Poetry is one of the most difficult things to write, and even more so to have published.
But five young aspiring poets in Helenvale have since 2011 been taken under the wing of Brian Walter, a highly accomplished poet who won the 2000 Ingrid Jonker Prize for his debut, Tracks.
Each year, the Avbob Poetry Competition opens its doors to poets writing in all of SA’s 11 official languages.
From the beginning, the work of the youngest poets has often astonished readers.
This year, Avbob invited Walter to talk about his special interest in young poets.
Walter said poetry was a much-neglected field.
“There is not much encouragement for the writing and publishing of poems in SA.
“There are a good number of published poets writing in many of our languages in the metro, from areas such as Zwide, New Brighton and the northern areas,” Walter said.
“However, there is no outlet for this wealth of words. Where do readers buy poetry books?”
He said some members of the Helenvale Poets — five of whom he mentors — would be entering the Avbob competition this year, and he had encouraged them to do so in their individual capacity to get themselves established as independent writers.
Walter said it was always good for the poets to be acknowledged.
“Helenvale gets a lot of bad press and, indeed, there are many problems to be solved.
“But, using the title of one of [Athol] Fugard’s plays, People are living there.
“It is a privilege for me, in a small way, to enable the broader metro to see the human side of Helenvale, their hopes, aspirations, fears and the will to succeed.”
He said his young poets had read at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, South End Museum, Nelson Mandela University and Alliance Française.
“We hope readers will also turn to the poems written by the group, and to our books, available at the South End Museum.
“So, this focus is welcome, it spreads the voices of the poets wider and it is used to encourage further writing.”
At the end of Walter’s first year of mentoring, the Helenvale Poets had already put together their first collection.
At present, it has 20 members between the ages of eight and 20, and 11 published poetry collections under its belt.
Many of the members’ poems bear witness to growing up in the midst of widespread unemployment and gang violence. “Writing poetry provides a safe space in which these youngsters can process difficult emotions.
“Their poems have a raw, honest energy that makes their group readings unforgettable.”
He said Leonie Williams and Luciano Roberts, two of the older members, recently participated in an online reading by the Cape Town-based Black Consciousness Poets.
Walter stressed continuity as an important factor in the poets’ growth and development.
