Becoming a vegetarian, obtaining his driver’s licence, finding a permanent job, welcoming his second daughter, and falling out of love were all ingredients to the success of self-published author Lindokuhle Mbuli’s book, Poems and Quotes. “Life has ups and downs and sharp bends, but it’s what you do after the flames that gives you something to talk about,” he says. His name, Lindokuhle, means waiting for all that’s beautiful in Nguni languages. He took four years to write his book and during that time, his lived and shared experiences shaped him and allowed him to bring his thoughts to life.
“I really owe everything I wrote in my book to everything I have lived through and what I have accomplished in my almost three decades of life,” he says.
Lindokuhle was born in Soweto but grew up in Mpumalanga where he started and finished his schooling journey.
Fresh out of university as an LLB graduate, he joined the City as a legal intern in Group Forensic and Investigation Service in 2018.
The next year, he became a permanent employee in the Speaker’s Office in the research unit of the legislature.
During that time, he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Research from the University of Johannesburg.
Lindokhule’s shift from law to research is backed by his passion for knowledge and always wanting to know more.
“I got my spiritual awakening at university. When I finished my LLB, I was tasked to research my family tree and I put it together in a month. We all collaborated and researched and managed to record seven generations before me.”
Lindokuhle says this convinced him that he had to own the research space. “During this time of learning a new trade, I also changed my diet and became a vegan. Now food is fuel.”
He says events in his life propelled him to put his thoughts on paper. “The birth of my second daughter brought me so much joy and, of course, it awoke in me words that were almost indescribable. However, falling out of love opened a completely different set of sentiments.”
He is a strong believer of archiving, whether it’s on paper or a digital file. And that’s exactly how his book came to be. Years of status updates, socially sharing thoughts and jotting down quotes resulted in his book.
“My book is 149 pages of my life in words. There are quotes that I have written on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. There are also poems I have written from my university and working days describing feelings of happiness, pain and a whirlwind of other emotions,” says Lindokuhle. Poems and Quotes was officially published in June 2022.
Lindokuhle says that it’s important to mention that he couldn’t have done it without colleagues, friends and fellow writers who cheered him on and gave valuable input to the final product.
“We are all writers with something to say. It’s just a matter of where you want to say it and how long you would like it to last,” he says.
Lindokuhle says he will continue to see the world as a huge canvas given to people by God. “I see myself as the Ace of arts trying to reach new frontiers through song, writing or other hidden talents. My advice to everyone is to try and fail but try you should.”
03/02/2023