Mbongeni Malaba is a Professor of English Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Professor Chris Mann was a remarkable man who contributed to the country he dearly loved in so many different fields. A distinguished scholar, he was shortlisted for the prestigious Professor of Poetry post at Oxford University. He was one of the limited number of people who could be regarded as a Renaissance man: apart from his talent as a poet, he was a keen musician who used his voice and guitar to present poetry to a broad-based audience, including some who, ordinarily, might not have engaged with the genre. Together with his wife, the accomplished artist, Julia Skeen, they collaborated on a number of projects, including a visit to Pietermaritzburg in 2016, which was part of their roadshow foregrounding literature, at Hilton College; arts and culture at a joint performance at the Tatham Gallery which featured music and a slide show drawn from their fascinating publication, along with Adrian Craig (a Professor of Zoology at Rhodes University) titled Lifelines: “The book embodies recent discoveries in the fields of evolutionary biology, palaeontology and astronomy. These discoveries, when taken together, reveal how each animal is part of a lifeline that stretches back billions of years and is inseparable from the genesis of the cosmos as a whole.” The stunning artistic background showcases Julia Skeen’s accomplishments as an artist. Their work celebrates the bounty of nature, as reflected in the exquisitely written and beautifully illustrated, in colour, The Horn of Plenty, which brings to mind Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “God’s Grandeur,” the opening of which reads “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” His faith anchored his thought and actions. Chris and Julia’s multimedia skills were demonstrated at The English Academy of Southern Africa Awards Ceremony hosted by Amazwi (which incorporated what was once known as The National English Literary Museum), where besides their display of several copies of Chris’ books, they streamed clips of some of their productions. He also performed some of his poems.
Prior to joining Rhodes University, Chris Mann worked for The Valley Trust in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, in what is now known as KwaZulu-Natal, through which he and other participants explored ways that would enable the people in the area to improve their lives, with special emphasis placed on enhancing their agricultural knowledge and productivity; foregrounding land husbandry and rural development. They also manufactured environmentally friendly household products. Chris also set up a popular band.
One of his endearing qualities was the ease with which he could converse with a wide range of people: fluent in isiZulu and isiXhosa, Chris communicated warmly with local farmers; he readily engaged with school children who visited the community to learn what could be achieved when people treated each other with dignity and respect; his lectures at schools were enthusiastically received; he was a gracious convener of Wordfest, which generally takes place annually at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) and delivered numerous erudite papers at local and international conferences.
Siyabonga umsebenzi wakho, Zithulele.
(We are grateful for the work you have done, Quiet One)
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