Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Poli Poli  By  cover art

Poli Poli

By: Barbara Masekela
Narrated by: Hlengiwe Lushaba-Madlala
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.35

Buy for $16.35

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Poli Poli is a remarkable history that speaks to African identity, close family bonds, belonging, struggle and sacrifice, women’s rights and femininity and is written with the lyricism and transporting detail of one of the country’s greatest wordsmiths.

Barbara Masekela powerfully conveys the realities of life under apartheid and illustrates the features and characteristics of life in a coal-mining community like KwaGuqa in the 1940s, Alexandra township in the 1950s and one of the oldest girls-only schools in KwaZulu-Natal, Inanda Seminary. The memoir follows her grandmother, a beer brewer and seller who lived through the aftermath of the South African War, her professional parents’ determination to secure opportunities and safety for their children at a time when the state was shutting doors on Black people, and her university stint in Lesotho and departure into exile to Ghana in 1963.

Poli Poli tells the story of an extraordinary South African and the lesser known social history of people, families, communities and places.

Barbara Masekela is a South African poet, educator, mother and activist. She served as ambassador to France and the US and has held various executive and non-executive directorships at companies such as Standard Bank, the SABC and De Beers.

©2021 Barbara Masekela (P)2021 Audible, Ltd

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen everywhere

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Reach your reading goals

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for $0.00 $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

What listeners say about Poli Poli

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lively and engaging narration

Lively, detailed autobiographical recall, A narrative that will endure as it joins the great classics of South African autobiography.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!