Mazisi Kunene

Mazisi Kunene
Born
Mazisi kaMdabuli Kunene

(1930-05-12)12 May 1930
Durban, South Africa
Died11 August 2006(2006-08-11) (aged 76)
Durban, South Africa
Alma materUniversity of Natal
OccupationPoet
Notable workEmperor Shaka the Great

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 organiser of the anti-apartheid movement in Europe and Africa. He later taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, and become Africa's and South Africa's first poet laureate.