Time of the Writer Festival to place four women curators on the spot

An all-women curatorial team is behind the 26th edition of the Time of the Writer Festival to be presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).

A national programme, including both live and online events, will take place from 16 to 21 March. A supplementary programme of live events will be presented in Durban from 22 to 25 March.

The theme for the 2023 Time of the Writer festival is Placemaking: Roots, Influence, Imagination and Expression.

The curatorial team has pulled together an impressive array of writers.

The line-up for this edition includes Fred Khumalo, Niq Mhlongo, Lebohang Masango, Makhosazana Xaba, Kumi Naidoo and Yewande Omotoso. Novelist and playwright Dr Sindiwe Magona has been selected as the 2023 featured author.

The team consists of curators Nomthandazo Shandu who graduated from UKZN, Sibahle Khwela who graduated cum laude from the Durban University of Technology, Nolwazi Nene who hails from the University of Cape Town and Scout Fynn from the Market Theatre Laboratory.

The four young women are on a year-long emerging arts managers internship programme at the Centre for Creative Arts.

“From a grant that the Centre for Creative Arts received from the National Arts Council’s [NAC] PESP fund, we created an opportunity for four young women graduates to be trained as curators and to work under the mentorship of the centre’s management”, said the centre’s director Ismail Mahomed.

Siphindile Hlongwa, the senior administrator at the centre and curator of the Poetry Africa Festival, added: “There is a need for new and fresh curatorial voices in the South African arts sector and more so for women curators to shape a critical but optimistic new narrative for SA society.”

Under her leadership, Poetry Africa scooped a win for South African poet Xabiso Vili at last year’s World Slam Poetry Championship in Brussels.

“This is a valuable opportunity for us as young graduates to work curating a 26-year-old festival with a track record of excellence and an extensive national and international footprint,” said Sibahle Khwela, head of the curatorial team.

“We have received a warm and enthusiastic response from writers and publishers who support our vision.

“We thank the UKZN and the NAC’s PESP Fund for this incredible opportunity.”

This year’s festival has also invited submissions of short stories from unpublished writers. 

Thirty short story writers for a mentoring programme which will culminate with the publication of two short stories anthologies in English and isiZulu. The books will be launched on Literacy Day on 8 September.

The Time of Writer festival programme is presented with an array of partners, which include the UKZN Press, Wits Writing Centre, African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Johannesburg Arts and Culture, Dante Foundation, Italian Institute of Culture, the Alliance Francais, Business Arts South Africa, the Imbiza Journal for African Writing.

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Win £1000 for an unpublished short story of 1 500 words

The Finchale Award for Short Fiction: £1,000 for an unpublished short story up to 1,500 words.

https://newwritingnorth.com/northern-writers-awards/

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Top authors enthral audience at Simon’s Town literary festival launch

The Simon’s Town literary festival, Books on the Bay, was launched at a sold-out event featuring Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee, writer Antjie Krog, and Angolan novelist José Eduardo Agualusa.

Addressing a packed audience in St Francis of Assisi Anglican Church on Friday, Coetzee read from an as-yet-unpublished short memoir about his Standard 5 teacher, Mr Gouws.

The piece was a clear-eyed and moving contemplation on the ethnic, economic, and grammatical complexities of an Afrikaans-speaking man having been tasked with teaching English to English-speaking boys in early-1950s Worcester.

Coetzee’s most recent novel, The Pole and Other Stories, will be published in English later this year. The Spanish edition, El Polaco, was published last year in Argentina by El Hilo de Ariadna.

Renowned South African poet Krog read six poems from her latest collection, Pillage (Plunder in Afrikaans; English translation by Karen Press), which was published in October 2022 by Human & Rousseau.

Ranging in theme from the political to the intensely personal, the poems found Krog as unflinching in her meditation on Fees Must Fall as on ageing.

Writer and journalist Agualusa, a leading literary voice in Angola and the Portuguese-speaking world, read from his International Dublin Literary Award-winning novel Teoria Geral do Esquecimento (2012). 

He began briefly in Portuguese before his wife, Mozambican journalist and director Yara Costa, continued with the English-language translation, A General Theory of Oblivion.

Coetzee and Krog were also presented with the inaugural Books on the
Bay ‘O Captain, My Captain’ lifetime achievement awards by co-organisers David Attwell, Karin Cronje, and Darryl David. 

The readings were followed by book signings while music was provided by the Simon’s Town High School Band. The main festival programme will follow on 10–11 March.

The Books on the Bay line-up features more than 30 authors and winners of all major literary prizes in South Africa, including Damon Galgut, Sindiwe Magona, and Gabeba Baderoon. 

They will participate in nineteen events across six venues in Simon’s Town.

Several sessions are free; tickets for others are R60 and may be bought via Webtickets and Pick ’n Pay.

The festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, the University of the Western Cape, the Simon’s Town Civic Association, Simonstown.com, and Mooiplaas Wine Estate and Private Nature Reserve.

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Poetry in Motion set for Feb 26

Yasus Afari, organiser of the annual Poetry in Motion (PiM), is promising something special for guests attending the event, which is marking its 20th anniversary on February 26.

According to the respected poet, it will be an all-day affair.

"We will start at 10:00 am with the Reasoning Temple, then 11:00 am we will open the African Bazaar, where people from Africa, Jamaica, and around the Caribbean will be able to sell and display different items. Then, at 3:00, we will have a charity dinner and the proceeds go towards the Manchester Infirmary, the Hanbury Home For Children, and the Friends in Need Foundation," he told the Jamaica Observer.

The event will be held at the Manchester Golf Club and will feature Mutabaruka, Boris Gardiner, Mik, Mark Stephenson, Dr Ann-Marie Wilmot, Dr Michael Abrahams, El Jones, Aldith Hunkar, Denise Brown, Dr Ashley Little, and Steppa.

The top-three awardees of the Golden Tongue Poetry Contest will also be announced. They will receive trophies and features in the Art of Life magazine.

Yasus Afari said preparations are well underway for the event — the first since COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed.

"It is celebrating 20 years of clean, intelligent fun for the entire family and community. We have been heralding this for a worthy cause and we have an exciting line-up," he said.

Last year's virtual staging saw viewers from the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Dubai, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, The Netherlands, Cayman Islands, Anguilla, and Jamaica.
Born in St Elizabeth, Yasus Afari was influenced early on by folklorist Louise "Miss Lou" Bennett-Coverley and the firebrand Linton Kwesi Johnson.

His career surged in the early 1990s as a member of the Christian Souljahs, a Rastafarian collective from central Jamaica that also included singer Garnet Silk and deejay Tony Rebel. 

They are usually credited for inspiring a return to conscious themes in dancehall music, which had been dominated by a decade of violence and "slack" content.

In addition to promoting events like the Jamaica Poetry Festival, he has released a number of albums through SenYAcum.

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Tis the season to love... How art thou beauty that lingers like #poetry

The Afro Poetry Times is amping up the love game this February with a special Valentine's Day issue.

The issue is laden with over 20 romantic poems. What can love be without words? Words maketh the heart. 

Whether you are lonely, single, married or madly in love, let the poetry blow you away. 

Get your digital copy from the largest press distributor in the world PressReader.

You can get your copy by following this link.

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/afro-poetry-times/20230201

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#BookReview: Adina Rose Benedict’s Cheated is a delicious and emotional tale of overcoming personal adversity

With a protagonist who truly deserves to find the happiness denied to her when growing up, Adina Rose Benedict’s Cheated is a delicious and emotional tale of overcoming personal adversity and girl power.

Easy flowing, it shares the story of a family which has moved to England from the West Indies (and parents who still conform to the stereotypes of their own upbringing).

The key message to take away from this novel is that we all have it within ourselves to make change and craft our own destiny.

A page turner which ticks all the boxes for readers looking for a short read that whisks them away from today’s realities and challenges, Benedict (who is a business woman and ordained minister) is an author who understands her audience.

Written under a pen name, Cheated may just be the novel that places this engaging and talented popular fiction writer in the literary spotlight she undoubtedly deserves.

Cheated tells the story of Chastity, born to Bagian parents, whose identity becomes submerged within the cultural, archaic, and Victorian upbringing fostered on her by her parents.

Left emotionally wrecked by the experience, Chastity is bereft of her identity, having spent most of her childhood being ridiculed, constantly compared, dismissed as a non-entity and being cheated of enjoying the family life that she craved.

After finding the courage to fight back, the trajectory of her life changes when she redefines her own values and creates a life on her own terms.

Giving Cheated a five-star review, Amazon reader, Audrey Anderson says: “I really enjoyed reading Cheated by Ms Adina Rose Benedict. There were parts in the book with which I empathised. I have already read it twice. I felt Chastity’s pain and pleasure. For a while I lived vicariously through Chastity.”

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If love be the food of #February, let the #poetry flow. The Afro Poetry Times magazine is the perfect #ValentinesDay gift

If love be the food of February, let the poetry flow. 

The Afro Poetry Times has crafted a special Valentine's Day edition that has over 20 love poems chosen specially for him and her. 

There is no better way of showing ones affection than through the delightful words of poetry. 

Turn that smile into a love bubble. Turn those feelings into an oasis of hope. Turn those words into a romantic tale only understood by her/ him. 

Get the digital edition of the Afro Poetry Times from PressReader and choose that special poem for your loved one. 

You can get your copy by following this link. 

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/afro-poetry-times/20230201

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Philip Levine Prize for Poetry Winner Announced for 2022

Eric Morales-Franceschini, an author from Georgia, has been named by the Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in creative writing as the winner of the 2022 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry.

His prize will include the publication of his debut full-length poetry collection, which will be titled “Syndrome”, and a $2000 cash prize.

This is a national prize that is sponsored by the writing program and was set up to honour Levine, who was a Fresno State professor emeritus in English, the winner of the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for poetry and the poet laureate of the US in 2011.

The Levine Prize judge for the final for 2022 was Juan Felipe Herrera, a poet, activist and former US poet laureate. 

He chose the manuscript by Morales-Franceschini from a total of 755 submissions. Herrera also picked a further four manuscripts, which he felt were worthy of special mention. 

These were written by Asnia Asim, Jamie Wendt, Liz Harms and Aerik Francis.

Morales-Franceschini is a US Army veteran and former construction worker who graduated from community college and is now an assistant professor of Latin American studies and English at the University of Georgia, which is in Athens. 

He was born in Puerto Rico.

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14-year-old Zimbabwean poet gets residential stand thanks to her talent

More often, success usually comes to those who are too busy looking for it regardless of age group and social status.

This is the story of a 14-year-old Chinhoyi female poet who is living true to the adage, reaping benefits from her talent after receiving a residential stand from Chinhoyi Municipality.

 
The Form One learner at Nemakonde High School, Sakile Manyonga, who started showcasing herself at the age of four, has also acquired a herd of cattle through her works.

 
She has made a name in the town of Chinhoyi through her poetic prowess and talent.

Sakile has since acquired what most people take a lifetime to achieve or what some die trying to obtain – a residential stand.

 
In an interview, her elated mother, Ms Eunice Muchena, confirmed having taken delivery of stand papers, saying it was God’s will that her daughter became a force to reckon with so early in her life.

“She got the stand from the council after being noticed performing without fear of the public glare at State and public functions ever since she was around four,” she said.

“Besides the stand, Sakile has six head of cattle which we bought using proceeds from the public performances. The herd once reached the eight mark, but at some point, we had to sell two to settle her fees requirements.”

Sakile is now a proud owner of a 356 square-metre stand in Chinhoyi’s Rusununguko suburb.

Ms Muchena said Sakile was a living testimony, considering the circumstances under which she was born.

“Sakile was born at our rural homestead while I was home alone and had to cut the umbilical cord using a broken bottle of glass,” she said.

Chinhoyi Municipality spokesperson, Mr Tich Mlauzi, said: “We have a policy as a council to honour those whom we deem would have made some unique contributions, but the decision has to be made by the full council.

 
“Sakile was spotted at many public fora performing at a very tender age, hence the honour.”

 
Makonde district education inspector, Mr Solomon Katoma said Sakile’s talent dovetailed with the competent-based curriculum that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education introduced.

 
“Parents should not think that their children can make a living by being academically gifted alone,” he said. 

“Co-curricular activities have the power to improve the lives of our children. It is evident from Sakile’s talent that the sky is the limit.”

 
Sakile started her journey in Matoranjera, Makonde district, where she would walk nine kilometres to school before her talent took her to Sinoia Primary School where her fees were paid for by a well-wisher.

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