ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Written in an intensely lyrical mode with very strong elements of African narrative poetry, this collection is imbued with the spirit of the imbongi, in that its language is lush and overwhelming, incantatory and rhythmic in its power, Nelson Ratau incorporates social happenings with the larger than life, the heroic. Moreover, Barefoot and Bright offers a tender yet powerful glimpse into the ordinary magic of an extraordinary bond, a son’s love for his mother and the deep ache of her absence. Through memory, music, grief, and joy, Ratau gives voice to rural life and maternal love with vulnerability and grace. This is a collection of healing, longing, and luminous remembrance. However, Ratau refuses to be held hostage by grief. He pours his laments onto the page, capturing the shifting emotions of mourning, especially the loss of his beloved mother. Writing becomes a path to balance and closure, but also a reminder that sorrow, though delicate and often difficult to carry, must move with us through daily life. In doing so, we learn to honour both the natural and spiritual realms. This is poetry that grounds us—offering sustenance to our bereft souls.

ABOUT THE POET

Nelson S. Ratau is a South African literary scholar, poet, and educator whose work bridges personal memory, cultural identity, and decolonial imagination. Born into the Maake clan and rooted in the Pedi worldview, his writing draws from indigenous philosophies, oral tradition, and ancestral memory. He is the author of the poetry collection It Begins Here and the scholarly book Every Worldview is Superstitious: Reflections on the African Worldview in Ben Okri’s Works, and his poetry has appeared in The Evergreen Review and other publications. He lectures in post-colonial and African literature at the University of Mpumalanga and continues to mentor emerging voices in literature and the humanities. Barefoot and Bright is his most intimate work to date, a poetic homecoming that honours the spirits of his mother, his late niece Mapula, and his nephews* Tumelo and Thema.