Epilogue

It is a truism to say that literature generally recreates the human condition, yet, since time immemorial, having been commissioned or simply acting out of their own volition, writers have written pieces or collections of literacy output marking special or unique occasions.  We may call this creative imagination occasional narrative.  Typical instances of this kind of writing are those of Shakespeare whose Twelfth Night was deliberately meant to celebrate the Elizabethan custom of bringing the twelve-day Christmas festivities to a close.

Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream was equally intended to celebrate a royal wedding.  Even more germane to the form and content of this anthology of poetry is T.S Eliot’s (an Anglican Christian) poem, “The Journey of the Magi” which was written to re-enact the Feast of Epiphany, with the three wise kings guided by the Biblical star to Jesus’ birth place in Bethlehem.

Similarly, this collection composed by a practicising Catholic sets out to celebrate 150 years of Catholicism in Lesotho.  Unsolicited in motivation, the collection is a pleasant surprise to members and friends of the church due to the topical and diverse nature of its content, uniqueness and singularity of style and its universal appeal.  At first glance, the collection poses as mere verse, yet it belies the profundity of history, culture, landscape and various issues of advocacy.

The environment (mountains, valleys and erosion), chiefdom and royalty, challenges of religion, cultural practices, the portrayal of Africa through Western eyes, social and gender issues are all brought under a poetic microscope whose form is not only new to the Lesotho literary landscape, but encapsulates new horizons, distinctiveness and refreshment.

This genre of poeticized chronicling, infusing historical fact and imagination, provides a light-hearted ethos of Christian celebration associated with the anthology.  It brings down history and other branches of knowledge from the heights of academia to the pavements of life, thereby broadening and deepening the outreach effect of what is being communicated.

This is further facilitated by the poetry’s free-flow, intuitive, instructive, inspirational, eclectic and integral style.  This is a kind of narrative which appeals to all classes of people, Christians from various denominations and people from various cultures.

To date, Lesotho has produced notable poets such as Bereng, Rakhotsoane, Otury, Sefali and many others. Clearly, Ilongo Ngale is a welcome addition to this poetic ascendancy.  He has unshered in a new genre of poeticized chronicles characterized by fluidity, eclecticism, malleability and universality.

 

P. Viriri Shava (Associate Professor)

Senior Lecturer in English Literature

National University of Lesotho