To be frank, I feel like I have let myself down only catching on to Dudu Busani-Dube early this year. I truly feel like I have been living under a rock, and in January someone lifted it and I have been in awe ever since. Personally, I don’t think you can pride yourself in being a book worm and a lover of African fiction, especially South African and woman produced work if you have not heard of or joined the cult following that this KwaMashu original has garnered in such a short space of time, do yourself a favour.
Dube, a senior journalist at The New Age heard the voices and ran with them. “I must tell you that I didn’t sit and plan what kind of a person Hlomu was going to be or where Zandile was going to end. It comes as I write. I become the character and let my mind do the leading” she says. Which makes it hard to believe because, they are such full and real characters.
She is not sure when she fell in love with writing but, it was her English teacher who encouraged her, by giving her a task to go home and write a story and bring back to school the next day. Dube found this task easy, it came natural to her and to her surprise her teacher made such a big deal, her English teacher did not abate letting Dube know how good a writer she is “and that’s the most important thing anyone can tell a 16-year-old. It’s life changing” Dube recounts, “I was a rebel but also, I was her best student. I was that type that got 15% in Maths and 80% in English (It’s happens a lot with creative kids which is why I think this country should have more schools to accommodate creative arts)” she continues. Creative kids have it the hardest in a society that is so focused on structure and “real” careers but, how can, for example being a writer not be nourished when it inspires? When a person can find elements of who they are in a character and resolve to change or look at circumstances from completely new point of view?
Dudu Busani-Dube (middle) with two of her readers, enjoying coffee… image taken from Mrs Dube’s Facebook page
Dube, who has mastered the art of writing in a way that keeps her audience glued to her books “my writing is simple I don’t give my readers a chance to look away from the page to find a dictionary or whatever. And that’s because I also hate that, I hate being distracted” she says. And it is hard to discredit that, I dare you to pick up a book from the Hlomu Series and tell me if you can do much else with your day, it takes over you completely. You become part of the story, you invest in all the characters because Dube makes “them as human as possible” and readers can relate.
When you engage with the part of yourself that is authentic even the scariest things at times seem less scary. This self-proclaimed introvert first took on what most would call insanity when she self -published and we all know that with any product marketing is important so she had to step out of her comfort zone which isn’t the “bubbly” person people expect to meet. But meeting people is part of the gig, so she drove straight in with another female first time writer Zanele Dlamini- Plumeria –and Pop-a-Book was born. The idea is to do national book tours with other female writers, “I’m loving the black female hustle currently happening in this country, I think that’s what inspired it. So far I’ve only done Nelspruit with Zanele but I’m looking at getting more ladies” she says. You can find out more about where the next Pop-a-Book is taking place on her Facebook page. I believe this is a movement that will generate a lot of attention and bring together women and book worms, we need more women to write so the Pop-a-Book can have a wide range of African women telling their stories “[there are not enough women telling their stories]. People fear rejection, that’s why. They think about the ‘what if?” and then come up with the answer (which is always the worst that could happen) before they even try.
Dudu Busani-Dube Author of the Hlomu Series (above); Zanele Dlamini Author of Plumeria (below)
Our stories are important, but also, I think we tend to focus on selling pain. I have yet to see a good book that’s all about a black woman who has a great life, just great. There are a lots of them” Dube comments.
Dube believe in going for your dreams and what you believe, I asked her what she would say to young women and girls and this is what she echoed, “let nothing stop you from being what you want to be. If it won’t cause you to lose a body part, then you have nothing to lose because really, that’s the only thing you cannot replace. Be decisive, it goes a long way”.
So if you are ready to leave your rock and open up to Hlomu Series world, Dube’s books can be purchased at the following places: All Adams Bookstores in SA, Armstrong Books and Love Books in GP, Bookworld Cascades in PMB and www.myafricanbuy.com. She does pop-up sales too and for that follow her on Facebook, seriously, you can thank me later.
Dudu Busani-Dube, we celebrate you as an inspirational woman; you have shown that what you put your mind to you can achieve. We thank you for being brave enough to tell our stories, helping us get closer to ourselves through your multidimensional and real characters. Thank you for displaying that a Black girl from Kwa Mashu can self-publish, can push beyond real and imagined barriers and conquer!
“Once [you] finish [you] don’t know what to do with [yourself] because [you] want more and no matter what else [you] read nothing compares”- Khanyisile Khumalo
all images are taken from Dudu Busani-Dube ‘s facebook page. And final comment from Khanyisile Khumalo.
girlsmattersa 