R.I.P. JAMES MATTHEWS: LITERARY GIANT OF SOUTH AFRICAN LIBERATION
In the darkest days of apartheid, amid the brutality, inhumanity and horror of state-sponsored violence, James Matthews had the courage to articulate the pain many South Africans were feeling.
He was imprisoned, and his work was banned, because the regime wanted to stop James’s words nourishing the roots of freedom. They wanted to minimize the number of people who were exposed to the truth, whose resolve James’ work was steeling.
Many thousands of South Africans contributed to defeating apartheid, in a multitude of ways. Some joined the liberation movement, some underwent training to prosecuting the armed struggle, and many participated in defiance campaigns.
It wasn’t a conventional war between armies and soldiers; it was a whole-of-society war. There were medical practitioners who treated and shielded the wounded from falling into the hands of the police. There were teachers who supported the endeavours of scholars, lawyers prepared to risk careers, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, journalists and factory workers; all involved.
James Matthews spoke to all these people, and to artists, academics and politicians who cared to listen, in language they could understand. A blend of beauty and belligerence, with the impact of a grenade. Flames and Flowers…
Over the past 20 years James became a dear friend of Mrs Leah Tutu, and a regular visitor to the Tutu’s Milnerton home. While Archbishop Desmond attended to his spiritual and pastoral work, James and Mrs Tutu would drink tea and chat.
They were age-mates, who’d out-lived the Union of South Africa and the apartheid republic. They’d seen the advent of democracy, and shared a deep desire for fairness, peace and justice.
It was in this period that he published his ode to old age, Age is a Beautiful Phase, remarkable not just for its genuine honesty and wisdom, but also its gentleness. It was a platform for the author of the anthemic 1972 Cry Rage to demonstrate his depth and the full range of his power.
May James Matthews rest in peace and rise in glory; and may his family draw comfort from the lifework of a generational talent and giant of South African society.
From Dr Mamphela Ramphele, Chair of the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust
