#29: Phiwokuhle Mtana (FRM)

This week we welcome our first official FRM contributor (and familiar face), Phiwokuhle Mtana! They're here to tell us more about Talking Book (1972) by Stevie Wonder, Mango & Chilli Esprit, and more.

Phiwokuhle Mtana is an artist, writer and all-round student of life. Born in Pretoria, raised in the Eastern Cape and now navigating life back in Gauteng. Some of you may recognise them from The FRM Newsletter #23 – but now Professor P is officially joining our FRM team as a writer & contributor! They are a Sociology and Chinese Studies graduate, and now recently added Afrikan Feminism and Gender Studies to their roster. Being a jack of all traits no longer is enough for them – this is their time to master some.

We welcome them to The FRM Newsletter to share what they’ve been into recently.

👢🌃 Persia White as ‘Lynn’ in Girlfriends

The show is a wonder in terms of fashion, best ensemble dressing I've seen in a while and Lynn is everything I wanted to be as a child.

🎼 Talking Book (1972) by Stevie Wonder

Special mention goes to ‘Blame it on the Sun’.

🧩 Going outside and being receptive

I place a really high importance on how I can exercise my creative muscles and how often I can do it. The time I take to do a menial task like groceries, I try to be as present as possible because I might see a font on a truck that I love, might overhear a conversation or see an outfit and way of styling that I really like.

🍿 Shark Tale (2004)

!!! Martin Scorsese best role yet.

📙 The Sluts by Dennis Cooper

Not the easiet read because of the subject matter, but Cooper does a phenomenal job at reflecting the complexity of how we interact with one another and how we interact with our desires.

🧠 Sudoku

I haven't had a game other than sudoku on my phone since 2019. Amazing pattern recognition practice.

🧃 Mango and Chilli Esprit

I don't drink for the most part but my drink of choice is either a Black Label or this specific Esprit flavor. Mango and Chilli is such a beautiful pairing.

📹 ’Contact’ by Kelela (music video)

The music video is the 2023 Binz by Solange. Very sweet, sexy and playful.

🦞 Honesty and sincerity

Guilty pleasures don't need to be guilty pleasures. Irony is dead. Your brain can't process that something is ironic so eventually you develop an interest in said shameful – so just skip the ironic phase.