Poetry
Cry Rage!
Synopsis
A collection of protest poems written by two authors, in English, in a direct and defiant language. In “Freedom's Child”, the voice rejects the discrimination imposed by law, the segregated school, the third-class carriage, and demands for Black people their rights and their place in the country. The poems of James Matthews stand alongside those of Gladys Thomas, including “Fall Tomorrow”; the whole speaks of the anger and resistance of those whom the law keeps at a distance.
Context
The collection appeared in 1972 from Spro-Cas and was banned shortly afterwards, in 1973. Spro-Cas then gave up following the poet, who himself published in 1974 Black Voices Shout!, an anthology of nine Black poets, banned in its turn. Matthews's later books often met the same fate. An enlarged edition of his poems took up the title again in 2005, at Athlone, from Realities, under the subtitle Odyssey of a Dissident Poet.
Who it is for
Short poems in English, in a plain style, accessible without preparation; not translated into French.
Prizes and reception
The first book of poems banned in South Africa, according to Nadine Gordimer; its poems are still recited, a 2015 interview reports.