Dr Ruth Emsley recently published her first anthology entitled, 'My Silver Stripes and Other Poems'.
Emsley has an extensive teaching career having taught in both primary and secondary schools, headed the languages department in a high school and has worked under the Capricorn District of Education as a deputy chief education specialist.
She is currently a senior lecturer in the languages department at the University of Limpopo.
'My Silver Stripes and Other Poems' is, however, not her first body of work, as she has also published in professional journals and magazines.
Emsley explained that the title of the book is a metaphor of life's challenges; she needed a name that is universal and fascinating.
"Not everyone develops silver stripes on their skin. But surely everyone has seen them on someone. What I know about them is that they are completely natural. Whether you choose to embrace them, is up to you. Because they cannot deter you from flourishing.
Challenges should be seen as obstacles to move on," she said.
She shared that the anthology was inspired by her thoughts, feelings and the things she sees.
"I write poems based on childhood memories, love, death, anger, loss, femininity and masculinity issues. Sometimes I just feel like writing a poem, especially humorous ones. Life events and experiences are my inspiration as well, like the Covid-19 pandemic.
"So, a whole set of thoughts, feelings, and responses and influences that are cultural, personal, systemic drive my thoughts," she explained.
Emsley added that it took her decades to put the book together as poetry writing is daunting since it requires you to put your emotions and thoughts into words.
"You need to spice up your language with unique original metaphors and imagery to exactly express these thoughts without boring the readers. That takes time.
"Every word counts in poetry."
She has a number of poems that are her favourite in the book including In Grass, Fingerprints on my Window, My Silver Stripes, A Lost Boy in the Roving World and My Orange Sack.
Some of the challenges that are emotionally charged are the Covid-19 poems since they are based on emotions and harsh systemic atrocities as a result of the pandemic, she said.
"If you lost your loved ones to Covid-19, if you are a migrant, if you are a woman, if you are a parent whose boy-child has gone astray, if you are concerned about the government systems, if you have lost people through femicide or you want to clear your mind off colonised or westernised mindsets you should read this book," she said.
