Phaswane Mpe (10 September 1970 – 12 December 2004) was a South African

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. He was educated at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

, where he was a lecturer in African literature. He did his master's degree in publishing at

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

in 1998. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, ''

Welcome to Our Hillbrow ''Welcome to Our Hillbrow'' is a novel by South African novelist Phaswane Mpe which deals with issues of xenophobia, AIDS, tradition, and inner city status in the Hillbrow neighborhood of post-apartheid Johannesburg. It was first published in 200 ...

'', was published in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. A collection of short stories and poems, ''Brooding Clouds'', was published posthumously in 2008. Mpe was born in the northern city of

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

in Tiragalong, and moved to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

at the age of 19 to attend university, and ended up living in the deprived inner city area of

Hillbrow Hillbrow () is an inner city residential neighbourhood of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is known for its high levels of population density, unemployment, poverty, prostitution and crime. It had a large and active Jewish commun ...

, a place where he later set his first novel. ''Welcome to Our Hillbrow'' was an important work as it was the first novel to deal with the changes of inner-city life in South Africa in the ten years since

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

and

F. W. de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk ( , ; 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as the seventh and final state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as Deputy President of South Africa, deputy president a ...

engineered apartheid's demise. The book depicts the native black South Africans facing the challenges of poverty, unemployment, and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. The novel is striking in that the problems created by apartheid are in the background; the central problems of black South Africans are those of their own making: xenophobia, mean-spirited gossip, witchcraft, and the inability to fully love each other or themselves. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the prevalence of the disease in South Africa, HIV and AIDS were common themes in Mpe's work. Before his death he embarked on doctorate studies on sexuality in post-apartheid South African literature with a particular focus on these two issues. Mpe died suddenly at the age of 34, at a time when he was about to begin training as a traditional

healer Healer may refer to: Conventional medicine *Doctor of Medicine *Health professional Alternative medicine * Faith healer * Folk healer * Healer (alternative medicine), someone who purports to aid recovery from ill health * Spiritual healer F ...

. The cause of death was unknown. At the time of his death Mpe was teaching African literature and publishing studies in the school of literature and languages studies in the University of the Witwatersrand. His poems and short stories have been published in ''Imprint'' (1995), ''Staff Rider'' (1980). He also contributed short stories in ''Drum Magazine''. His book ''Welcome to Our Hillbrow'', and short stories in ''Brooding Clouds'' have autobiographical information.Mpe, P. 2001. Welcome To Our Hillbrow

References

Further reading