Oswald Mtshali Poems

Oswald Mtshali was a South African poet who was born in 1940. He is known for his work written in both Zulu and English. His first collection of poems was published in 1971 and won the Olive Schreiner Prize. It was titled Sounds of a Cowhide Drum.

The Birth of Shaka

by Oswald Mtshali

‘The Birth of Shaka’ by Oswald Mtshali is a free verse poem about a South African warrior and ruler by the name of Shaka.

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