Seventy-two poets from 21 countries are gearing up to descend on Durban, Johannesburg and Bloemfontein for the 28th Poetry Africa Festival.
The annual event will take place over 10 days in different provinces.
From October 3 to 5, it will be staged at the University of Johannesburg’s Arts and Culture Centre.
It will then move to Bloemfontein at the Performing Arts Council of Free States (PACOFS) on October 7 and 8. The final stop is Seabrooke Theatre at Durban High School from October 10 to 12.
The festival will feature spoken word and published poets in performances and dynamic engagements, which include panel discussions, campus and school visits, poetry exchanges, book launches, open mic sessions and a slam jam competition.
This year’s theme, Poetry: Somehow We Survive, draws from Denis Brutus's powerful work. It promises to be a profound celebration of resilience, culture and artistic expression.
The late South African poet, activist, educator and journalist was born in Harare (then Salisbury) and died in 2009 in Cape Town, at the age of 85.
He survived being shot by the apartheid police as well as imprisonment alongside Nelson Mandela on Robben Island and in exile.
Despite his adversities, Brutus continued to write. He published a dozen poetry anthologies, including “Sirens, Knuckles and Boots” in 1963.
His collection Somehow We Survive from 1982, was used as praise poetry to honour the tenacity and resiliency of South Africans.
Poetry Africa festival curator Siphindile Hlongwa explained: “This year’s festival borrows from Brutus’s clarion call to inspire poets to write as a response to the survival of the human spirit and its resilience to the constantly changing political, social and technological changes that impact our lives.”
This year, artist, musician, writer and poet, Lefifi Tladi, is the festival’s featured guest.
Hlongwa added that they are proud to honour the celebrated artist who played an important role in the rise of the Black Consciousness movement.
“Tladi’s work embodies the very idea of self-determination and thriving despite the odds. Something he continues to do and one of his many attributes that will be honoured at the festival.
“His multidisciplinary approach to art has resulted in the creation of paintings, sculptures, music, and, of course, poetry. He is one of many poets on the program who bring their multiple lives and a myriad of disciplines to their work.”
Among the festival drawcard is a Trinidad-born poet and visual artist, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor.
The acclaimed writer has authored seven collections of poetry, including “Mama Phife Represents”, a verse memoir about the life of her son, and hip hop legend Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor.
Others include:
Nigerian architect, storyteller and performance poet, Bash Amuneni.
Amuneni is listed among the ten most influential performance poets in Nigeria and local poetry enthusiasts get to hear his style and how his abiding interest in humanity’s expression of love impacts his work.
Allia Abdullah-Matta, a poet and English professor at CUNY LaGuardia.
Abdullah-Matta will share her work, which addresses the culture and history of black women, black bodies and voices in fine art and poetry, from the USA.
Italian poet, writer, narrator, musician and director of the Genoa International Poetry Festival, Parole Spalancate, Claudio Pozzani.
Pozzani’s poems have been translated and published in more than ten languages.
He has also produced poetry and music collections and published two novels.
South African poetry champions Dr Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, Uhuru Phalafala, Vangile Gantsho and Makhosazana Xaba, will also be celebrated.
De Villiers’s work has been published in several quintessential anthologies, including “New Daughters of Africa”, “Yellow Means Stay”, and “Relations”, while Xaba has published four collections of poetry, the most recent being “The Art of Waiting for Tales: Found Poetry from Grace”.
Tickets range from R1700 to R3600 and can be purchased though Webtickets.
The full Poetry Africa programme can be viewed at poetryafrica.ukzn.ac.za.
Texas to South Africa - A tribute to the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Dan Patlansky
Good Trouble, a renowned local Durban band, will take to the stage to pay tribute to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan and local blues icon Dan Patlansky.
The group are composed of guitarists Andre Adkins and Connor Jensen, bassist Lucian Young and drummer Matthew David.
“Catch the soulful melodies and electrifying energy of Good Trouble as they revive the spirit of blues rock on stage,” a statement read.
Where: The Rhumebelow Theatre.
When: Friday, September 27, until Sunday, September 29.
Cost: Tickets cost R200 and are available through Webtickets.