“Motho Ke Motho Ka Batho Babang

(A Person Is a Person Because of Other People)”

By Jeremy Cronin

One of the cells occupied by Nelson Mandela on Robben Island.

Photo by Stan Galloway. Please do not use without permission.

“Motho Ke Motho Ka Batho Babang” is found in The Lava of This Land, page 167.

Discussion Starters: How does the prison setting contribute to the message of this poem? What kind of prisoners do we assume these are? Why? Appearance and reality differ in this poem; explain how. Why is his work “slow-slow”?

More of Jeremy Cronin’s work can be found in this University of Cape Town site.

Created by Stan Galloway 11 January 2002. Last updated 14 January 2002. Send comments to sgallowa@bridgewater.edu.