. Seding, is short for Leseding township in Groot Marico in North West, which features greatly in the book.
About the author. Rampolokeng was born and raised in Soweto. He has thirteen books in total , poetry, novels and plays. He has been around the block. He has worked with playwrights, moviemakers, musicians, visual artists and opera producers.He is outspoken ,controversial and has a uniquely independant mind. He does not sugar coat nor romanticize. His fearlessness in addressing sensitive issues is liberating .
In Bird Monk Seding, he relates through the main character Bavino Sekete, a man's daily experiences, observations and musings of Soweto, and of Leseding township in Groot Marico and its inhabitants. Funnily, Bavino's life has major similarities with that of author.The book is also a tribute to jazz and to the poet Mafika Gwala who died a pauper. He relates of prostitution, rape of Black women by white farmers , rape in Soweto, corruption , poverty, exploitation, substance abuse, mental slavery, local literature, racism, crime, government and many more.
Refreshingly different and thought provoking. Rampolokeng shows off his literary prowess by deliberately breaking conservative, traditional writting rules. He manages this effectively with confidance and style . He uses a comprehensible and fragmented form that includes autobiography , reportage, poetry , music, movie and script.
Of growing up in Soweto he wrote " My childhood, well, all friendships I made , came through conflict ; brawls , fiya go , arse weeping. I grew up in various houses build on violence....See without brutal violence on all sorts of levels there is no Soweto"
About Gwala he wrote "......the Farts Minister had a lot of broken hot wind to blow about how great Gwala was & that they'd been in negotiation to put him in the education stream. Lies & bullshit. Faecal-faced Friends".
If you are looking for uncensored, open-minded, uncomfortable, unapologetic, controversial painting of events and commentary thereof, this is your book. A shock to the system, no complacency and or an inclination to conform.
About the author. Rampolokeng was born and raised in Soweto. He has thirteen books in total , poetry, novels and plays. He has been around the block. He has worked with playwrights, moviemakers, musicians, visual artists and opera producers.He is outspoken ,controversial and has a uniquely independant mind. He does not sugar coat nor romanticize. His fearlessness in addressing sensitive issues is liberating .
In Bird Monk Seding, he relates through the main character Bavino Sekete, a man's daily experiences, observations and musings of Soweto, and of Leseding township in Groot Marico and its inhabitants. Funnily, Bavino's life has major similarities with that of author.The book is also a tribute to jazz and to the poet Mafika Gwala who died a pauper. He relates of prostitution, rape of Black women by white farmers , rape in Soweto, corruption , poverty, exploitation, substance abuse, mental slavery, local literature, racism, crime, government and many more.
Refreshingly different and thought provoking. Rampolokeng shows off his literary prowess by deliberately breaking conservative, traditional writting rules. He manages this effectively with confidance and style . He uses a comprehensible and fragmented form that includes autobiography , reportage, poetry , music, movie and script.
Of growing up in Soweto he wrote " My childhood, well, all friendships I made , came through conflict ; brawls , fiya go , arse weeping. I grew up in various houses build on violence....See without brutal violence on all sorts of levels there is no Soweto"
About Gwala he wrote "......the Farts Minister had a lot of broken hot wind to blow about how great Gwala was & that they'd been in negotiation to put him in the education stream. Lies & bullshit. Faecal-faced Friends".
If you are looking for uncensored, open-minded, uncomfortable, unapologetic, controversial painting of events and commentary thereof, this is your book. A shock to the system, no complacency and or an inclination to conform.
April 22, 2022
I found Rampolokeng while traveling in South Africa last winter. He's an incredible writer; innovative with language, original, chaotic. The intertextuality in his work is a window into an alternative canon, with references to jazz greats, stateside and South African, and a variety of authors, familiar and unfamiliar. A lot of the subtlties are lost on me, as is any sense of plot; it reads more like a free-jazz novel, unpredictable and often discordant, often going places many readers would find unpleasant (bodily effluvia is a prominent feature, for example). I tried to ride the waves of language, and found those waves enthralling.
When I think of what I want literature to be, and what made literature appealing to me as a teenager, this is about it. I'm not sure what this novel threatens, exactly--the comfort of tidy versions of the world offered by most novels?--but it feels dangerous, and is unconcerned with the usual expectations for literature.
When I think of what I want literature to be, and what made literature appealing to me as a teenager, this is about it. I'm not sure what this novel threatens, exactly--the comfort of tidy versions of the world offered by most novels?--but it feels dangerous, and is unconcerned with the usual expectations for literature.
April 6, 2021
This compilation of a cross between poetry and prose intermingled with references to jazz, blues, and hip-hop struck me in the powerfulness of the imagery and depth of experience it presents. The representations of violence and sex were jarring, as were the continuous resonance of blood and bodily fluids. Rampolokeng also draws into conversation what it means to be a South African writer and the push back experienced by the narrator both as an artist and creator and as a black man.
Step back and read this novel for auditory enjoyment. Rampolokeng truly is a lyrical genius.
Step back and read this novel for auditory enjoyment. Rampolokeng truly is a lyrical genius.
December 19, 2018
Rampolokeng's novel was like a tasting menu of exotic dishes: delectable, intense, but not really cohesive enough to be considered a meal. There was beauty in its fragmentation, in the way words molded together to paint unforgettable images- but the lack of clear narrative undermined its structure as a novel. Too long to be a poem, too sophisticated to be a novel- it's a work that lies somewhere in no man's land, something other readers may appreciate: but for me, it was too much imagery & too little structure.
October 10, 2019
Brutal, but lyrically rich and fast moving. Frankly you've got the wrong audience, ever talking to me about jazz (you might just as well be talking to me about car care or golf wear), but the idea of Jazz's parade of Greats as a backdrop is, well, pretty compelling. And from a language perspective alone, I can see why this has done so well.
August 29, 2019
Love love this book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews