Biography:
Jacques Coetzee tutored English literature at the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch for several years before becoming a full-time poet and musician. In 2003, he obtained an M.A. Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town with a collection of poems entitled Singing Through. His English translation of Eugene N. Marais' Dwaalstories, published by Human and Rousseau as The Rain Bull and Other Tales from the San in 2009, was nominated for the 2009 SATI Award for Outstanding Translations and Dictionaries.
In June 2008 he performed at the Grahamstown Arts Festival alongside Tossie van Tonder in an improvisational piece called Intiem Et Cetera, making use of both movement and voice. Together with poet Barbara Fairhead he is currently involved in a musical project, Red Earth & Rust, which released its first album of original songs, Look For Me, in 2008. Lyrics for the album were composed by Barbara Fairhead with music, vocals and keyboard by Jacques Coetzee. In September and October last year, Red Earth & Rust recorded a double album's worth of new material, which will be released on 20-21 March 2010 at the Theatre in the District, District Six, Cape Town. The album, entitled Dark Mercy-Wrestling the Angel, was produced by Aron Turest-Swartz, and will soon be available from the band's website. Lyrical poet and musician, Jacques Coetzees poems are born out of the need to surprise himself now and then. In his words: Writing them is like taking a walk without knowing where it will lead. His evocative and sensory poetry comes from a desire to bring attention to the place where the inner experience and the world meet.
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Blue Notes
Beautiful beyond words, these clear blue notes,
These wild blue notes that hang in the air
Like a cathedral floating in the sky
Beyond the body's reach.
Hey, music men, how did you make them,
These notes so pure and wild?
Listen, and I will tell you:
With your own bodies, muscle, blood and bone,
With your chests swelled out and your feet planted firm
And the song like a tree rising up between them.
It's flesh and blood holds up this edifice,
Straining against the pull of gravity.
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