Warriors and poets—warriors are poets—none more than Zulu warriors.
Gary Albyn is not a poet; he’s an imbongi —a warrior praise singer. Whilst urging the spirits of ever-present ancestor warriors to intercede with favor, the imbongi invokes deeds of daring and chivalry. As I read Albyn’s Izwi Lami, the voice I heard was not that of a poet but rather the deep primal sing-song voice of a traditional imbongi chanting the words of warriors and wild predators. I could hear the deep invocation of an assembled impi, intoning their approval. All that was missing was the smash of a thousand spear shafts against hardened leather shields—the rhythmic beat of a warrior pulse.
~ GG Marc Alcock
Author of Third World Child—Born White, Zulu Bred
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Gary Albyn has authored and ghost-written a number of books. He also puts his engineering background to good use as a professional technical writer. Originally from Rhodesia—Zimbabwe today—Albyn’s life-long passion for aviation started as a trainee pilot with the Rhodesian Air Force in the late 70s.
Learning how to survive in the African bush was an important aspect of his pilot training program, and he and his course mates were fortunate enough to be taught by the best—none other than one of the founding members of the legendary Selous Scouts. Highly regarded in contemporary military circles, many of the Selous Scouts' tactics are still emulated by Special Force units around the globe.
Imbued with a great sense of adventure, Albyn is an avid traveler whose life has encompassed many divergent interests, careers and experiences. Besides delighting in rotary flight, Albyn has held board-level appointments in the corporate world; served in the 2nd Gulf War as a coalition contractor; consulted with documentary crews on two continents and spent over three years as the senior instructor at one of the world’s foremost bodyguard academies in Cape Town, South Africa. As evidenced in Manzovo—his first acclaimed title—Albyn is also passionate about wildlife conservation. He lives with his wife Cathy in California, USA.