NUTSHELL
Inne nutshell is Moerstaāl die purposefully meaningful end-result vanne baie lang process van coming to terms moet twīe underlying realities. Kom ōs isolate hille hīe: Die birth vannie single-mother issue onne local Indigenous folk, ennie ineffective Moeddirtaāl Onnerig system in skoōlle. Ingelyf hīe is: Moeddirtaāl Reclamation; Moeddirtaāl Appreciation; Moeddirtaāl Conscientization; Moeddirtaāl Self-identify; Moeddirtaāl Self-care; Moeddirtaāl Preservation; Moeddirtaāl…Holistic!
NOTE
The Goema poem below is not from Moerstaāl, but a new one written today (26 April 2023). It attempts to kinda sum up where Moerstaāl is now, and where she may/could, perhaps, be in the future, in relation to her ”subsequent success, attention en die benoeming.”
I am not an ungrateful person, and neither am I the hat-in-hand type, but these are all very appreciated, especially the *two nominations, as they spell out acknowledgement and recognition on a scale and magnitude that I’m still coming to grips with.
POEM
Long Turn
Vaddag is djye donneweē
en net mōrre
is djye poep tiennie donneweē
is glip lat lē
but never say die
oomōrre’s djye voëltsie
en issit happily jou turn
om te blertz oppie great statue
vanne staggering hoegte
Wan, kom mōre-oermōre
is djy ma weērrie statue
en kry djy ma weē
aāllie donneweērre en kak
yt pop-culture se urban legends
waā daā ma pal
‘n goeie paā queues bak en brou
net soessie hyenas en anne
boōswigte real is
innie government contract
is daā niks creepy clowns
innie hoek vannie speēlkaāme
but ek scheme daā is
wèlle paā goeie wrong turns
moet eēn apprentice en
asse minimum, eēn intern
en at least eēn…long turn
HOWEVER
Considering the media-barometere, it does appear that now is Moerstaāl and other like-minded books’ turns to shine. However, and as I say this unapologetically, I also say it with empathy, and not to pop someone’s baloon, or worse, piss on anyone’s battery; like my hero Jakes Iam a pragmatist, but nonetheless, also a realist: Like all the Indigenous issues (which also enjoys acknowledgement and recognition, but not yet accommodation) with our own government, full accommodation for Moerstaāl, etc,is definitely set somewhere in the future, not right now. That’s my gut-feeling, which is seldom wrong.
Where, is not the question, as she knows where she belongs; in the classroom as a textbook. That, or work from her. When exactly this will happen, is a case of cautious optimism. In fact, a case of Glenmorangie wouldn’t be half bad as well (a bottle would also do), as we dream about that potential.
OVER-ARCHING
Nog nooit hette boek van my-rit soe goedt gehadtie.
In ha burgeoning spread, over-arch sy, en slyt Moerstaāl maklik an by articles soes dié eēenne hīe onne, wat currently op LitNet vitèl vannie state vannie content van theatre, byrrie 2023 KKNK:
“Want bykans elke sosiale kwessie het onder die teaterligte in skel kontras met die reuk van pannekoeke en spookasem buite by die feesterrein gestaan.”
Vinne Maryke Roberts en Clifford Roberts se report van 19 April oppie 2023 KKNK, hie:
Die above kind of logic (ennie music) was paāt van wat vi my sane en in touch gehourrit moet realities van all kinds, toe ek biessag was moerrie research, skrywwe (som nie altydt soe agamdroelaā/lekke nie, but paāt vannie human condition nevertheless) editing, en publishing, van dié klynne gem vanne boek.
CONFLUENCE
Moerstaāl is in reality, ‘n confluence van various streams van klangk, emotions thought, natural of otherwise wat opgedammit, en, soes ma iennagge growth, yt sy seams gebas. Nie big-deal. Daārim-mie oppe level wat ek nou moet rōndt haloep soesse headless chicken, soessie Durbanites sē in Jozi.
ENGAGING
Moerstaāl engage en involve, en weave in en yt human nature: die human condition; die cultural myths, superstitions en denials; die food-chain; daāssie genoeg vi ammal; purgatory; hewin; hèl; death; fate; faith; hope; die earth condition; etc.
Profane en profound exist langes mekaā, en net daā-in allien, is klaā ‘n kakhys vōl van meaningful import en export.
Natural emotions feature, soewèl assie giestellik; direct en/of understated, hinted at.
Satire en van sy famiellie, Pathos en Bathos, among others, is oek byrrie paātie.
MOTHER
Moerstaāl is a mother and wants what mothers want for their little ones’ holistic growth. Two poems exemplify this: “Klem-innie-kaak (pp.41-44), en “geraasie” (pp.30-32 ).
Kom ek quote yt Moerstaāl hasèlf. Hiesse excerpt yt “geraāsie” (vi Les) p.31, sesde verse:
Ek hét sy spirit, speēl saāmme-rit
doen soes Ancient Aboriginal ma doen
celebrate indivisibility
al issit meēsal doggedly
en kyk, kyk, kyk
ways om te engage
te involve
include
embrace
– vesoen –
sōnne jousèlf te veloō
NEVER FORGET
Die most important skryfstill in Moerstaāl is, “Hy godt wag innie garage.” En sōnne om te veē hīel te viklap; wyssit waārrie single-mother issue geboōrre wōdt onne-rie local Indigenous, nie net annie Kaāp but globally. Never forget: Indigeneity was van day one gelink moet wille dierre; barbarians; cannibals; heidinne; immorality; promiscuity; incest; halwe mēnse; “die oōblyfsils van humanity, toe mēns klaaā gecreate was.”
Moerstaāl issie naāste wat ek nog gekommit annie plek van my being; my Ma se Moer (Of, in mooi, Standaardafrikaans, “my ma se baarmoeder”) , waā-in ek mēns bekommit, waādeē ek eēste klangk kom leē kennit, en waā-yt ek asse citizen van my Moerlandt geboōrre is.
WAĀ EK IN-FIT
Dat ekkie pisoōn is in my community wie toerrie portal raāk vi soë document soes Moerstaāl,om deē te kom, is insigsèlf ‘n miracle, but oekke moerse responsibility, enne bietsie unprivate, wat siekke ma saāmmie territory kom.
Maybe is ek, soes anne creatives, nie nette catchment-area op, but innie landscape, as well as-zie airscape, waā airthreads van thought ythang en mingle, som soe|nûi!khams/gossamer fyn, djy moet focus en vànnag en sharp wies, wan hille dissipate nou into-rie most sublime, en djy kan ma net wonne en jou mine lat wander.
Nourrie dag toe sē ek iets soes dai vi fellow writer/journo, Naomi, Meyer, inne piece vi LitNet. Ek en sy het literally in mekaā gejakesgerwel oppe writers-residency laās jaā, by Paulet-Hys in Somerset-East, angibiedt deērrie Jakes Gerwel Foundation en PEN-Afrikaans.
BTW
Nathan Trantraal* het gerecommend dat Kwela Moerstaāl (my vierde poetry collection) publish, toerrit nog nette thesis was (moerrie title Aloe). From there already she connects with all three of my previous bundles, My Straat en anne praat-poems and Faraway klanke vanne Hadeda, both published by Kwela in 1998/9 and 2006 respectively, as well as my 2000 self-published bundle, Serious Kak-Praat. Except, Moerstaāl gives vent to as much outrage that I could muster. She also adds a few daring adoptions, adaptations and updates to spelling and orthography (See this practice in my own name: Lloyd Sauls to Loit Sôls to Loit Sōls), philosophy and modus operandi.
THE FUTURE
This fuels, drives and guarantees my continuing activism in the Mother-Tongue education arena at Grassroots education level, as well as otherwise.
END
So there you go Bronwyn…your request honoured with great pleasure:
“…say something about Moerstaāl – the writing and meaning thereof and the subsequent success, attention, en die benoeming.”
I trust it all makes sense neh.
- 2023 UJ Prys vir Afrikaans – Uit 49 boeke (21 romans, 17 digbundels en 3 nie-fiksie boeke) Loit Sōls se Moerstaāl (Kwela) het die kortlys behaal. Antjie Krog met Plunder (Human & Rossouw) is bekroon met die prys. Die aande benoemings is:Kirby van der Merwe met Eugene (Human & Rousseau) en Johan Myburg met Narreskip (Protea Boekhuis)
- 2023 Kortlys: Hertzogprys vir poësie Moerstaāl is benoem saam met Krog se Plunder en Nathan Traantraal se Oolog. Plunder is bekroon met die prys.
Loit Sôls is ’n veelsydige visuele kunstenaar, musikant en digter. Hy is die skrywer van die digbundels My straat en anne praat-poems(1998) en Die Faraway Klanke vanne Hadeda(2006) asook, onder andere, die album Serious Kak-praat (2004). Hy het musiekoptredes in verskeie lande buiten Suid-Afrika op sy kerfstok, byvoorbeeld, Nederland, Engeland, Indonesië en Botswana. Van sy gedigte is in ’n aantal bloemlesings opgeneem en ook in ander tale vertaal. Hy is genooi om in 1999 in Nederland aan die Winternachten-poësiefees deel te neem en in 2001 aan die Jakarta International Poetry Reading in Indonesië. In 2021 behaal hy ’n MA in Kreatiewe Skryfkuns aan Rhodes Universiteit.
