The Essay

Series examining laureateship around the world. Keorapetse Kgositsile discusses the role of poet laureate in South Africa. He is the latest in a line of 'imbongi', whose role, he argues, is often misunderstood. He isn't there just to praise the great in South African society, but also, as he says, 'to employ every known literary and poetic device to mock, jeer, castigate and criticise anyone in his community, from the king down to the lowliest subject'.