THE 25th Poetry Africa festival takes place from October 11 to 16 and sets the the stage for poets from South Africa, all five regions of the African continent and around the world.
The festival is presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
The Berea Mail is giving away two tickets to the closing night of the festival to be held at The Playhouse on October, 15 at 17.30. To enter, fill out the form below.
This year’s theme is: Unmute: Power to the Poet and the audiences can expect to be mesmerized by the voices and messages of more than 80 participants from more than 25 countries.
Some of the headlining South African poets of the festival include Buhlebendalo Mda, musician and poet; Gubhela, spoken word artist; and Lebo Mashile, Makhafula Vilakazi and Torsten Tebogo Rybka, celebrated poets.
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The festival also includes an impressive line-up of international poets, Lakhiyia Hicks, actress and poet; Roger Robison, British-Trinidadian dub poet and TS Eliot prize winner; Yuliya Musakovska and Andriy Lyubka, Ukrainian poets; and Margot Delaet from Belgium.
Other South African poets include Lethu Nkwanyana, Siphokazi Jonas, Natalia Molebatsi, Africa Dlamini and Athol Williams.
“Our 25th anniversary is a significant milestone. It provides us with a vital opportunity to reflect and celebrate the Festival’s legacy. It also allows us to critically reflect on our society and the movement for social change. We salute and honour all the poets who have walked this road with us and who, over the last 25 years, have given us the words to express feelings, share experiences, address issues of poverty, social injustice, struggles and survival. This year’s festival recognises the power of the poet,” said curator, Siphindile Hlongwa.
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As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations, the organisers are launching an anthology, a journal and a documentary during the festival.
The anthology is titled #HashtagPoetry and the journal, released in collaboration with Imbiza Journal, includes seasoned poets who appear alongside new dynamic voices.
A Poetics For Transformation is a short documentary film made from the festival video archives of Poetry Africa.
Some performances are being hosted virtually this year. The programme is available online at poetryafrica.ukzn.ac.za.
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