Struggle poet and novelist Professor Mongane Wally Serote will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in acknowledgment of “his indomitable contributions to poetry, literature, and philosophy in South Africa”.

UJ Professor of Philosophy and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities Alex Broadbent said:

“Spending nine months in solitary confinement in an apartheid prison in 1969 and 18 years in exile, Prof Serote’s commitment to ‘intervene and disrupt racism in all fields of human agency’ is evident in his widely-celebrated contribution to the literature and poetry of black identity and resistance.

“Mongane Serote is a true African intellectual in the tradition of the African philosophic sage – a profoundly wise person. He is the embodiment of philosophy as the love of wisdom, in the context of both traditional and modern Africa.

“His extensive contributions to the promotion of authentic African cultural expression and his sought-after expertise on indigenous knowledge systems for re-building our society are based on his broad experiential knowledge, participant observation, decades of organisational involvement and service, and deep intellectual reflection.”

Click on the link above for the full story.

Categories South Africa

Tags African News Agency Awards IOL Mongane Wally Serote Poetry