transformation from the essentially subjective articulation typical of lyrics and as found
in his earlier collections like Yakhal’inkomo (1972) and Tsetlo (1974), soon paved way
for much longer poems like No Baby must Weep (1975) and Behold Mama, Flowers
(1978) in which he seeks “a seamless connection... between the self and the nation, a
connection that demands... both longer and stronger forms, forms that seem best
described as epic.” Similarly, Tony Voss (2006:450) says of Serote that such “shift
from minor (lyric/ pastoral) to major (epic) is an archetypal trajectory of the poetic
career, the assumption of a communal and public voice for longer, more encyclopaedic
forms”. Both Freedom Lament and Song and History is the Home Address are to that
extent a continuation of this epic tradition. This may then account for why in an attempt
to reflect on the South African community, the liberty that the medium of epic provides
allows him to add his own version to the pan-Africanist ideals which often show the
interconnectivity of anti-colonial/imperialist struggles throughout Africa. And given the
way his epic engages the future, especially in History is the Home Address , there is no
doubt that, like Atwell observes, it lives up to the expectation of “an epic of futurity”
(cited in Voss 452).
Conclusion
Arising from the understanding that South African literature during apartheid was read
for the most part against the backdrop of exile, this chapter began by exploring the
concept, showing the pervasiveness of the experience both for the victims and opposition
to racial discrimination on the one hand, and the establishment and groups favoured by
this rule, on the other. The dismantling of apartheid was thus considered the passage of
exile experience on a general scale in the nation. Yet, the discussion in this chapter has
argued against the backdrop of the possibility of exile in an era of de-racialized
democratic dispensation in South Africa. To achieve this, the discussion has concentrated
on Serote’s Freedom Lament and Song and History is the Home Address. In the first
poem, we have seen the necessity of revisiting the past through the agency of history and
memory. Through this agency, the articulation of the poet has been described as a
personal intervention. While not shying away from the mandate of national reconciliation