(Poets from Kenya, New
Zealand, Canada, Ghana & Switzerland)
Each performance was
powerful, unique, and carried a weight and sincerity … (Review by Shannon
Kenny)
Closing ceremony: 30th Poetry Africa and 5th World Poetry Slam Championship Finals 2026 - The Playhouse Drama Theatre - Friday October 9, 2026
The Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) at UKZN, is once again deserved of every commendation for hosting an international celebration of the word and the wordsmiths who challenge, exhort, hold up mirrors, offer fresh perspectives and give life to ideas that carry memory, speak truth and spark joy!
Fittingly, the speakers who introduced the evening’s proceedings spoke of the Poet’s place in society. Outgoing Director of the CCA, Ismail Mahomed, observed that poets and audiences throughout the festival were in agreement: "we need a better world and Artists play an important role in shaping that better world.”
Katrin Kirsch of the German Embassy - a Poetry Africa partner - shared that the art of poetry is a celebration of Cultural Heritage and Language - and how vital poetry is for the development of Language. Importantly, it is “what we use to understand the space between us.”
National Arts Council (another partner) member and poet, Zolani Mkiva spoke of poets as “Prophets of Possibilities.”
(Left: Lex LaFoy & Torsten Clear)
After Hammarsdale band, Khabza de Khabza, set the tone for
the evening with a short set of their original music, Durban poets, Lex La Foy
and Torsten Clear Rybka took to the stage to compere the culmination of the
week’s slam contests: The World Poetry Slam Championship Final.
The top 10 poets representing their countries in the final were Satoshi Nakauchi (Japan); Soyo Vi Zibo (Ghana); Dennis Mwangi Gachie (Kenya); Karelys Gissette Rios Santana (Puerto Rico); Maya Bassude (Canada); Valerio Moser (Switzerland); Ariatne Sarai Ruiz de Chavez de los Santos (Mexico); Zewande Bhengu (South Africa); Some Sankar Louis Rodolphe (Burkina Faso); and Teirangi Klever (New Zealand).
Poems were variously poignant, hilarious and challenging – mining themes such as motherhood and family; gender and climate change; power and belonging; economic exploitation and racism; history and heritage; love and loss; grief and joy. The personal and the political were probed, stretched and rent apart; and reconstituted in words and worlds both real and surreal, with humour and pathos. Each performance was powerful, unique, and carried a weight and sincerity that touched and moved the audience to applaud with finger snaps, vocal cheers, claps and standing ovations. Subtitles to all the poems were projected on the large screen to accommodate the linguistically-diverse audience.
Judges Xabiso Villi of South Africa, Ubah Cristina Farah of Italy and Nanda of Gabon had the mammoth task of whittling down the line-up of 10 to a penultimate 5 and finally the top 2 runners-up and a World Poetry Slam champion.
An interlude to allow for the judges’ deliberations meant we were treated to poetry from Zimbabwean duo, Sox the Poet and Starlight. Torsten Clear, Page Ngwenya and Khwezi (South Africa); Zipporah (USA).
The Drama Theatre at the Playhouse was alive with an audience of artists and supporters of the Arts, eager to shape a better world, celebrate our individual and shared cultures, bridge divides and speak to possibilities as yet not realised.
The shortlist of five included Dennis Mwangi Gachie of Kenya; Soyo Vi Zibo of Ghana; Maya Bassude of Canada; Valerio Moser of Switzerland and Teirangi Klever of New Zealand.
(Right: Champion Valerio
Moser)
Poems and poets were adjudicated for their delivery and for the quality of their poems. Competition was close (and yes, disclaimer, competition and I share a fractious relationship). Ultimately, the judges’ final decision had Maya Bassude of Canada and Dennis Mwangi Gachie of Kenya in third and second place, respectively. Valerio Moser of Switzerland took the 2026 Championship.
Significantly, Dr Philip Meersman, Belgian poet and scholar, and president of the World Poetry Slam Organization was given a special mention for his consistent championing, support and mentorship through successive editions of the World Poetry Slam Championship across the globe.
Sphindile Hlongwa handed over the curator’s baton – in the form of a handmade woven basket – to poet and curator, Yuri Miki who will be hosting the 2027 World Poetry Slam in Japan. (Solly Ramatswi will represent South Africa at the World Poetry Slam Championship in Japan in 2027.) There was a beautiful moment when Yuri asked to rather speak in Japanese because her English was faltering. There was a resounding YES from the audience – and while we did not understand every word, there was a depth of feeling that went beyond words.
(Left: Yuri Miki)
The irony of the evening was not lost on any of us, either. We were ensconced in a theatre with people from around the globe – from six continents – who were in agreement that we were better for the fact that we were together, in community, bringing our diverse experience; exchanging and engaging with the highs and lows of our shared Humanity; listening, including, wrestling with the difficult and awkward with empathy and a desire to know, understand, push boundaries and grow.
While outside on Anton Lembede Street, the protests across the CBD and eThekwini Metro – both peaceful and violent – spoke to an entirely different set of wills and desires.
And still, hope was alive in that theatre. In my conversations with poets from South Africa and abroad, as we broke bread and drank wine (and Stoney and water), there was an even greater sense of urgency to be in the words of one of the speakers on opening night, “soldiers who shoot through words.” We would change society by speaking truth to pain and to power and ultimately transform what was happening outside from the inside – by touching hearts and minds, showing a better way.
Poetry Africa and The Playhouse security staff handled the situation with aplomb and we were able to leave the theatre in safety, with joy and hope in our hearts.
When I asked a poet from West Africa how they felt the day after Poetry Africa, they shared that friends and colleagues in their home country had expressed reservations about their journey here. This poet had been part of the slam championship, is a writer, a teacher, a scholar and had conducted workshops with school children and other young poets here in eThekwini Metro. They then explained how eager they were to go back home and report that while some of their apprehensions were founded, that they could speak to an experience of South Africa that was welcoming, embracing and enriching – and that they were inspired and eager to return.
(Left: Sphindile Hlongwa)
Kudos to Festival Curator, Sphindile Hlongwa, and her team who deserve their flowers – big, gorgeous bouquets!
Thank-you to the participating poets, musicians, facilitators, administrators, cleaning staff, caterers, security personnel, partner organisations, hotels and audiences for growing and enriching our corner of the world. – Shannon Kenny
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