Sello Sa Serurubele (partially translated as “The Deep Lament of a Butterfly”) is a musical novella which employs fiction writing as a form of divination. It is the May-June 2024 edition, a predecessor to Happy Poison (March-April 2024).
Authored by Katlego Kganyago and edited by the UK based Kevin Moore, readers are promised an adaptation of the fiction journal soon. Kganyago gives us a chilling breakdown of the text:
“Few people think of the butterfly’s voice. What happens when she possesses musicians to decipher her deep lament? I have always been fascinated by butterflies and some consider them as spirit guides, cliché as it sounds. It is not some esoteric Butterfly Effect Theory but a way to bring mysticism back to pop culture.”
“I deliberately utilised easy to grasp, elementary school metaphors to communicate a simple concept of the fragility of queer people’s lives. Those precious butterflies that are endangered/trapped/killed in the ecosystem by so called poachers playing God, ruin nature’s cycle. We have learnt that in primary school science classes.”
“Through personifying the butterfly, I hope audiences will treat it as a human being wanting to be seen, loved and cherished for its beauty although it has oceans of tears I choose not to see. The symbolism of imagining a butterfly weeping changes you about its silence: alluding to the present day marginalisation and atrocities committed to queer people around the world. It may take years to change the butterfly’s deep lament to true tears of joy, and maybe hear her voice instead of being enchanted by her wings.”
Kganyago channels queer authors like Sello Kabelo Duiker (who turned a Heavenly 50th Birthday on April 13th) and musicians like 3SUM, as a device to comment on premonitions already painted by his idols to empower LGBTQIA+ creatives.
The story is inspired by real-life accounts of aspiring musicians who happen to be queer – with an end goal of capturing audiences through song and dance in the eclectic Amapiano Wave. 5 bold performers from all colours of the Rainbow Nation meet randomly at a popular music spot in the heart of Johannesburg. Fate and destiny are at play when they are urged to publish a spontaneous jam session on Tik-Tok, which catches fire overnight globally. It’s an inciting incident that sets their careers in motion given the competitive music industry. They are known as Dirurubele (Butterflies).
Narrated by an unknown deceased queer accountant who left an investment portfolio to fund art by LGBTQIA+ creatives, he has the privilege to dictate their legacy and extent of their success although he is not in the Earthly realm. An assigned executor of his estate has to follow instructions to elevate their equity in the music fraternity. Little did they know that the accountant is completing his post-humous PhD studies based on his research about “Facets of Queer Superstardom” at the time of his untimely death.
The pop group finds their musical identity in the middle of queer studies and the global emancipation of sexual minorities. Their superstar activism dismantles homophobia in hostile African countries and beyond. They actually make means to rescue LGBTQIA+ migrants to safer environments and the secret society is in formation.
“I have a lot of wonderful friends in the finance sector and as much as we don’t think we are interrelated, we are connected by an invisible thread. Being blind to that thread keeps on breaking us from collaborating, inventing systems and sharing collective visions. There is hope because there are pilot projects that are incubated currently, although unknown. A lot of positive underground societies are formed, although much is unknown about them.” Kganyago asserts.
There is no clear 3-Act Structure like the first issue which was bombarded with text and scenes galore. In this edition, poetry and music are used as a tool to emulate and weather the storms of narrative conventions. It is a hybrid fiction piece: half online copywriting metamorphosed in carefully curated content, half Tik-Tok reels enhanced by Amapiano moves, half-musical autobiography and a half-dose of SA pop culture where Afro-digital natives claim their iconography.
The biggest take from the 2nd issue is Kganyago’s call-to-action. As much as the world is interconnected by devices through apps etc.: how do we balance online activism efforts with “real-life community building?” A carefully crafted message permeates in Kganyago’s works without imposing what readers must do but can reflect on as it is Africa Month (May), followed by the climactic Youth Month (June).
Digital copies are R200 per issue, print copies are R400 per issue without subscription obligation. Please contact Katlego on +27 72 515 072 for interviews, discussions and any merchandise enquiries.
Thank you.
The KKG Blog Management
KKG 