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A few years ago, my mentor and editor at the time placed a book on my table with instructions to review it.
The book was by one Phumlani Pikoli whose work, I would soon discover, I would grow to love.
Ever since then I have kept an eye on the talented writer and so you can imagine our shock and dismay on receiving news of his passing this last Sunday.
The cause of his unexpected demise is still being investigated.
The 33-year-old Zimbabwean-born author and film maker penned such work as The Fatuous State of Severity (2018) and Born Freeloaders: A Novel (2019), which he invited us to his home to speak about.
READ: Are you ready for Phumlani Pikoli’s Born Freeloaders?
Pikoli was an interesting character, to say the least, but he carried himself like a man bearing the weight of the world.
Even when he spoke to us, he seemed like he was simultaneously pondering the world we live in and the difficulties this can present.
In his apartment in Killarney – where his body was discovered – he once welcomed us warmly.
The place was laden with works of art by famed artists such as Frida Kahlo.
Books by the likes of Gabriel García Márquez lay on a coffee table near an ashtray with a few cigarette stubs in it.
As cryptic as this writer may have been in person, that remains one of the more memorable interviews I have ever conducted.
READ: Book Review | Born Freeloaders by Phumlani Pikoli
His last book tackled the extremity of mental health issues.
The Fatuous State of Severity was also then adapted into an art exhibition, Occupying The Fatuous State of Severity, which showed at the TMRW gallery on Rosebank’s Keys Art Mile.
Even his books included illustrations by some of his favourite collaborators, giving his work an oddball feel, but more rebellious than quirky.
READ: Phumlani Pikoli takes on the elephant in the room
I recall that, after having visited the slightly eccentric writer, he called the next day to inquire whether or not his comments were coherent.
That didn’t stem from a place of simply having grown accustomed to being interviewed and locking into an auto-pilot state when dealing with the media.
With a short glance at any of his books, you could tell the problems of the world weighed heavily on the man.
He was at work adapting Born-Freeloaders into a film with the always-intrepid Kagiso Lediga.
Lediga told me he was still shocked.
“We were just talking about him now. I just met Phumlani over a year ago or maybe a bit earlier. He was just so easy to talk to and we were going to make such a cool thing… then he’s out. I’m still processing it man.”
The two were communicating via text as recently as last week.
Lediga described him as a fresh energy that is now no longer in the mix – which is something he’s still trying to wrap his head around.
The multihyphenate Pikoli had already tried his hand at film with projects.
Colourless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously was his latest, with an ensemble of artists in the disciplines of still and moving visuals.
The pain of the world has been alleviated for the celebrated writer and although his family and parents, Girlie and Vusi Pikoli (former National Prosecuting Authority head), are left distraught, we are still fortunate enough to have the work he left behind.
I will always be grateful to Pikoli who, during my internship as a young writer, included a quote from my book review on the cover of Born Freeloaders.
This past weekend will be remembered as one of great loss. Dr Sindi van Zyl, Anele Tembe, American rapper DMX and now Phumlani Pikoli.
The Pikoli memorial service will be held on Wednesday and the funeral is planned for Friday.
In the next few hours, we will have details of how you can go about paying your respects
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