Mazisi Kunene: Why is Google Celebrating Africa top Poet?
Mazisi Kunene, who became an icon of African writing despite being forced to abandon his own South Africa during the dreadful apartheid dictatorship, is being honored with a Google Doodle.
Mazisi Kunene’s 92nd birthday is commemorated in today’s Google Doodle.
The Google Doodle for today is both lovely and fascinating. The search engine honors notable individuals and events from across the world on a regular basis, and the most recent installment honors one of Africa’s best poets, Mazisi Kunene.
When you browse the Google site, you’ll occasionally see entertaining and colorful variations of the search engine’s logo — click it to have it search for a specific name or phrase for you.
They began when Google’s founders attended the renowned Burning Figure event and placed a little man standing over the word Google as a humorous take on an ‘out of office message.
Today’s Google is dedicated to anti-apartheid campaigner Mazisi Kunene, who would have turned 92 today.
The Doodle depicts Mazisi going about his business, for which he rose to prominence as a role in the anti-apartheid movement in his native South Africa. We take a deeper look at who he was in this section.
Who is Mazisi Kunene?
Mazisi (Raymond) Kunene (12 May 1930 – 11 August 2006) was a South African poet best known for his translation of the epic Zulu poem Emperor Shaka the Great.
While in exile from South Africa’s apartheid regime, Kunene was an active supporter and organizer of the anti-apartheid movement in Europe and Africa.
He would later teach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and become Africa’s and South Africa’s first poet laureate.
Why is Google Celebrating Africa top Poet? Why is Google Celebrating Africa top Poet?