I discovered Wopko Jensma in 1986 at the university library in Benin-City Nigeria. I could not tell if he was white or black. I did not think he was white but thought to myself: if this crazy guy is white! He is the best man - white or black in South Africa. It is easy in these days of Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama to forget the non-person status of blacks across the globe - even as recently as 1986!! "I must show you my clippings" - that was the book!! He inspired me to write. He told me through his work that I did not have to write prose as wonderfully as John Steinbeck or Wole Soyinka to want to be known as a writer. Fast fwd to the recently past present, I remembered my old friend and thought: "Hmmm, where's Ol' Wopko. Time to find out if he's white or black" I now worked in Oil & Gas and the Internet had since ceased being a fad - it was a 'part of life'. Wopko you must understand to my Nigerian ears sounded very much like WOKPO...
Sadly I found this out: "Artist and Poet, Wopko Pieter Jensma disappeared without a trace in 1993..." I think I might have known subconsciously that he was white - because there was a picture on the cover of one of his books that showed the "JENSMA MOTOR COMPANY' - none of the workers standing under the banner was black! Yes I must have known he was white – I think I knew deep down that he was white and loved him for being South Africa's best kept secret…
Goodbye Wopko. You inspired me. You did.
Don Kenobi
Author: “of gods and negroes”
Dk@myncnc.org
