Azanian Love Song

Azanian Love Song by Donato Francisco “Don” Mattera was first published in 1983 by Skotaville Publishers as part of the Skotaville Series, and it remains one of the author’s most celebrated collections of poetry. Mattera’s work emerged from his lived experience under apartheid — including years of state repression, banning orders, and house arrest — and reflects the struggles, hopes, pain, and resilience of oppressed South Africans during a tumultuous period of the country’s history.

This edition, approximately 115 pages, captures Mattera’s early poetic voice at a time when Black South African literature was gaining prominence both locally and internationally. The poems in Azanian Love Song are charged with emotional intensity, political consciousness, and personal reflection, drawing inspiration from the destruction of Sophiatown, the realities of township life, and the broader struggle for justice and freedom. Mattera’s powerful lyricism blends personal narrative with collective memory, making the book both a testimony and a tribute to those who lived through the era.

Don Mattera himself was a key figure in South African journalism and literature — a founder of the Union of Black Journalists and the Congress of South African Writers — and his poetry collection received acclaim soon after publication, including recognition from the PEN Award in 1983. Azanian Love Song stands as a landmark work in South African poetic expression, valuable to readers of political poetry, postcolonial literature, and Africana writing.

As a 1983 Skotaville Publishers edition, this book represents both a cultural artefact of its time and a lasting piece of literary history. It is particularly suited to collectors of South African literature, poetry enthusiasts, and anyone interested in artistic responses to oppression, liberation, and identity.

Condition: Very good – Foxing with no further notable defects.