Ntsiki Mazwai slams Gayton McKenzie for Cuban book fair exclusion

South African poet Ntsiki Mazwai has taken to social media to voice her frustration with the recent selection process for the upcoming Havana Book Fair, questioning the Minister of Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie’s decisions.

Mazwai’s tweets, which include pointed criticisms of McKenzie’s role in the selection process, highlight what she perceives as a misstep in the selection of writers and the exclusion of poets - like herself - who were personally and specifically requested by Cuban poets.

Over the weekend, an unhappy Mazwai shared a series of screenshots from conversations with prominent poets and figures in the literary world. In one of the messages, Mazwai is engaging with Cuban poet Leymen Perez, who extended a direct invitation to South African poets to participate in the prestigious Havana Book Fair.

“How it started and how it ended,” Mazwai tweeted, expressing her disbelief at being excluded.

Perez, an award-winning poet, had personally reached out to Mazwai, inviting her to participate in the fair. Mazwai also shared a conversation with fellow poet Tebogo David, where David forwarded a message from Harry Owen, a mutual friend, who explained that Perez was seeking poems by several South African poets, including Mazwai, Mongane Wally Serote, and Antjie Krog, for a special anthology.

In the message, Owen wrote: “Dear David, I hope you remember me from Poetry Africa 2016 in Durban. I’ve had a request to contact you from our mutual friend, the Cuban poet Leymen Perez. He needs a poem (or poems) by Mongan Serote, Ntsiki Mazwai, and Antjie Krog for an anthology featuring South African poets, and I hope you can help him.”

Mazwai responded with surprise and enthusiasm, asking, “Wow, they asked for me by name?” David added that Perez had already received Mazwai’s details and suggested she reach out to him on WhatsApp to finalize the details.

However, Mazwai’s mood shifted when McKenzie chose others outside the established literary world for the event prompting her to question McKenzie’s understanding of South Africa’s cultural scene. In a string of tweets, Mazwai criticized McKenzie, saying, “Unathi is not a writer,” in reference to another individual selected for the event.

Unathi has defended her inclusion, saying she is an author by her own right.b

Mazwai’s ire was further fueled when she accused McKenzie of corruption, tweeting, “REMOVE GAYTON MCKENZIE AS THE MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE. He knows NOTHING about art, and he is using state coffers to enrich his friends!” She continued with a scathing critique of McKenzie’s choices: “Remember when Gayton said he doesn’t know anyone on the panel? Then he lied and said it was for racial inclusion, playing the race card to hide his corruption. He chose unknown writers over veterans.”

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