“I would like to contribute through my writing to the development, appraisal and proper documentation of South African arts and culture,” he says of his beat.
His career started in 1996 with contributions to the Homeless Talk newspaper. He wrote on issues such as housing and at the same time published his poetry.
It was poetry that had served as an introduction to arts journalism. He lived in East London for a while, and after he returned to Johannesburg in 1995 he tried to publish poetry he had accumulated in the desolate, tranquil surroundings of the Eastern Cape. Upon being advised that he would struggle to make a living out of poetry, he broadened his scope.
“I realised that there were no authentic black voices in arts, so I tried [arts journalism],” he recalls.
His work has since appeared in a range of publications including Tribute and Big Issue magazines, the Sowetan Sunday World, online publications Rage and Jhb Live and the Mail & Guardian.
The focus of his work remains visual arts but his repertoire has grown to include virtually all facets of arts and culture.
From previewing open-air jazz gigs and reviewing theatre, to analysing books, he has the ability to interpret the abstract.
His talent was honed by spending time with artists such as David Kolwane and Sam Nhlengethwa; a period during which he was exposed to the mentorship he believes is desperately needed in newsrooms. He says: “Writers must be taught responsibility to the artists, the readers and themselves.”
Ka Mathe also works as a documentary researcher and media trainer. His television work includes writing the documentary Long Street and directing Street Lives. In 1999 he was a contributor to Of Money, Mandarins and Peasants and his work has also appeared in the Mail & Guardian Bedside Book.
Has he ever encountered what he can call artistic brilliance? Well, it happened when he spent days
interviewing 65-year-old sculptor and artist Duran Setlale. That review, he believes, “came from deep inside me”. Yet he maintains that the best is yet to come.