SOURCE: "A Terrible Trajectory: The Impact of Apartheid, Prison and Exile on Dennis Brutus's Poetry," in Essays on African Writing: A Re-evaluation, edited by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Heinemann, 1993, pp. 38-55.

In the following essay, Chipasula argues that the strains and pressures of the apartheid state, rather than inspiring Brutus, actually limited the extent of his poetic achievement.

In contemporary African literature very few poets have attracted as much international attention for their extra-literary efforts as the exiled South African activist-poet, Dennis Brutus. Having been nurtured on a 'diet of eloquent delectable accolades',¹ he has grown into somewhat of a sacred bull one approaches with great trepidation. However, our reverence for Brutus has less to do with his poetic achievement than his stand against apartheid. Awestruck by the presence of this heroic 'fighter' who survived eighteen months of incarceration on Robben Island and has valiantly lived with the scar of...