Participating poets have been announced for the
annual Poetry Africa Festival, hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s
Centre for Creative Arts (CCA), which takes place in Durban from October 7 to
12, 2019.
Celebrating its 23rd edition, the festival
features a host of local and international poets, at various venues and schools
around Durban, with opening night at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.
The six-day programme features interactions and
engagements with poets through campus and school visits, poetry exchanges, book
launches and evening performances at venues across Durban. Once again, the
festival includes the ever-popular Durban Slam Jam Competition, an open mic
session and the festival finale at the BAT Centre.
“Celebrating diversity, the festival includes
local South African and international poets from Egypt, the USA, Spain,
Ukraine, Mauritius and Nigeria,” says curator, Siphindile Hlongwa of the CCA.
‘This year we continue to celebrate women poets and cast our focus towards
fiery female poetic voices that use their art to mitigate the gender-based
abuse and violence that continues to plague the country.’’
Sixteen poets are in the line-up for the
festival. From Spain comes the prolific award-winning poet Guillem Gavalda
whose poetry has been translated into Spanish, English, Turkish and Greek. From
the USA, comes Haitian-born, Brooklyn-raised storyteller, Joel Francois who
tells stories of love, family, race and believes that the artist is the
“architect of humanity”.
Nadra Mabrouk from Cairo, Egypt, is the
recipient of the 2019 Brunel International African Poetry Prize and the 2019 Poets
& Writers Amy Award. Umar Timol is a Mauritian poet and photographer, who
has published four collections of poetry, two novels, articles in national and
international journals and he contributed to collective anthologies in
Mauritius and abroad.
(Left: Iryna Starovoyt)
Ukrainian Iryna Starovoyt is a poet, essayist
and Associate Professor of Cultural Studies at the Ukrainian Catholic
University, she co-edits the website "Ukraina moderna"
(uamoderna.com)
“The CCA and Poetry Africa have begun a
long-term exchange programme with Nigeria that looks to further the literary
and poetic connections between West and South Africa. At a time in South
Arica’s shameful xenophobic history, this exchange programme is part of, not
just a healing, but a celebration of our collective African identity. We
celebrate the unifying power of the spoken and written word,” says Hlongwa.
(Right: Efe Paul Azino)
This year the festival hosts five poets from
Nigeria as part of an exchange programme with the Lagos International Poetry
Festival (October 30 to November 3, 2019), West Africa’s first international
poetry festival. Its co-founder and director, Efe Paul Azino, will perform at
Poetry Africa this year. Titilope Sounga is an award-winning poet, writer and
performer who calls both Canada and Nigeria home. Tobi Abiodun is a poet and
spoken word artist who was born and raised in Benin City, who is a multiple
Slam Champion, holding titles in major Nigerian cities, including Lagos, Abuja
and Portharcourt. Bash’ Amuneni is a poet and performer whose works explores
humanity’s capacity for love. He is the author of the poetry collection There is a Lunatic in Every Town, a TEDx
speaker and member of the Abuja Literary Society.
Once long-listed as one of MTV’s Brand New
Artists, Writer and Poet, Yomi Sode has been performing for the past 10 years -
balancing the fine line between both Nigerian and British cultures that can be,
at times, humorous, loving, self-reflective and uncomfortable. His highlights
include opening for Saul Williams and The Last Poets, appearances at Yahoo!
Wireless Festival, Latitude, Lovebox, Olympic Village, Sadler’s Wells Theatre
and working with Channel 4 and BBC Radio 1Xtra.
(Left: Luleka Mhlanzi)
From South Africa comes Luleka Mhlanzi, a
performance poet, actress, creative writer and a youth activist who is
currently based in Pietermaritzburg.
Jolyn Phillips from the Western Cape, who
published Tjieng Tjang Tjerries and Other Stories, which was shortlisted for
the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Debut Prize for South African Literature
and won the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences Prize for
Best Fiction.
(Right: Jolyn Phillips)
Busiswe Mahlangu is a writer, performer and TEDx
Speaker from Mamelodi, Pretoria. Her work is hard-hitting and raw, holding
space for conversations around poverty, mental health, education, violence, and
healing. She is the founder of the Lwazilubanzi Project, a non-profit
organisation that focuses on literature and creating learning spaces in
townships and public schools.
Shashi Simelane (aka The Black Sash), is a
well-known and popular performance poet, rapper, writer and student based in
Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal.
Muriel Mokgathi-Mvubu known by her pen name
MoAfrika ‘a Mokgathi is a multifaceted artist, who describes herself as is “a
writer, author, poet, performer, actress, translator, cultural activist,
teaching artist, arts codes adjudicator, band leader, curator, award winning
radio presenter/producer and a serial civic leader”.
“Finally we are truly honoured to host the
legendary, award-winning poet, South African poet laureate and activist Mongane
Wally Serote, whose work has blazed a trail for many generations of poets,
demonstrating the true power of the word to effect change,” says Hlongwa.
The full programme for Poetry Africa can be
viewed on the website http://poetryafrica.ukzn.ac.za/. Tickets R60 (R40
pensioners and students) and can be purchased through Computicket.
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