Thabo Solomon Leholo uses words lyrically to lay his soul bare and express the power of truth in his debut poetry collection, The Broken Pieces of My Heart.
Shofar Books Publishing and Distribution has curated a collection of multilingual poems written by Leholo, spanning from 2014 and 2025. This compilation serves as a lyrical social commentary on South Africa’s history and present circumstances while expressing hope for the future, all interwoven with personally-crafted messages to his loved ones.
The book opens with “I wonder”, in which the 59-year-old poet from Strand reflects on what late anti-apartheid activists would think of South Africa now. He also questions whether the road the nation has taken has been well-worth the sacrifices made by anti-apartheid activists. Leholo grapples with the question here both personally and on behalf fellow freedom fighters.
Leholo was born in Rosemoor, George, and relocated to Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape as a 14-year-old high school learner looking for better educational opportunities. “The social conditions in George and how people were divided on racial lines influenced me.”
It is a theme he further explores in the poem “Wie is ek?“.
According to Leholo when he arrived in Sterkspruit he suddenly had to communicate in Xhosa, despite speaking Sotho and growing up surrounded by Afrikaans. It was this that informed his decision to write his poetry in English, Xhosa and Afrikaans.
“Language can divide us, and if we do not cross that barrier we will continue to think we speak certain languages only by virtue of background and heritage factors,”
explained Thabo Solomon Leholo
After completing high school he went to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to study law in 1985; it was where he found his voice. “At UWC I found a space to express my talents, interact with people from different organisations, political and Christian, exploring different ideologies.”
It was a time of much political firment, during which he became politically active, leading to his detention without trial by the apartheid regime. Leholo recounts this and the detaining of family members in “Yes! I am Black I am African” and “Their names were turned into numbers”.
After obtaining his degree, he began practising law in Stellenbosch, where he worked on human-rights cases, experiences that further shaped his poetry.
“As an attorney I witnessed the social ills of society, particularly in Stellenbosch in the early days of South Africa’s democracy.”
While reflecting on the country’s past, the book also confronts the present as Leholo criticises corruption and gender-based violence in South Africa as well as neocolonialism in Africa in poems such as “The beauty of my land”, “Tears and pain” and “Afrika, open your eyes”. He also highlights the continuing existence of racial divides in his statement poem, “The broken pieces of my land”. Through this anthology, which some may describe as largely melancholic, Leholo also honours his parents, the scenic beauty of George and the excitement he felt as a young anti-apartheid activist in the 1980s.
He writes about this in “There is life after the storm” and concludes the book on a hopeful note with “It is summer again”, expressing renewed optimism for South Africa’s future.
To purchase a copy of The Broken Pieces of My Heart, or for more information, call Leholo on 082 896 8483 or send an email to leholothabo@gmail.com.
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