In this justly famous poem, which runs to nearly 40 lines, Mongane Serote ironically pays tribute to the city of Johannesburg, where Black South Africans were allowed to work but not live during the apartheid era.

Like much of the poet’s work, City Johannesburg fits into the free-verse tradition of American poets Walt Whitman (1819–92) and Langston Hughes (1902–67), but it also employs elements of the African panegyric form. Thus the speaker salutes—at the very start of this poem—the city that rules over him. But instead of raising his hand in a show of respect, he lowers it to search through his pockets for “my pass, my life” (l. 4), the reference book that is a key to his survival as a Black South African.

There is something desperate in this motion, as the speaker’s hand moves “like a starved snake” (l. 6), suggesting that he has been dehumanized by this daily routine. After saluting Johannesburg a second time, the speaker goes on to describe the world in which he lives outside of the city. He has mixed feelings about his home in the township, to which he refers as both “my love” (l. 14) and “my death” (l. 16). At the same time, however, he cannot help appreciating the personal connection he has to this place, which distinguishes it from the cold and distant city.

The speaker imagines Johannesburg as a giant machine that sucks people in and spits them out as part of the “thick iron breath” (l. 20) of its commuter traffic. According to him, there is nothing natural about this lifeless place where “neon flowers” (l. 26) glow on “cement trees” (l. 27). But even so, the speaker cannot deny the city’s powerful hold on his life, as it has enforced upon him a sense of “feebleness” (l. 31) that is utterly debilitating. The “frozen expressions” (l. 38) worn by other township dwellers make it clear to him that many people have been worn down by the city in the same way.

From this, the speaker concludes that Johannesburg itself is to blame for the degradation of the township. In the end, therefore, Serote uses this poem to highlight the intimate connection between working conditions in the city and living conditions in the township. Originally published in Yakhal’inkomo (1972), City Johannesburg appeared in Serote’s Selected Poems (1982) as well. The poem has also been widely anthologized, most recently in The New Century of South African Poetry (2002), edited by Michael Chapman.

Bibliography

Chapman, Michael, ed. The New Century of South African Poetry. Johannesburg: Ad Donker, 2002.
Serote, Mongane Wally. Yakhal’inkomo. Johannesburg: Renoster Books, 1972.
———. Selected Poems. Edited by M. V. Mzamane. Johannesburg: Ad Donker, 1982.

Categories: British Literature, Literature

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