Tag Archives: Sadness

Anis Mojgani

United States No Comments

Anis Mojgani is a two time National Poetry Slam Champion and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam. A TEDx Speaker and former resident of the Oregon Literary Arts Writers-In-The-Schools program, Anis has performed at numerous universities, festivals, and venues around the globe and has performed for audiences as varied as the House of Blues and the United Nations. His work has appeared on HBO, NPR, and in the pages of such journals as Rattle, Forklift Ohio, Used Furniture Review, and Thrush.

A founding member of the touring Poetry Revival, Anis is also the author of three poetry collections, all published by Write Bloody Publishing: Songs From Under the River (2013), The Feather Room (2011), and Over the Anvil We Stretch (2008). A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, he still tries to make tiny spaces for visual art, doing the covers for his own books, and occasionally providing work for others, be it illustrations, the random poster, or whatever else may spark up. Originally from New Orleans, Anis currently lives in Austin TX in a little house with his wife and their dog, Trudy.

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Anele

South Africa No Comments

Anele is a 28 year old poet raised in East London, South Africa but now based in Cape Town. Dead Prez and Tupac Shakur have been his main inspiration throughout his career.

Anele is well known for his witty poetry recited in his mother tongue Xhosa. He has been performing with Lingua Franca since its first Naked Word Poetry Session. In 2013 he performed at the Zabalaza Mini festivals, and he was a headlining act with Lingua Franca during the Naked Slam Poetry 2013. Anele is also part of a Floetry project run by Nanziwe Mzuzu under Bozza.mobi. He won the Cape Town leg of DFL Lover + Another Poetry Challenge in 2013 and was placed fourth at the Nationals.

In 2012 he wrote and performed a poetry production called People from no People at the Black Box Theatre in Delft.

Albert Chitsanzo

Malawi No Comments

Kalimbakatha Albert Chitsanzo is a Malawian poet who developed the interest of writing way back in primary school. Having his voice in print was his long-held desire. He has written numerous poems which have been published locally and internationally. On the international scene Snail’s Lament was published in The Penguin Book of Modern Poetry in 1998 edited by Gerald Moore and Ulli Beier. Africa Hunted was broadcast on South African Broadcasting Corporation in 2003.

In Malawi his poem Mangoes was published in 1993 in the standard 6 text book Primary School English Activities published by Malawi Institute of Education. Fiery Ball is anthologized in Unsung Song published in 2001 by Chancellor College Publications for O level students. Other poems have been broadcast in The Writers’ Corner Program on Malawian radio and Published in various Malawian newspapers. Albert is a founding member of Malawi Writers Union who uses his poetry to help develop a deep appreciation of literature in the minds of Malawian students.

African Noise Foundation

South Africa No Comments

The African Noise Foundation is a shape-shifting collective of post-everything: poets, musicians and artists’ will include:

  • Zim Ngqawana – virtuoso flute, tenor and soprano sax improviser. Founder of the Zimology Institute for Higher Learning. The South African composer who best exemplifies the Blue Note tradition.
  • Mantombi Matotiyana – one of the last living exponents of the Uhadi. She received acclaim for her contribution to the Amampondo Ensemble and was recently on tour throughout South Africa with The Bow Project.
  • Warrick Sony – Kalahari Surfer – a one man avant-garde crusader, he has been subverting the status quo since the early eighties. Best known for his eclectic electronica, the Surfer embellishes the Foundation’s sound with acoustic instruments only.
  • David Mayekane – a vocal improviser in the tradition of Bobby McFerrin, David’s sweet voice can only be described as ‘angelic’. Previous gigs include harmonies with Ringo.
  • Aryan Kaganof – dada bin ubu poetry and werewolf vocals. Rumours of his death were somewhat exaggerated. His books include Drive-Thru Funeral, Tombstone Dues, Post-Mortemist Poems, as well as the much funnier Ballad Of Sugar Moon And Coffin Deadly. Best known for inventing the “feelbad” movie genre with such audience pleasers as SMS Sugar Man.

Aziz Mola

Kenya No Comments

Azziz is a poet, music lover, blogger, computer scientist, accountant and entrepreneur. His life purpose is to make the world a better place. He is passionate about inspiring others and mentors the youth in attempt to make them better individuals. In his spare time he is a football fanatic, rugby player and wanna-be singer.

Ameera Patel

South Africa No Comments

Ameera Patel is a Jo’burg born actress, writer and poet. She completed her degree in Theatre and Performance at the University of Cape Town in 2005, where she was on the Dean’s Merit list and became part of the Golden Key Society. Her professional theatre performance record includes The Suit (2006), The Bonfire Theatre Company (2006), Victory (2007), Romeo and Juliet (2008), The Insatiables (2008), On Cue Theatre Company (2009), Hot Seat Confessions (2009), Ma Lindi and the Sex Strike (2010).

She is one of the founding members of the Rite 2 Speak poetry collective. Rite 2 Speak started in 2004 and has performed at various corporate events, festivals, bars and events with some of the highlights including National Women’s Day (2008), Urban Voices (2009), The Grahamstown Festival (2009) and Heritage day in Portugal (2008).

Her current projects include Rite 2 Speak gigs, Hamlet with the Framework team and facilitating writing workshops for the Jozi Book Fair.

Ama Nuamah

Ghana No Comments

Ama is a young lady born and based in Accra, Ghana. She loves other creative disciplines but writing is a deeply-rooted passion of hers. Writing is her safe haven, writing is her lifeline.

Afurakan

South Africa No Comments

Afurakan, is the crown prince of Johannesburg’s underground slam poetry.
He is best known for his stage improvisations on hip-hop tunes. His style has caught the attention of many slam poets and and writers across Africa with its rhythm and provocative nature.
This is a poet who can cipher with god – and while celebrating the fact that “Blaq people rock” also writes for the miners who beat rock all their lives, for everything that is “less”.
His activity within Jozi’s poetry movement can be traced back to the “So where to” poetry events, and his work with the poetry collective Soul 2 Mouth, among others.

Afurakan has played a vital role in the growth of the spoken word movement in Johannesburg and indeed South Africa; and he’s a regular at schools and community centres, performing for the purpose of spreading the word.

http://muse.book.co.za/blog/2009/10/15/booked-muse-afurakan/

Afurakan is a founding member of THEMISSINGAP, a three piece rhythm and poetry outfit alongside beat box legend _BlastTheHumanBeat and DJ Duce.
TheMissingGap currently host and promote the popular WORD N SOUND BASSLINE SERIES a monthly open mic and talent showcase platform.

Abdourahman Waberi

Djibouti No Comments

Abdourahman Waberi is a prize-winning writer from Djibouti whose work has been translated into a multitude of languages. These poems come from his collection of poetry entitled Les Nomades, mes frères, vont boire à la grande ourse (The Nomads, My Brothers, Will Drink from the Big Dipper), his only collection of poetry. Muslim by birth, Waberi’s themes include the nomadic life, colonial and postcolonial hardships, exile, Jewish writers, the Arabic language, and Djibouti’s harsh climate. Most importantly, these poems, like his novels, short stories, and essays, carry the important message of tolerance. He is an Assistant Professor of Francophone Literature at the George Washington University.

Translations by:
Nancy Naomi Carlson is a winner of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland Arts Council, and the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County. She is the author of three poetry collections, as well as the critically acclaimed Stone Lyre: Poems of René Char. Her translations and non-translated work have appeared in such journals as Agni, The Iowa Review, Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and Western Humanities Review, and are forthcoming in The Georgia Review. She is an associate editor for Tupelo Press.

Ivori

Nigeria No Comments

Razaq Ivori is a prolific writer who began his career in writing as a ghost pen for the rich and famous. He wrote their auto biographies for a fee until his last book Elevating the Women for Mrs Titi Atiku. He moved on to the institute of journalism where he studied multimedia techniques and began working for an Abuja firm soon after his HND in journalism.

His literary works include blood and kin a Sci-Fi African drama piece and the adventures of illinick slyed a radio drama written for the BBC but was never submitted.

His current literary scheme is to bring back the art of the quintessential Town Crier poetic semantics: he dubs narrative news. A system where actual news content is infused in free flow prose rendition though in English but not without the characteristic melodic chant of the past.

For six months Ivori premiered this art at the Bogobiri lounge in ikoyi, where some say the uproar it generated prompted the proprietors to establish a full scale stage house next door for performance poetry.
Today the poet, writer, journalist has put all away to make his theatric experiment a reality. The full content like he humbly puts it will give birth to SAO [THE STANDERD AFRICAN OPERA].

Inua Ellams

United Kingdom No Comments

Born in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria ‘1984, Inua Ellams is a Word and Graphic Artist, a writer with a style as influenced by Classic literature as it is by hip hop, by Keats as it is by MosDef. Rooted in a love for rhythm and language, he crosses 18th century romanticism & traditional story telling with contemporary diction, loose rhythm and rhyme. However, his first love was visual art; the first time he toyed with a pencil, he fell for the magic of line and form. He works extensively as a graphic designer / visual artist and also tries to mix the old with the new juxtaposing texture and pigment with flat shades of color and digitally created designs. He works in online and print.

Philippa Namutebi Kabali-Kagwa

Uganda No Comments

Philippa Namutebi Kabali-Kagwa is a Ugandan South African poet, storyteller, coach and facilitator. She is the youngest daughter of Ugandan poet and civil servant, the late Henry Barlow. Both her parents loved literature – her father the writer, her mother the teacher, researcher and narrator. While she most commonly called Philippa, she always signs Namutebi at the end of her poems. “Namutebi is the creative side of me. She is the one who writes.”

She sees her poems more as stories – portraits of moments in her life. Her poems draw images of growing up in Uganda in the 60s and 70s and in the later years as an immigrant in various parts of Africa – touching on both the personal and political as it impacted her. Having lived in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Namibia and South Africa, she often wrestles with the question of identity and belonging. She also explores her triumphs and struggles as a woman.

Namutebi also has a passion for folktales and myths – the wisdom of centuries, the tried and tested imagery, the archetypal characters that give new perspective to the perennial questions that we struggle with. She says, “When a story gets my heart beating faster, or an image in a story stirs something inside me, I know that that story has come to teach me at this moment in my life! I believe this is true for everyone.”

Namutebi lives in Cape Town with her husband, Victor, and 3 children – Faye, Senteza and Chris.

Pieter Odendaal

South Africa No Comments

Pieter Odendaal started out as a boerseun in Bloemfontein and has a BA and half of an abandoned BSc-degree. He is the co-founder and project manager of SLiP, the Stellenbosch Literary Project, which creates and nourishes analogue and digital platforms of creative engagements with words. The project’s website focuses on contemporary South African books, “poetries”, cultures and initiatives around multilingualism and translation. He also co-coordinates the popular InZync Poetry Sessions and high school poetry workshops with his partner in rhyme, Adrian Different.

He hopes to publish his debut poetry collection sometime soon. A handful of his Afrikaans poems appeared in Nuwe Stemme 5 (2013). In 2015, he’ll be studying things about sustainable development and how to save the world.

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers

South Africa No Comments

Multi-award winning poet, playwright and performance artist, Phillippa Yaa de Villiers is a graduate of the Lecoq International School of Theatre in Paris. Her poetry ranges from the private to the political, exploring matters serious, satirical and sensual. She has a prolific portfolio of national and international stage and television productions. Taller than Buildings is first collection of poetry.

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Philani Amadeus Nyoni

Zimbabwe No Comments

Philani Amadeus Nyoni is a Zimbabwean poet, short story writer and actor. His writings have been published in newspapers and magazines including The Sunday News, Zimbabwe Metro, South Africa Metro, Consciousness.co.za and Ghana Poetry Foundation.

In 2006 he was awarded a First Class Award in the ‘Girls’ College Literary Competition, the following year he was awarded ‘Honors’ and won the Best Poem Award in the senior category. In 2010 his poetry was read at a cultural night in Wales organised by Kushinda Publishing, in the same year he co-wrote and acted in Cletus Moyo’s stage play titled And Now We Speak. He took part in the Drama For Life Festival in South Africa where he was part of the ‘A Lover And Another Poetry Slam’ where he represented Gauteng in the national championships.

In 2011 he co-wrote an opening act with Simo Mpapa-Majola for the festival. In that year he also featured in Lindela, a short film written and directed by Lilly Million about Lindela camp in South Africa where illegal immigrants are held before being deported to their respective countries. In 2012 he was part of the team that resurrected “Mlom’ Wakho Poetry Slams” in Bulawayo which was the second poetry slam in Zimbabwe after ‘House Of Hunger’ in Harare. He took part in the ‘Breaking Barriers Poetry Slam’ held in Harare during the Shoko Festival and also shared his works at Intwasa Festival. He is working with John Eppel as an editor on Philani’s first book, a forty-five poem anthology entitled Once A Lover Always A Fool.

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Pearl Sanelisiwe Ndlovu

South Africa No Comments

Pearl Sanelisiwe Ndlovu sought solace in words and poetry at the age of 15 when her beloved grandmother passed away.

Commonly known as Le Soulful Poet Gatsheni, Pearl is a young poet from Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Her work delves into varied topics but she mainly uses her words as way to make sense of life’s challenges. She improves her writing and reciting skills by performing as much as she can in her hometown.

Pearl has an insatiable passion for art, she believes poetry is her calling and not a mere hobby. “We are the prophets of the past, present and future” she says.

Patricia Smith

United States No Comments

Patricia Smith is the author of five books of poetry, including Blood Dazzler, a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award, and Teahouse of the Almighty, a National Poetry Series selection.

Her work has appeared in many literary journals, including Poetry, The Paris Review, TriQuarterly, and she has received a Pushcart Prize.

Smith is a professor at the City University of New York/College of Staten Island, and is on the faculty of both Cave Canem and the Stonecoast MFA program at the University of Southern Maine.

Roché Kester

South Africa No Comments

Roché Kester hails from Cape Town and considers herself a writer, performer and director. She implemented these passions in the acclaimed feminist production Reclaiming the P…word, where she has graced the stages of the Baxter theatre and the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
As a poet, Roche placed second in the Africa day poetry competition in 2009. More recently Roché placed in the top six in the Lover +Another national poetry competition . Roché believes in the transformative power of words and sees her expression as a means to ignite love and growth and unity.

Rustum Kozain

South Africa No Comments

Rustum Kozain was born in 1966 in Paarl, South Africa. Studied for several years at the University of Cape Town; spent ten months (1994-1995) in the United States of America on a Fulbright Scholarship. Returned to South Africa and lectured in the Department of English at UCT from 1998 to 2004, teaching in the fields of literature, film, and popular culture.
Poetry published in local and international journals; debut volume, This Carting Life, published in 2005 (Kwela/Snailpress). Awarded the Ingrid Jonker Poetry Prize.

Stephen Derwent Partington

Kenya No Comments

Stephen Derwent Partington is a teacher in Kenya, and a poet. He lives and works just outside Machakos and is a member of Concerned Kenyan Writers. His collection of poems, SMS & Face to Face, was published by Phoenix to critical acclaim in East Africa.

In addition to having his poetry widely published in UK and African journals he writes academic articles on regional literature for leading post-colonial journals and East African regional media. Previously he was poetry editor of the first three editions of Kwani East Africa’s ‘only literary journal’.

Shirmoney Rhode

South Africa No Comments

Shirmoney Rhode is a young writer, poet and performer. She grew up in Elsies River, Cape Town. Many of her works reflect on her childhood experiences and give voice to the things that she experienced and continues to experience. She has seven of her poems published in 7de Re‘nboog, compiled by Florris Brown.

She has performed the works of various poets at seminars together with Prof Antjie Krog of the University of the Western Cape. She was also performed alongside Mak Manaka and Karin Schimke at the Badilisha Poetry X-change’s 100 Thousand Poets for Change.

She is studying at the University of the Western Cape and has recently completed her honours in Afrikaans & Nederlands. She is currently completing her post graduate diploma in education and thereafter she wants to pursue a career in journalism. She is passionate about what she does and uses her writing to inspire change; change of mind and change of heart.

Shabbir Banoobhai

South Africa No Comments

Shabbir Banoobhai’s poetry is spiritual, political and personal with the three themes interwoven, the personal poems often having a political dimension and the political, a spiritual. A child of parents who came to South Africa from India, he was born in Durban in 1949, where he lived for most of his life until he moved to Cape Town in 1995. He Of necessity he shared the fate of the larger black community of South Africans, his poetry reflecting that struggle. He qualified as a teacher in 1970, as a Chartered Accountant in 1978, and as a Chartered Management Accountant in 1983. Lectured at the University of Durban-Westville from mid 1977 to the end of 1982; ran a management consultancy practice in Durban from 1983 to 1995; and joined Old Mutual in Cape Town in January 1996.

Retired in November 2005; and is now a full-time writer. Some of his works, in full, include: echoes of my other self; shadows of a sun-darkened land; inward moon outward sun; if i could write: Ramadan letters that can be read at Christmas or on any other day; and lyrics in paradise. He is the recipient of the Thomas Pringle Award for Poetry. What is particularly striking about his poetry is its complete sincerity, described as, “a luminous work of the heart containing profound reflections on the nature of the Divine, Prophetic and human consciousness, love, justice, peace and war. A genuine and original Sufi primer for the 21st-century seeker, reflecting an important development in contemporary ‘South African spiritual thought'”.

Seni Seneviratne

Sri Lanka No Comments

Of English and Sri Lankan descent, Seni Seneviratne’s work as a poet and live- artist is widely acclaimed. Her performances are a delicate mix of spoken word and folk/jazz song, offering a poetic landscape that echoes themes of migration, family, love and loss and reflects her personal journey as a woman of mixed heritage. She is published in the UK, Denmark, Canada and South Africa, and has presented readings and performances on various international stages.

Sarah Frost

South Africa No Comments

Sarah Frost is 39 years old, married to David, and mother to a son and daughter. She works as an editor for Juta Legalbrief in Durban, South Africa.

She has been writing poetry for the past fourteen years. She has completed an MA in English Literature, and also a module on Creative Writing, through UKZN. She has been published in various SA journals, and also some in the US. Her first anthology, Conduit, was published by Modjaji Books in the first quarter of 2011.

Sandile Dikeni

South Africa No Comments

Sandile Dikeni was born in Victoria West in 1966. He studied at the University of the Western Cape where he served on the SRC. He began writing seriously while in detention in 1986, and was a popular performer at political rallies and community cultural events. Since the coming of democracy, he has worked as a journalist and political commentator. In addition to Planting Water, he has published two previous collections of poetry, Guava Juice (1992) and Telegraph to the Sky (2002), as well as a collection of his articles featured in the Cape Times, titled Soul Fire: Writing the Transition (2002).

Samantha Thornhill

Trinidad and Tobago No Comments

Samantha Thornhill travels the globe performing poetry, delivering lectures, and facilitating writing workshops. Both a poet and published author, Samantha is a rising voice in the world of words. Her performance poem, Little Odetta, inspired by the late folk legend, is forthcoming from Scholastic Press in the form of a picture book. Also, her young adult novel Seventeen Seasons is soon to be published by Penguin Books.

Samantha earned her Master of Fine Arts in poetry from the University of Virginia while coaching the VA slam team. A sought-after educator, Samantha believes that inside each person exists a lover of words.

In New York City she fulfills her position as poetry professor at the Juilliard School. She also serves as writer in residence at the Bronx Academy of Letters where she teaches creative writing and journalism courses to middle and high school youth.

She presents her work in schools, universities, festivals, conferences, museums, places of worship, and poetry venues.

Raw and refined, diverse in subject matter and style, Samantha relates to a wide spectrum of audiences.

She is a native of Trinidad & Tobago.

Sabrina Moella

Canada No Comments

Sabrina Moella is a writer, a poet and a filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. Born in France from Congolese parents, she started writing as soon as she was old enough to hold a pen. She now lives in Canada and writes both in English and in French.

Sabrina’s poetry is based on reflective thoughts about her own life. Her films focus on studying and narrating the everyday life, traditions, and culture of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora.

She is a member of ‘I Get Out’, a collective of black female storytellers from Toronto. She is also a yoga practitioner who strongly believes in healing through the arts.

Sabrina is currently writing a collection of short stories entitled Mayi.

SoProfound

Zimbabwe No Comments

Zimbabwean poet SoProfound started performing poetry in 2009 but became active in the poetry circles in 2010. He has shared his work at events such as the House of Hunger Poetry Slam Zimbabwe, Mashoko! (The spoken word and hip-hop event hosted by Magamba), House of Hunger Poetry Slam South Africa, The Experience (nu-verb), Poetry and Music (part of the poetry and… series).

Skietreker

South Africa No Comments

Skietreker ( Reitumetse Richard Segopolo Seape) is a poet, author and performer from Thabanchu in the Free State. He writes his metaphors and similes in English, Setswana, Sesotho and Afrikaans, penning about subjects relating to racism, discrimination, abuse, poverty, Aids, spirituality, love and social ills affecting the youth.

He has performed on stages like Macufe annual festival (2005). In 2007 his poem titled Spiritual Struggle was published in an anthology called A Prayer Away in Durban. He is also a former member of the poetry group Infinite Motions (2008). He has appeared on Frenzy (ETV), Street Journal (SABC 1) and Lentswe poetry project (SABC 2). He was also the founder of Boston Poetry Movement (2008) and the brains behind the initiative of Velocity open mic sessions at iBurst in Durban.

In 2009 he was awarded a certificate of appreciation by the Bloemfontein public library in recognition of valuable contribution to literature in the Free Sate. He published his first collection of poems titled Apartheid Ek Gaan Jou Boks in 2007 and in 2012 he received assistance from the department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation to republish his power packed Apartheid Ek Gaan Jou Boks vol 2. He was also a volunteer for the SA Literary Awards 2012, and he also performed & rendered a creative writing, poetry workshop for Legae Primary School at Africa Century International African Writers Conference and shared a stage with Tinah Mnumzana, Lesego Motsepe, Hector Kunene and Charmaine Mrwebi.

Shailja Patel

Kenya No Comments

Kenyan poet SHAILJA PATEL was trained as a political economist, accountant and yoga teacher. She honed her poetic skills in performances that have received standing ovations on four continents.

Her US publishing debut, Migritude, based on her acclaimed one-woman show, went to #1 on Amazon’s bestsellers in Asian Poetry, and was a Seattle Times bestseller – extremely rare for a poetry collection.

Patel has been African Guest Writer at Sweden’s Nordic Africa Institute and poet-in-residence at the Tallberg Forum, Sweden’s alternative to Davos. She has appeared on the BBC World Service, NPR and Al-Jazeera. Her work has been translated into 16 languages. Honours include a Sundance Theatre Fellowship, a Creation Fund Award from the National Performance Network, the Fanny-Ann Eddy Poetry Award from IRN-Africa, the Voices of Our NationsPoetry Award, a Lambda Slam Championship, and the Outwrite Poetry Prize.

Patel is a founding member of Kenyans For Peace, Truth and Justice, a civil society coalition which works for an equitable democracy in Kenya. In 2011, the African Women’s Development Fund named her one of Fifty Inspirational African Feminists for the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, ELLE India Magazine selected her as one of its 25 New Guard Influencers, and Poetry Africa honored her as Letters To Dennis Poet, continuing the legacy of renowned poet-activist Dennis Brutus.

Sello Daniel Maputle

South Africa No Comments

Sello Daniel Maputle is a poet based in Thaba Nchu in the Free State. He started writing poetry in 2003 when he joined a writing group called Untitled Poets in his hometown. The highlight of his career is when he performed at the Macufe Wordfest.