Poetry Africa Festival announces dates, theme and tour

The theme for the 26th Poetry Africa International Festival is: ‘Poetic (In)Justice: Voices That Breathe, Move and Transform’, and the festival is an ode to the depth of perspective that poetry affords us in seeing and articulating (in)justice.

On October 6, the festival will present What’s a Woman’s Worth?, featuring Philippa Yaa De Villiers, Lebo Mashile, Roche Kester, Vangile Gantsho, Nomashenge and Belita Andre. It is a first-of-its-kind focus on women-by-women performance and a cross-generational probing into the vast spectrum of degradation to the celebration that determines the worth of a woman. 

Read more… Berea Mail

impepho press is pre-launching an early sniff at The Frightened by Lethokhule Msimang. Come and meet our new author.

@PoetryAfrica
#NoSmokeWithoutAStory

LAUNCH of our new title!

Yesterdays and Imagining Realities: An Anthology of South African Poetry is a dance between bright sparks of hope and dark ties to histories. The poems – chosen from nearly 400 submitted in a call out by the French Institute of South Africa – show a connection to a multitude of historical worlds. This in turn creates connections to numerous imaginings of today and tomorrow. The poems range across languages, giving room for accurate expressions of South Africa as a country. Poems of complicated, powerful women weave through the pages. Personal tragedy sits alongside personal triumph, with poems to the country and the continent weaving between the two. This anthology speaks to all the complexity and spirit of this country, in the country’s own voices.

This anthology is produced through the continued poetry partnership between the French Institute of South Africa and impepho press, with the support of Total SA.

in the days after you left, the emptiness became our government. we owned a single mattress. we belonged to the floor. to the blunt charity of sleep.

From you are here by Sarah Lubala

Betony Adams: INGRID AND THE SEA

Connor Cogill: CONTINENT WITHOUT A NAME

Stephen Devereux: 2020

Stephen Devereux: A SIMPLE REQUEST

Michael Fridjhon: AN OLD MATADOR COUNSELS A YOUNG TOREADOR AGAINST REMAINING IN THE PROFESSION

Meshalini Govender: “FROM WHERE? 

Busisiwe Mahlangu (@busimahlangu) : I WEAR MOTHER’S BONES

Nedine Moonsamy: CANCER HAS A COLOUR

David Schmidt: DOOR OF NO RETURN

Melissa Sussens: A NEW VETERINARIAN SPENDS A COMPULSORY YEAR WORKING AT A SLAUGHTERHOUSE

 S/O to the jidges: Saaleha Idrees Bamjee, Uhuru Portia Phalafala, Meg Vandermerwe.

Tolu Agbelusi and vangile gantsho discuss poetry and their poetic practice in the second of a short series of ‘poets in conversation’.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poets-in-conversation-tolu-agbelusi-and-vangile-gantsho-tickets-137421618761

impepho press brought you so many beautiful poems this year. this is how we continue to survive this time of breathlessness… through poetry

#InPoetryWeHope a Virtual World Poetry Day

Women of Words Festival (day 1)

Women of Words Festival (day 2)

And don’t forget to check out our Youtube page  for the 21 Days 21 Poets (make that over 40 poets) Lockdown companion…Yep! 

Stay Safe! 
#InPoetryWeHope
#NoSmokeWithoutAStory

#PoetryAfrica2020 #MeetThePoets

Sarah Godsell (@sdgodsell) is a historian, poet, healer, mother, and activist.. She lectures History at the Wits School of Education, where she is privileged to work with the next generations of brilliant students who will be South Africa’s teachers. She obtained her PhD in History in 2015 from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has two volumes of poetry published: Seaweed Sky (2016) by Poetree Publications, and Liquid Bones (2018) by impepho press. She is co-chair of the Wits School of Education transformation committee, and co-champion of the WSoE decolonisation research garden. She believes in collectively building a better world, and though often pulled down, constantly chooses up.

Catch her on Wednesday the 14th of Oct 2020 – 7pm at this year’s 24th edition of Poetry Africa.

#poetryafrica2020 #poetry4socialchange

Stream for free here at 5pm today:

https://bokmassan.se/programs/joburg-literature-special-hear-my-voice/

or here: https://bokmassan.se/programs/bodies-under-siege-spoken-word-musik-fran-sydafrika

This is one for the history books.

Thank you so much to the following entities for making this production possible Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria, Olof Palme International Center, The South African State Theatre, Ramus, National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC), Rum för poesi på Bokmässan Play, Bokmässan Göteborg

Source: Hear My Voice