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13th Poetry Africa - 5 to 10 October 2009
 
13th Poetry Africa - 5-10 October 200
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POETRY AFRICA 2009

Programme
Festival Catalogue PDF
Programme Flyer PDF
Participant Biographies
Legendary Poet for Poetry Africa
Poetry Africa Festival History
Previous Participants

13th POETRY AFRICA

International Poetry Festival


Durban : 5 – 10 October 2009

5 to 10 October promises to be a stirring week of words, rhymes, performance and ideas, as the 13th Poetry Africa international poetry festival ignites Durban with poetry from around South Africa, Africa, and the world. Hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Centre for Creative Arts, Poetry Africa's intensive week-long programme kicks off with a pre-festival showcase of Durban-based poets at The Workshop Shopping Centre's Amphitheatre on 4 October at 11h00. The poets performing at the showcase were chosen from a week-long open audition held at the Centre for Creative Arts. Some of the selected poets will also perform curtain-raising poems on three separate evenings at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre as well as battle it out for the Durban SlamJam crown on 10 October at the BAT Centre. The festival week encompasses introductory performances by the full lineup of participating poets at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on Opening Night, 5 October. Opening Night will also include a Keynote Address by legendary Malawian writer and poet David Rubadiri (Malawi). The week will thereafter feature 4 poets every evening, through to 4 October, before the perennially rousing Festival Finale at the BAT Centre on 10 October.

The festival's trademark eclectic mix of poetic voices, styles, forms, and cultures includes comedian-slammer Nina Kibuanda (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Kibuanda, who is also an actor, makes the connections between theatre, musicality and poetry explicit in his electrifying performances. The lineup from Africa also includes Poetry Africa returnee Susan Kiguli (Uganda), who last performed in Durban in 2000. Kiguli, an academic and widely recognized as one of the most important poets in East Africa, combines startling lyrical ability with an utterly compelling performing voice. Odia Ofeimun from Nigeria has published numerous celebrated collections of hard-hitting and astute poetry with political bite. Tania Tomé (Mozambique) is a provocative performer, singer and poet who instills a sense of theatre into her poetry. Malawian singer and poet Chigo Gondwe is an “ethno-urban-hiphop-soul-poetess” who revels in promoting the positive aspects of the Africa continent. Leading Zimbabwean protest-poet Outspoken, together with his band the Essence, will be rhyming truth to power as the Festival's closing night act on Saturday, 10 October at the BAT Centre.

The strong South African lineup this year includes poet and novelist Mogane Wally Serote, one of the true giants of South African literature. Serote, the winner of numerous local and international awards including the Ingrid Jonker Poetry Prize, the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa and Pablo Neruda Award from the Chilean government, was a key Black Consciousness poet who in 1969 was arrested by the apartheid government under the Terrorism Act. Poet, writer, and playwright Lesego Rampolokeng is perhaps one of the most influential contemporary poets in South Africa. His bitter-sweet and complex writing and performing forms a radically incisive alternative soundtrack to post-apartheid South Africa.

Jennifer Ferguson, one of South Africa 's national treasures, is a multi-award winning performer, composer, poet, and classically trained pianist. She also served as an ANC MP in South Africa 's first democratic National Parliament. Ferguson, who now divides her time between South Africa and Sweden, worked during apartheid as both a protest singer-songwriter and as a Cultural Activist serving on the South African Musician's Alliance (SAMA)'s Cultural Desk. It was during this time that her songs were banned, concerts tear gassed, and she faced intimidation from the South African Security Branch.

Sindiwe Magona is best known as a prolific and multi-award winning author of plays, novels, a memoir, and educational books. Poetry Africa is pleased to be able to launch Magona's first poetry collection, the poignant Please, Take Photographs (Modjaji Books), during the festival. Loftus Marais's stunning debut collection of poems, Staan in die algemeen nader aan vensters has been received with universal acclaim and won both the Eugenè Marais Prize and the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize. Ewok, a two-time Poetry Africa SlamJam champion and a well-known face in Durban's theatre, hiphop and slam scenes, is arguably the finest slam poet in the country and injects his rapid-fire bursts of poetry with ingenious wit and political and social impact. Liesl Jobson, an established voice in the South African poetry and literary scene, last year published two exceptional collections, View from an Escalator (poems) and 100 Papers (prose poems and flash fiction), both awash with humor, tenderness and insight. Bongani Mavuso is a poet, radio presenter, and senior producer at Ukhozi FM and has been writing and reciting his urgent and socially conscious poetry for over twelve years, publishing numerous anthologies of Zulu poetry along the way. Mavuso will also launch his latest anthology, Zibuyela Ezimpandeni (Shuter and Shooter) during the festival.

Anindita Sengupta is a dynamic emerging voice in Indian poetry and her vivid, humanistic poems are bound to impress. Ilyas Tunç is a poet and translator whose resonant poetry is spread over numerous celebrated collections. Tunç has a strong South African connection and has finished work on a mammoth anthology of contemporary South African poetry in Turkish translation. Some of his own poems have also been translated into Afrikaans and Zulu.

Saturday, 10 October sees a full day of activities at the BAT Centre, which includes poetry workshops, open mic opportunities, the Durban SlamJam all culminating with the Festival Finale on Saturday night. Apart from the evening performances at the Sneddon and the BAT, a packed daily programme includes performances, seminars, workshops, poetry competitions, and school visits.

The full programme of activities, plus participant bios and photos, is available on www.cca.ukzn.ac.za Enquiries to 031-260 2506 or 031-260 1704 Tickets at computicket 011 340 8000/ 083 915 800

Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), the 13th Poetry Africa festival is supported by the Department of Arts and Culture, Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (HIVOS), National Arts Council, French Institute of South Africa, Pro-Helvetia Arts Council of Switzerland, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, African Synergy Book Café and the City of Durban.

-ends

For Media Queries Contact Sharlene Versfeld

Tel: 031-8115628
Fax: 0866827334
Email: sharlene@versfeld.co.za

General queries Enquiries to 031-260 2506 or 031-260 1704 cca@ukzn.ac.za

 

Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), the

Participant Biographies    

Ewok (South Africa)
Jennifer Ferguson (South Africa)
Chigo Gondwe (Malawi)
Liesl Jobson (South Africa)
Nina Kibuanda (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Susan Kiguli (Uganda)
Sindiwe Magona (South Africa)
Loftus Marais (South Africa)
Bongani Mavuso (South Africa)
Odia Ofeimun (Nigeria)
Outspoken (Zimbabwe)

Lesego Rampolokeng (South Africa)
David Rubadiri (Malawi)
Anindita Sengupta (India)
Mongane Wally Serote (South Africa)
Tania Tomé (Mozambique)
İlyas Tunç (Turkey)

Poetry Africa 2009 Programme of Activities
Programming subject to change
PDF of Programme available here  
   
Sunday 4th October

Pre-festival Showcase

11h00-13h00

Durban Poetry Street Session: Ewok, Bongani Mavuso, Baxolile Dimane, Nokulunga Dladla, Sarah Frost, Busiswa Gqulu, Isishimane, Nandi Khumalo, Nompilo Malinga, Rudolph Mokoena, Sihle Qwashuqwashu, Phephelani Zondi – Workshop Amphitheatre, Workshop Shopping Mall, Pine Street. Tel: 031 260 2506

POETRY AFRICA 2009
Monday October 5 2009 - Opening Night

  Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre
19h30 Host: Peter Rorvik, Centre for Creative Arts
  Keynote Speaker: David Rubadiri (Malawi)
 

Presentation of participating poets:

 
 
 

Ewok (South Africa), Jennifer Ferguson (South Africa), Chigo Gondwe (Malawi), Liesl Jobson (South Africa), Nina Kibuanda (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Susan Kiguli (Uganda), Sindiwe Magona (South Africa), Loftus Marais (South Africa), Bongani Mavuso (South Africa), Odia Ofeimun (Nigeria), Outspoken (Zimbabwe), Lesego Rampolokeng (South Africa), Anindita Sengupta (India), Mongane Wally Serote (South Africa), Tania Tomé (Mozambique), İlyas Tunç (Turkey)

Tuesday October 6 2009
AM

Schools Visit

10h00 – 12h00 Poetry Exchange: Jennifer Ferguson, Susan Kiguli, Lesego Rampolokeng, Mongane Wally Serote - Luthuli Museum, 3233 Nokukhanya Luthuli Street, Groutville. Tel: 032 559 6822

12h30 - 14h00

Poetry Performance: Anindita Sengupta, Odia Ofeimun – Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre, B25 Giya Road, B-Section, KwaMashu. Tel: 031 504 6970

12h00 – 12h45

Poetry Africa Campus Invasion: Chigo Gondwe, Bongani Mavuso – Fountain, Main Campus, Mangosuthu University of Technology. Tel: 031 260 2506

  13h00 – 13h45

Poetry Africa Campus Invasion: Outspoken, Nina Kibuanda – Howard College Campus, Food Court, UKZN.

  Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre
 
 

18h45 - 19h15

Book Launch - Wellington Tavern Deck
Please, Take Photographs:
Sindiwe Magona, Modjaji Books
   

 
 


19h30 Host: Zuki Vutela
 

• Durban Showcase Poets: Busiswa Gqulu & Rudolph Mokoena
• Liesl Jobson (South Africa)
• Sindiwe Magona (South Africa)
• Ilyas Tunç (Turkey)
• David Rubadiri (Malawi)

   
 
Wednesday 7 October
  AM

Schools Visit

10h30 - 12h00

Poets Talk Poetry: David Rubadiri, Mongane Wally Serote – English Department Boardroom, Memorial Tower Block, Howard College Campus, UKZN. Tel: 031 260 2334

11h00 - 11h30 Poetry Africa Campus Invasion: Ewok, Tania Tomé – LC002, Steve Biko Campus, Durban University of Technology. Tel: 031 260 2506
  11h15 – 12h30

Poets in Media: Odia Ofeimun, Ilyas Tunç - Department of Journalism, City Campus, Room 149, Durban University of Technology. Tel 031 203 6614

  12h00 – 14h00

Community Writing Forum: Anindita Sengupta, Liesl Jobson - Nelson Mandela Youth Centre, Chatsworth Circle Road, Chatsworth. Tel: 031 401 4191/083 981 3506

  13h00 – 14h00

Poets in Dialogue: Lesego Rampolokeng, Loftus Marais, Tania Tomé - ICESA City Campus, 35 Field Street Tel 031 307 4008 /307 7071

14h00 – 16h00

Zwakala! Mazisi Kunene Poetry Showcase: Bongani Mavuso, Sindiwe Magona - Sipho Gumede Hall, BAT Centre. Tel: 031 332 0451

15h00–15h45

Poetry Africa Campus Invasion: Chigo Gondwe, Outspoken - Asoka Theatre, Westville Campus, UKZN. Tel: 031 260 2506

 
  Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre


18h45 - 19h15 Book Launch - Wellington Tavern Deck -
Zibuyela Ezimpandeni: Bongani Mavuso, Shuter and Shooter
     
19h30 Host: Ewok

 


 

• Durban Showcase Poets: Sarah Frost & Sihle Qwashuqwashu
• Loftus Marais (South Africa)
• Odia Ofeimun (Nigeria)
• Susan Kiguli (Uganda)
• Jennifer Ferguson (South Africa)

   
Thursday 8 October
  AM

Schools Visit

11h30 – 12h30

Music Workshop: Voice and Vision : Jennifer Ferguson – Centre for Jazz, Howard College Campus, UKZN. Tel: 031 260 2506

  12h00 – 12h45

Poetry Africa Campus Invasion: Liesl Jobson, Tania Tomé – Piazza Area, Edgewood Campus, UKZN. Tel: 031 260 2506

   
    Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre
     


19h30 Host: Outspoken
 


• Durban Showcase Poets: Nokulunga Dladla & Phephelani Zondi
• Tania Tomé (Mozambique)
• Nina Kibuanda (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• Ewok (South Africa)
• Lesego Rampolokeng (South Africa)

Friday 9 October
  Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre
   

 


19h30

Host: Lauren Rosenberg
 

• School Poetry Competition Awards
• Bongani Mavuso (South Africa)
• Chigo Gondwe (Malawi)
• Anindita Sengupta (India)
• Mongane Wally Serote (South Africa)

Saturday 10 October BAT Centre
   
  12h00 - 13h30

Poetry Writing Workshop:David Rubadiri, Susan Kiguli, Loftus Marais, Ilyas Tunç – Mission Control, BAT Centre. Tel: 031 332 0451

 
14h00 - 15h30 Open Mic: Sipho Gumede Hall, BAT Centre. Tel: 031 332 0451
 
  15h45 - 17h00

Durban SlamJam: Sihle Qwashuqwashu, Otarel Mabusela, Ngonyama, Sbu Simelane, Topaz – Sipho Gumede Hall, BAT Centre. Tel: 031 332 04

 
   

 

 



19h30
 
 

Host: Tiny Mungwe

Festival Finale: Jennifer Ferguson, David Rubadiri, Chigo Gondwe, Liesl Jobson, Nina Kibuanda, Susan Kiguli, Loftus Marais, Bongani Mavuso, Odia Ofeimun, Lesego Rampolokeng, Mongane Wally Serote, Anindita Sengupta, Tania Tomé, Ilyas Tunç

• Final Stanza: Outspoken and Band (Zimbabwe)
 

 

The Centre for Creative Arts acknowledges funders and partners of the 13th Poetry Africa with great appreciation:

Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), the 13th Poetry Africa festival is supported by the Department of Arts and Culture, HIVOS (Humanist Institute for Development Co-operation),National Arts Council, French Institute of South Africa, Pro-Helvetia Arts Council of Switzerland, and the City of Durban.

Department of Arts and Culture, South Africa  Humanist Institute for Development Co-operation National Arts Council of South Africa
French Institute of South Africa Embassy of France in South Africa ProHelvetia - The Arts Council of Switzerland Swiss Cooperation Office Southern Africa City of Durban
African Synergy Book Cafe The Royal Hotel

Last updated on Oct 20 2009

University of KwaZulu-Natal Main PageAll information Copyright ©2000-2009 University of KwaZulu-Natal. All rights reserved.
Any queries or broken links, please e-mail cca@ukzn.ac.za
Telephone:+27 (0) 31 260 2506
Fax: +27 (0) 31 260 3074

Original photography by: Val Adamson, Rafs Mayet, Precious Ngcobo, Jeeva Rajgopaul, Monica Rorvik, and Peter Rorvik




Link to Poetry Afric 2003