About the Book
Alfred Qabula was a central figure in the cultural movement that emerged among the working people in and around Durban in the 1980s. A Working Life, Cruel Beyond Belief is the first book in the Hidden Voices series and is Qabula�s testament, telling the powerful story of his life and work. The Hidden Voices project seeks to examine and make available writings on left thought suppressed under apartheid.
About the Author
Alfred Temba Qabula was born on 12 December 1942 in Flagstaff, Transkei. His father, a migrant worker, �coughed out� the harshness of his life onto his children. Qabula was left to look after his brothers when only a teenager, after both his parents died. Then, barely 18 years old, he was caught up in Pondoland rebellion � hidden and starving in the forests. In 1974 he caught a train for Carltonville near Johannesburg to work as a plumber. This trade took him to Durban where, �fed up with doing skilled work for nothing�, he entered the noisy world of factory production at Dunlop, composing songs in his head as he drove around on a forklift truck.
In 1983 he joined the Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU), and helped to organise Dunlop workers into the union. Then, in 1984, he started to perform his praise-poem �Izibongo zika Fosatu� at union meetings. His performances initiated a revival of imbongi poetry throughout South Africa, as workers transformed this tradition into a powerful expression of their struggles. In 1986, a collection of Qabula�s poetry was published in Black Mamba Rising, along with poetry by other worker poets. The book won the Norwegian Literature Award in 1987. Qabula went on to work for the Culture and Working Life Project at what was then the University of Natal, spreading his skills and enthusiasm through the unions in the region.
