So… When Justice Cameron says our work is beautiful and that he is thankful for the craft and our contribution to it… Ja no shame… Would it be embarrassing to admit how incredibly cool that felt!!!
#fortheloveofpoetry
A bit about Danai Mupotsa
Meet: Dr Danai Mupotsa
Danai Mupotsa was born in Harare, and
has lived in Botswana, the United States
and South Africa where she is now based.
She describes herself as a teacher and
writer. feeling and ugly, was largely written
between 2016 and 2018, although some
of the poems were written earlier or
previously published in some form.
The collection gathers the various
statuses and locations she moves across,
as daughter, mother, teacher, scholar and
writer. From these places, many of the
poems try to approach difficult feelings
about what it means to “do politics” from
an empathetic complexity. “I’m raging,
sometimes that makes me petty” is one
such example. The collection carries a
set of standpoints, or wilfulness about
pedagogy, politics and optimism. And
while she carries an attachment to a
non-reparative, or negative affect across
the collection,
she closes in
describing the
work, or all of
her work as love
poems. This
collection is a
long love letter
to those who
are wilful.
#WomxnMonthSho_case
Source: @CSofPoetry
Poetry Potion ~ books of the last three years – we’re in there!
Poets are disrupting. Poking power in the eye and laughing at rules and borders.
http://www.poetrypotion.com/31-poetry-collections-that-you-should-probably-read/
PEN SA interviewed Vangile Gantsho
“I, for one, have always been interested in telling African stories. And from there, I became obsessed with Africans owning African stories” – @Vangi22 from @impephop said in a recent interview with PEN SA.
Read more here: http://bit.ly/2WAedph
vangile gantsho’s riot
red cotton is a poetic canvas made out of a collection of experiences that define the lives of black women trying to survive what activist Wanelisa Xaba calls “post apartheid – apartheid” or the angst of being free only in words. Very little has changed in South Africa and it is black women who often bear the brunt.
A girl, a large plate,
Seven children each with spoons
Only she is left hungry.
Source: TheJournalist.org
http://www.thejournalist.org.za/books/vangile-gantshos-riot#.XKFCUGbUxxc.twitter
Bridge Books, Maboneng
#NoSmokeWithoutAStory
Bridge Books, down at Maboneng, has a little display going. 🙂
ArtsVark: Poet Busisiwe Mahlangu performs ‘Surviving Loss’
On 1 and 2 March 2019, the award-winning author and published poet Busisiwe Veronica Mahlangu will take audiences through the survival journey of a young black woman from Mamelodi in a poetry production titled ‘Surviving Loss’, adapted from the eponymous book, to be performed at the South African State Theatre.
Read more: https://artsvark.co.za/poet-busisiwe-mahlangu-performs-surviving-loss/
Wombwell Rainbow compliments red cotton
Wombwell Rainbow says, “I admire so many poets, so it’s difficult to narrow that down. I’m going to take this space to recommend someone your readers might not have heard of. Her name is Vangile Gantsho, I met her in South Africa a few years ago, she is a phenomenal poet and has also co-founded a new pan-African feminist press called impepho press.” Order red cotton at AfricanBooksCollective.com or getinfo@impephopress.co.za
Gorata Chengeta’s (re-)view of ‘feeling and ugly’ by danai mupotsa
The other day, a friend posted a picture of her copy of feeling and ugly on Instagram, with the caption “Companion”. I thought it was uncanny that hours earlier, I had thought about posting a picture of my copy with the exact same caption.
*
feeling and ugly is the first poetry book I have ever owned. I keep it by my bed, just in case. I don’t know what the emergency will be but I want to be prepared.
Read more on gorata chengeta
Books Live ~ Interviewing Vangile Gantsho
Carla Lever: It’s hard to break into South Africa’s very small publishing industry. You’ve proven that going it alone can be a great solution, by self-publishing your own very successful book of poetry. Can you tell us a little about what that involves?
Vangile Gantsho: My debut poetry collection, Undressing in front of the window (2015), taught me that no one will willingly open doors for you. You have to knock, or break the doors down yourself. And in order to do that, you must always be willing to learn. Self-publishing requires more than just raising funds. You still need a good team. And it’s not an easy process. It’s difficult, expensive work…but fortunately also deeply rewarding!
