Central poet asked by govt to pen Covid-19 poem
The 30-year-old poet, known by his stage name Igwe Da-Lyrical Teller, has made writing poetry a part-time career.
A local Pretoria poet has been mandated by the government to write a poem about the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Edgar Mavima, a “lyrical poet” residing in the CBD, was selected by the the Department of Arts and Culture to write a poem about the pandemic crisis South Africa is going through.
The 30-year-old poet, known by his stage name Igwe Da-Lyrical Teller, has made writing poetry a part-time career.
He was nominated to write two poems of encouragement around Covid-19.
“Writing poetry is not an easy feat, especially when as I have yet to be recognised by the general public,” he told Rekord.
He started writing poems in 2016 and his very first poem he had wrote was titled ‘Revival’.
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“It mainly focused on the Christian restoration of our generation. Fighting each other, or even God, does not solve anything; there should be peace among us.”
“My poem is now well-known. Whenever I performed it, people would think it was new, but it’s actually old.”
Mavima said it had not been an easy journey.
“I faced many challenges as people judged and rejected me. Some were not very supportive of my career.
“I often thought of giving up.
“I had a rough childhood while growing up. I lost both of my parents and things were very difficult for me.”
“It later got so bad I had to sleep on the streets, with no shelter; but I never lost my passion for poems, it was still in me,” said Mavima.
Mavima said things had recently turned around for him.
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“I was invited to perform at a book launch, but unfortunately it was cancelled because of the lockdown.
“I also managed to write and record 12 poems at the studio, some of which are already available on my social media platforms.
“Soon, my album of poems titled Revival would be online on Spotify and YouTube.”
“When faced by people’s negativity, I chose to never give up. I see these negative comments as a stepping stone to my success.
“People should never get discouraged.”
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