On the Forum@8 we look at the life and times of Professor Mazisi Kunene. Professor Kunene was a South African poet and literary icon. He has published several books including poems and several articles on Zulu Philosophy and cosmology. Two of his best known works include Emperor Shaka the Great & Anthem of the Decades. He studied Zulu Literature at the University of Natal now known as the University of kwa Zulu Natal. He later won a scholarship to further his studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at London University. At the end of his studies he was appointed professor of African Literature and Languages at the University of California in Los Angeles. He was banned by the apartheid government in 1966 and spent 30 years in exile, returning in 1993. Upon his return, he was appointed Professor of Zulu language and Literature at the University of Natal. Professor Kunene died in 2006 at the age of 76 in Durban. Bongi Gwala speaks to the wife of the professor, Mathabo Kunene and Otty Nxumalo from the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Academic Department.