A select group of
poets from South Africa and around the world will gather together for a week
showcasing the face of present day spoken word and storytelling at the 19th
Poetry Africa Festival. The festival takes place in Durban from October 12 to
17, 2015.
Hosted by the
University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, Poetry Africa provides
a space for intercultural exchange and dialogue by hosting an extensive
community outreach programme with poetry readings, performances and workshops
in community centres, campuses and also participate in a programme of visits to
schools across Durban to share ideas about poetry.
Evening poetry
readings and discussions will take place at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre
(Howard College) UKZN. The festival finale will take place on October 17 at the
Rivertown Beer Hall in Durban’s CBD, with a closing performance by soulful
singer Nakhane Touré.
This year’s
festival features 24 poets:
UK-based Kat
Francois is a comedienne, playwright, actress, performer, host, schools and
youth facilitator and a well‐known
performance poet both in her country and globally. Lebohang 'Nova' Masango, is a
Swedish-born writer, poet, activist, feminist and speaker, and UK-based Ghanaian
performance poet, writer and sociocultural commentator Nii Parkes.
From South Africa
comes the celebrated and prolific poet and actress Lebo Mashile, who was named
one of the Top 100 Africans by New African magazine; Lesego Rampolokeng the renowned hard-hitting South African
writer, playwright and performance poet; Aryan Kaganof a filmmaker, novelist,
poet and fine artist, who refers to himself as a project of African Noise
Foundation; Ntsiki Mazwai the outspoken and incendiary poet, writer and musician
and Thabiso ‘Afurakan’ Mohare one of the pioneers of the modern South African
spoken word scene.
KZN-based poets
include Africa Dlamini, a slam/spoken word poet who lives in Howick, Durban’s Celiswa
Majali whose novel entitled Imbali
yentombazanana is used by schools at grade 10 level in the Western Cape and
Gauteng Provinces. Also from Durban are Khanyi Shusha a diviner, performance
art poet, stylist, designer, facilitator, brown consciousness activist,
feminist and writer; Kwazi Ndlangisa a South African award-winning performance
poet, vocalist, creative writer and art activist; Matt Vend who is well-known
across South Africa for his poetically-driven songwriting, unique rhythmic
guitar playing and engaging live performances; Nokulunga Dladla who is a
passionate recording poetry artist and a storyteller as well as being an educator
in the Pinetown District; Nosipho Magcaba, a former “prelude poet” at the
festival, who returns this year to the main programme; Tshebeletso Mohale also
a former “prelude poet” at Poetry Africa 2014 who is lives and works in Durban;
Thando Fuze has twice been nominated for Best Female Performing Poet at the
Original Material Awards and Vus'umuzi Phakathi who is an award winning South
African poet, writer, performer, facilitator and producer.
Other featured
poets include Icebound Makhele a spoken word performer, writer, cultural
activist and events coordinator from Bloemfontein, Makhosazana Xaba the author
of two poetry collections and is a feminist activist with experience in women’s
health, philanthropy and the anti-apartheid struggle; Mbali Vilakazi the
award-winning South African poet, performer, curator and speaker, with a
dynamic style and collaborative experimental approach; Mthunzikazi Mbungwana a
poet, writer and storyteller from a small village of Upper Indwana in Cala in
the former Transkei; Mutle Mothibe has spent the last 15 years honing his
skills a writer and performer and is also an accomplished workshop facilitator
who regularly engages both learners and educators and Limpopo-born Vonani Bila who
is poet and musician, who has written eight story-books for newly literate
adult readers in Sepedi, Xitsonga and English.
The evening
sessions take place at 19h00 at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. Tickets R40 (R25
students/ pensioners at the door) can be purchased at Computicket or one hour
before the performance begins at the box-office.
Tickets for the
festival finale at Rivertown cost R70 (pre-sale or R80 at the door) and can be booked
through www.computicket.com
For more
information go to www.cca.ukzn.ac.za or like the Facebook page PoetryAfrica or follow
on Twitter @PoetryAfrica.
Presented by the Centre for Creative Arts
(University of KwaZulu-Natal) and made possible by support from the eThekwini
Municipality, KZN Department of Arts and Culture, National Arts Council and the
Goethe Institute. The Centre for Creative Arts is housed in the College of
Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is a special project of the
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cheryl Potgieter.
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