His works include ten poetry collections, novels, and essays. The other poetry titles are: Yakhal’inkomo (1972), Tsetlo (1974), No Baby Must Weep (1975), Behold Mama, Flowers (1978), The Night Keeps Winking (1982), A Tough Tale (1987), Third World Express (1992), Come and Hope with Me (1994), Freedom Lament and Song (1997).
This is Serote’s fifteenth publication. In 1993 he won the Noma Award for publishing in Africa. Serote is a celebrated writer since the 1970s. The poet is a significant figure in South Africa as he is the chairperson of the parliamentary select committee for Arts and Culture.
History is the Home Address is a collection of six very powerful poems echoing diverse experiences of life in South Africa’s apartheid of yesteryears, uncertainty of the present and future. In the works he also reflects on the global ills that are similarly bad as they preceded and led to apartheid, slave trade and colonialism. He then comments on the problems of Africa, such as, poverty, illness and neo-colonialism.
His poetry collection can be read and understood by all, including non-literature experts. The poet’s style is simple, has a healthy infusion of free verse that enhances effective communication and understanding of the messages embedded in the poems. His style is free verse that is a sign of non-conformism to the traditional writing styles of the western world. This rather unusual style is effective in reflecting a concern to communicate and be understood as the poet is seen as an educator through his criticism of life and his socio-political environment. This contrasts with work of such ‘elitist’ poets who are unnecessarily concerned about rhyme, rhythm and uniformity of lines and stanzas.
The book can be used in teaching and studying poetry in tertiary institutions. Furthermore, the themes covered in the poems are all social, economical, political and or cultural issues making the text useful teaching material for discussing topics in an array of fields, such as education, sociology, political science, economics, among others. Through his poems he critics and offers a commentary on the socio-economic context from which he writes.
His context is not limited to South Africa only, but Southern Africa, sometimes South Africa is used only to reflect a microcosm of the SADC region and the global village as the issues know no boundary. Some of them being issues affecting Africa and or developing countries.
The title of the collection, History is the Home Address, is echoed in the poems in this collection, but is also taken from the first poem, whose lines read:
History is the home address
It resides in you
It is your sanctuary and you its sanctuary
If you don’t know it
Or remember it
If you throw it away
It is like you enter the desert
Where it is just sand and sand and sand (page 12)
Serote’s themes revolve around a passionate desire for recognition of one’s history; his imagery and simile are taken from the natural environment and animals, from current affairs- making references to African countries, sometimes making reference to Africa, the continent as if it is Africa, a country. His poetry seems to view the problems affecting one African country as a mirror image of another, as if he wants and is calling on all of Africa to see themselves as one, a unity that seems inevitable to the solving of Africa’s numerous problems. His poetry reflects the renaissance of black writing and black consciousness.
Serote’s poetry style is rich, unusually free verse style. His poetry style is more of a narrative and has a number of lines echoing a dialogue. The poet assumes a male in conversation with a female named Linda.
This dialogue enhances the intimate narrative style in some parts of the poems, giving the poems a sense of life, debate, interactive ideas and interactive speech. The dialogue allows the poet to articulate and share, through the lady voice of Linda, a different side and perspective to his thoughts and ideas.
His writing is also a very powerful politically educating weapon echoing messages for African renaissance. It is a welcome contribution to the literature and philosophy of African renaissance
