Emperor Shaka the Great: A Zulu Epic

Born in Durban, South Africa, Mazisi (Raymond) Kunene was educated at the University of Natal, where he earned an M.A. with one of the earliest studies of literature in African languages. He later spent a year at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, where he continued his African language and literature studies. Although he has published highly competent poetry in English, Kunene is remarkable for his commitment to developing creative writing in his native Zulu language. His Zulu Poems (1970) include his original compositions in Zulu, as well as English recreations or translations. In 1979 he produced a copious poem, Emperor Shaka the Great, in an effort to introduce the Homeric type of epic into the literary repertoire of his mother-tongue. Kunene is currently a professor of linguistics at the University of California.